The other day, a loved one made a statement that since I practiced mindfulness, she was guessing that there isn’t much drama in my life. Well, the answer is a yes and a no. Although there seems to be no drama happening which involves others, there are non-stop dramas unfolding in the mind.
The thing is, we are not aware that we have got a 24-hour non-stop movie theatre running up our heads. If you have persistently watched and observed the mind, you will realise that all the drama is happening in the mind anyway, so what is there outside to entertain us?
The mind proves itself to be the best entertainment. In fact, it is the best story teller ever and when “I” become identified with it, I have thus invited myself on stage. Depending on which storyline is more appealing to me, or rather which idea is being held on stronger than the other, that you will see my reaction or response towards a situation or a person.
Like a 24-hour rerun in the mind, nothing is new except the intensity of the storyline with different imaginary characters. So when I am caught up with the storyline in the mind, I am being run by it, acting it out unconsciously in the outer reality; but if I am conscious enough, I may not react to what is happening in the mind or the outer reality although that may not necessarily mean that I am out of it. Hence being able to take a step back and watch the mind is the first step in detaching ourselves from drama. Being immersed with the mind is to react as the mind, and to be able to stay back, is to watch the mind’s reaction in silence without reacting physically. In the latter, there are no reactions, but only appropriate responses because one is able to discern what would be an appropriate action to take.
I noticed that when the mind has a storyline running, whatever outside only serves as extra stimuli to enhance the storyline. Take for instance, if I am feeling heartbroken, and I go to the karaoke and sing Toni Braxton’s How Could an Angel Break my Heart? It will not only intensify what I am feeling at that moment, but make my story even more real and dramatise my whole reality. As if what is played in the mind is not enough and I will need extra stimuli outside to enhance it. What happens here is that the mind puts a meaning to the song and hence enhances the experience of being heartbroken and yet in all that, though it seems as if there is an external source, it is still all happening in the mind but we hardly notice that. We just keep thinking that something outside is what is causing the dramas in our lives. Everything that we do, as long as the mind contacts with anything, there is a condition that arises with it.
So it is not that there is less drama in my life. The best entertainment is already within the mind, what else could be more entertaining?
I find this so so true. When I am not awake to the drama “inside here” i create more drama “outside there”. And it was so obvious when I am ignorant to the ignorance of what is going on inside, unawaringly i also bring it out the the world, bringing others who are also unawake to a big party time, perpetuating the drama longer!