(Text 28 of Thich Nhat Hanh)
The first step to learn to live deeply in the here and now is to make the practice of stopping. There is a well-known Zen story about a man riding a galloping horse. Someone, upon seeing him, shouts:
"Where are you going?" And the rider replies turning around: "I do not know, ask the horse!"
The story is funny, but at the same time it is true. We do not know exactly where we are going or why we hurry so much. A galloping horse is dragging and deciding everything for us. And we follow him. This horse is called "The energy of habit"
You may have received this energy from your parents or your ancestors. This energy is what is dictating your words and actions, you are not your true sovereign, it is the horse and not you who is making you move forward. It is the energy of habit that pushes you to say and do things, even though that is not your intention, something that hurts you and others alike. For example, even knowing that if we say something unpleasant, we will make those around us suffer as much as we do ourselves ,We say the same. Later we regret it and exclaimed:
"I could not help it! the desire was stronger than me. "
We promise with all our hearts that next time we will not act like this, but when the situation repeats itself we behave in exactly the same way, doing and saying things that not only harm others but also ourselves. This kind of energy is the energy of habit.
Our task is to become aware of it and not let it drag us anymore. We smile at him and say:
"Hello, energy of habit, I know you're here."
The first step to take care of you is to learn to stop and look inside yourself. It is a wonderful practice. When we are nervous, when someone is angry or screaming, when we feel very sad or depressed, what can we do to smile and be alive again? If we learn the art of stopping, we will calm down inside ourselves and we will be able to calm those around us. The practice of stopping serves to regain calm and have a clear and stable mind. Without serenity, without a clear and stable mind, we will not be able to face our problems.
The practice of stopping you does not mean you have to sit motionless in one place, because even if you did, your mind would continue to travel to the past or the future or thinking about the projects you have, and that is not stopping. In our interior there is a kind of video that is working all the time, without ceasing; You think of such and such a thing, you see one image and then another. It never stops. Even if you do not say anything out loud, there is no silence inside you.
The inner silence helps us to enjoy what we have in the present moment. It allows us to contemplate a sunset and truly enjoy it. To stop you is to return to the here and now and feel the wonders that life is offering us at that precise moment. If your mind does not stop, it will not be united with your body, perhaps it will remain sitting in one place, but your mind will be elsewhere. When you stop, the body and the mind come together, they return to the here and now ...
We cannot stop the hobbit, if we cannot control our self..☺
you can try little by little then you realice that you have different habit xD
Humans are naturally very habitual. Form many good habits and the bad habits will disappear.
if the bas habits become conscious yes !! xD
Maybe. Perhaps we do not have to know which bad habits are disappearing. Perhaps it is enough to know only about the good habits that we are forming and maintaining. Yes, consciousness seems to help a lot.
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