Minimalism - is there a need to be minimal? - 3 November 2008

Minimalism - is there a need to be minimal? Can one succeed in minimalism? 
Bharat Bhushan - 3 November 2008

Sometime back in 1990, I guess, I had gone to visit a senior journalist friend at his residential quarters above his newspaper offices, and I found him living out of some bare bookshelves, a coir mat and a pillow and very few other accessories. When I questioned him, he said that he was a minimalist. That was the first time that I had heard the word, and I liked it. It seemed to be almost like a religion with him, and I found that he actually believed in living it out in that manner. I was quite taken up by it, and I do try to follow the tenets, from time to time, sometimes succeeding, and mostly, failing.

It is indeed very difficult to become a minimalist. There is an entire science to it, seemingly. The theory or the paradigm is known as minimalism. There are many net pages and material to read from on the internet about minimalism. There are experts out there, and there is software especially made to help you become a minimalist. I would not be surprised if there was a cellphone app also made for it. But, if you go around collecting all this stuff, you would no longer qualify to be a minimalist.

One of the most popular theories is that it is the removal of all the stuff that we collect and getting rid of all the clutter that we live with. This can be at several planes in life. It can be simply to get rid of the material matter that one has collected, and at the other plane, it can be to get rid of the clutter within the mind. It can also be to getting rid of the work systems that do not work for us, and to getting rid of all the wasteful planning methods that we have that destroy our future.

So, simply put, minimalism helps us review our past, the present and the future. We need to get rid of something, some clutter, junk or our belongings, from each aspect, i.e., the past, the present and the future. We collect tremendous aspects of junk within our mind and within our thoughts. We search for vague happenings that have happened a long time ago in the past, and we pull them out, stretch them to more tensile fragility than a simple rubber band, and pretend that it has more importance for the present and the future than it would ever have been.

But, to become a minimalist, and to adopt minimalism, there has to be a deliberate decision. You really need to go ahead and want to do it. It cannot just be a thought and it cannot just be an idea. You need to actually start and get to doing it. There is no planning about becoming a minimalist. You start when you think about it, and you start doing it. Pick up the nearest object, give it away. Pick up your wallet, and decide that you will not purchase anything. Pick up your ATM card or credit card and keep them away for a fortnight. These are simple actions. They help get you started.

When one embarks on the path towards total quality management, the ISO 9001 system requires that the aspirant firm makes a very deliberate top management decision to want to achieve perfection. That is the same with minimalism. Your top management, i.e., your mind and your thought system, should take the decision and make it immediately deliberate by beginning and creating output. One of the theories is that you establish a relay or a tag sport within your house and your office to begin to get rid of stuff. Keep hitting a different spot and continue to pick up something and get rid of it.

We are all consumers. If we do not purchase, if we do not pick up, and if we do not want to take up something or some event, life does not halt at its orbit around our actions. It goes on. The reality is what happens, and it is never the aspect of what did not happen. Whatever did not happen, never existed. It is counter to what does exist. The thought of the aspect that did not exist, will always distract us. Others will contribute to the thoughts and evolve it into a disappointment. Understand the myth and accept the reality. It never existed. THAT is the truth.

Does time and the past contribute to fear in life? - 22 September 2008

Does TIME and the PAST contribute to FEAR in one's own life? 
Bharat Bhushan 22 September 2008

Time generally contributes greatly to fear. In this regard, some truths need to be accepted -

• The past no longer exists.
• The past is made of bits of memory. 
• The future is not here, as of now, i.e., today.
• The only truth of existence is that of the present moment.

The mind is aware of its own thoughts. The mind is not helpless. Rather, it actively controls what we perceive as involuntary responses and functions. The mind creates defense mechanisms. The mind creates EGO, to help itself. The EGO is the defensive system of the mind to help it against fear. The EGO produces thought, through the mind, with cognitive memory.

The ego begins to believe in itself, and thereby creates untold damage to the world of the person and family. It thereafter and therefore begins to defend itself. A verbal assault is a mental threat, and are seen as a direct threat by EGO as an attack. In response, the mind and EGO can create hostility.

Ego believes in itself. --> Direct threat to mind --> thereby creates damage --> begins defense

Verbal assaults --> Direct threat to mind --> mental threats --> begins defense --> hostility in response

What is the real damage by verbal attacks on an human organism? NONE. There is no real damage.

We inflict such damage on to ourselves by help of our vivid imagination. Verbal assault is an imagined threat. But, EGO does not differentiate between the real and the imagined. And therefore, EGO feels threatened. So, EGO goes into a loop and stays alert. EGO now searches for more and more stimuli as possible threats. 

The body and mind is now trained by the EGO to do, what can be merely seen as defense. Some are ready to take offence. There are levels of dysfunction. EGO can make your react at the lowest levels. It can lead to a form of mental paranoia. It is EGO's reaction that is more harmful than what is said, felt or thought about. 

EGO is in a constant state of self-enhancement to become more and more secure. It thus seeks more material goods, power, prestige and so on. It begins to search for - contentment, happiness and fulfillment from its acquisitions. This pushes the EGO to seek more. This becomes addictive and insatiable.

There are no intellectual solutions to tackling one's EGO. The mind is not properly equipped to do so. It requires training and persistent practice and most importantly, it requires a teacher. We need to always examine ourselves, especially our mind and EGO. We need to adopt a higher level of forgiveness. This is indeed very difficult. Forgiveness does not intend or imply 'forgiving' a wrongful action or hateful or hurtful situation. The act of "forgiveness" requires one to 'forgive' the hurt and hate within oneself, in order that the burden of memory is removed. 

Do not be judgmental on EGO. The EGO is a segregationist. Higher self sees itself as a part. One has to establish and absorb the essence of compassion. Ego causes most of the problems. One needs to dispense with ones' ego. 

Reference - John Bendix, spiritual writer.