The News Inside

Close your eyes and check out the news inside.

We spend way too much time hearing about the news outside, and don’t really know what’s going on in our own minds. All kinds of currents are running around, and it’s up to us to make some sense out of them and to point them in the right direction. Otherwise, we’re just forced along by the nature of our past actions: sometimes making wise choices, sometimes making very unwise choices. But we do have the power of choice, and we want to take advantage of that.

So get the mind really still so that it can see what’s really going on inside, so that it can sort things out. Because certain thoughts look good on first appearance, but when you live with them for a while, you begin to realize they’re going to take you to a bad place. You have to be able to pull out and learn how to see more deeply into what’s going on, so that you can make better and better choices.

This is where we can take advantage of the power of choice, because we can choose what to focus on. Focus on the things that will lead to happiness. That’s the Buddha’s main concern all the way through: The issue is, do we have free will? Do we not have free will? Well, at least we have enough free will to put an end to suffering. That’s what matters.

If that’s something you seriously want to pursue, this is how you do it: Get the mind really still so that you can see more deeply into what’s going on.

It’s like water that’s been stirred up. If the water gets time to be still, things begin to settle out and you can see deeply into the water. That’s one of the images the Buddha gives of when you see the four noble truths: It’s like seeing in a clear pool of water what’s happening in the water. So with this big mud puddle of your mind: Let it settle down for a bit so that you can see more clearly. Where are the good things down there? Where are the bad things?

That way, you can make the choices that lead in the right direction, where you can find a happiness that doesn’t harm yourself, doesn’t harm anybody else. That’s what matters.