A Practial Lesson in Non-Attachment

So what exactly are we trying to accomplish here by mastering the mind? I think a very practical real world example of what I outlined in my previous post is in order.

I was almost hit by a truck walking home today. It was rainy and as I made it halfway across the street a SUV pulled out of a driveway and into the road. I expected this but either this person didn't see me or didn't care because as he was about to drive past me he decided to make a sharp left turn instead of going straight.

As I was in the middle of the intersection, he quickly swerved left to turn and cut me off. All of the sudden the side of his truck was six inches from my chest. To stop my momentum from running into the vehicle I put my hand on his side window and pushed off from it.

That was a close call.

That's an uncontrollable near death experience. So I can feel my body start to react, the adrenaline starts pumping, my breath becomes short, the survival fight or flight instinct begins to kick in.

And then the mind starts engaging its defensive responses. I experience the thought, "What an idiot!" He slows down his truck so I think "Maybe I should go over there and tell him off." And then another thought "What if he comes over and attacks me?" Maybe I should just keep moving and hope he just lets me go.

I experience both the fight and flight response very quickly.

But I'm aware and I keep my mind at rest and clear. Instead of engaging the mind with these responses, I consciously keep the mind at rest. I tune into my body. I allow the sensations to be there. I tune into the natural way animals release tension. I allow it to be there and let my body act as a clearing house processing and moving out the experience naturally, in real time.

Amazingly soon, my body has exited the experience. My mind remains clear and the defensive thoughts in my mind have subsided because my body is no longer feeling physically threatened.

I'm carrying very little of the dangerous experience that just occurred within me. Mostly only the new wisdom that I need to watch for quick left turners the next time I cross the street.

And I'm still in the moment. "It sure is raining." I think.

This is a real world example of not attaching to a negative experience. And as you can also see this is also very different from 'detachment' where the mind removes itself from the experience as a way of better dealing with it.

I remain free. Having not allowed my mind to attach to the experience, I don't carry it with me as I continue walking. And you can bet I would have been ruminating about this afterwards if I hadn't done that.

Love,
Heron Free