![]() Store consciousness works in a very natural and easeful way and is much more efficient than our thinking mind. It is working on the problem for you while your day-to-day consciousness rests. Then you let the question go, and suddenly when you least expect it, inspiration or helpful ideas come to you in a time of rest, and you just know what to do. You think hard and circle round and round in your mind, but you feel you don’t get anywhere. For example, maybe you’ve experienced trying to solve a problem or find an answer to something that perplexes you. This is because it has the function of storing our memories and all the various mind states we can experience in latent, sleeping form. In Buddhist psychology this part of our mind is called store consciousness. But we can trust that the seed is “down there,” being tended to by our deeper consciousness, and one day it will sprout into a clear answer. Then in our daily lives we practice calming, resting, and coming home to ourselves in the present moment and that will help the seed of our question to ripen naturally and authentically. We ask our deeper consciousness to take care of it, and then let go of our thinking and worrying about it. It won’t grow that way! It is the same with a deep and troubling question. And then we’ll know the answer to our question without a doubt.īut we must leave the seed down in the soil of our mind and not keep digging it up to see if it is growing roots. Our mindfulness practice in our daily lives is the sunshine and water that the seed needs to sprout so that one day it will rise up on its own, in its own time. Thay suggests we consider this big question as a seed, plant it in the soil of our mind and let it rest there. These deeper life questions can’t be resolved at the level of the mind, but must be entrusted to a different, deeper part of our consciousness. Thay would often say, “Don’t try to figure out the answer by thinking about it.” In thinking over a question again and again, we do not generally arrive at real wisdom, but we easily tire ourselves out and get even more confused or anxious. Often people would ask Thay what to do when facing big life decisions, like which career path to take, whether to separate or stay with their partner, or whether to ordain as a monastic. I spent fifteen years as a nun in the Plum Village community of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (whom I affectionately call Thay, or “teacher” in Vietnamese). Till your mud settles and the water is clear?
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