Monkey Mind

This week I'll be using the Middle Way Arcana, a major arcana deck based on the ideas of Buddhism. This deck was one I created for personal use with scissors and a glue stick. I'll also be drawing from the Vertical Oracle, created by Antero Alli with Sylvie Pickering and published by Vertical Pool. Today's cards are Death and Monkey Mind:

At one time or another, everyone loses something.

~Lama Surya Das

The Five Remembrances remind us of the natural course of a physical existence: we will get older, sick and eventually die; we will one day be separated from everything and everyone we love. Our deeds are the only ground on which we stand. If we are a humane human, we have a soft and tender heart that allows us to experience warmth, wonder and joy yet can also support us in grieving our losses. Though grief is natural, if we don't want to add to our suffering, we will not rage against what normally happens to everyone in some form. Monkey mind occurs when our mind is a swirl of chaotic thoughts and feelings - like a monkey jumping from one branch to another. As Yongey Mingyur describes: "Our minds are like flags in the wind, fluttering this way and that, depending on which way the wind blows." Loss can easily transport us to such a mindset, but awareness - bringing our attention to our thoughts and emotions without bias - can help us find equanimity. Open awareness permits us to see that we are being swept away without attaching to our thoughts and emotions, and it can aid in our release.