22 Nov Roads of the mind
Before there were any roads if someone wanted to make the journey between two villages they would have to carve out a path through the wildness with their own hands. It was long arduous work.
Next time anyone wanted to make the same journey they would follow the same path rather then start to make their own from scratch. In time a muddy path would start to form where the ground had been constantly trodden on.
The path would progressively get wider and more pronounced as more and more people travelled upon it. Eventually the path gets paved and becomes a road that can be easily and quickly travelled down.
Dan Coyle in his book The Talent Code describes our minds in a very similar way. Our thoughts and actions create neutral pathways that become more and more defined as we have the same thought over and over, or practice the same actions again and again.
This is even true for emotions. Every time we lose our temper it gets easier to lose it the next time.
When a neural pathway is constantly used a fatty substance called myelin is wrapped around it insulating it and making the signal very fast and efficient, much the same as paving a road.
Meditation gives us the insight to look at our minds like a map. We can see all the roads we
have built and the the ones we constantly use out of habit.
The deep concentration of meditation makes the process of carving new roads quicker and easier.
It is like being given a bulldozer that can force its way through the toughest undergrowth.
We no longer have to be at the mercy of chance and circumstance. We can carve out our own character
and shape our own destiny.
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