Why Human Mind is Called The Monkey Mind?
You might surprise why Human Mind is called the Monkey Mind?
Human Mind is unique. But, surprisingly, it is very unpredictable too. This nature mostly can observe among average human beings. It is difficult to understand from the surface level unless deep down more inside.
If you observe, you can find that human mind always wanders from one thought to another very frequently. Mind moves to the past & future apart from the present moments. Never settle in the present moments. Mind never settle in a certain point or in center.
This kind of wandering activities is very similar as the Monkey who jumps from one tree to another tree. Never kept quiet in a place. Average Mind is like a Monkey Mind.
The term “Monkey Mind” derived from the Buddhism which was adopted by the Yogis & Meditators. Those who have interest in Yoga or Meditation, you can find that the term “Monkey Mind” has been frequently used in Meditation or Yoga related Books.
The Mind is Self Confused
Self-confusion is one of the most noticeable issue of the Mind. Creating Thoughts after thoughts and putting itself in the cloud of thoughts and getting puzzled is very common. Which thoughts is right and which one is wrong, it is very hard to determine. Human being starts to move around the thoughts and get confused. Most surprising that no thoughts stay long time. Thoughts appear in the Mind & disappear in the Mind too very fast. Thoughts appear in a chain form like one after one.
If you get attached with a thought, the Mind starts to generate more & more thoughts. The more you get attached to thoughts, the more you get in the circle of thoughts. This is just like moving around in a circle and no way to get out. Keep continue generating thoughts after thoughts just inspire to get more attachment and get distracted.
It is very hard to way out from such destruction of the Mind. Situation might lead the human being to face continuous mental distractions like Mental Stress, Mental Illness, Anxiety & Depression, etc. In fact, all these distractions of the Mind are nothing but the creations of more & more thoughts. Surprisingly, No thoughts last long, They just appear from the Mind and also dis-appear very fast in the Mind too.
Restless Activities is one of the Key Characteristic of the Mind
Mind is always restless. It never stays quite like the Monkey. Only function is to create thoughts, Mind creates thoughts after thoughts and get puzzled by itself. If any thought pull out by the Mind, the Mind itself starts to generate more & more thought. No matter relevant or irrelevant, Mind starts to create thoughts once any thought get pulled by the Mind. This is like a continuous movement of thoughts.
If you look at the Monkey, you can see that the Monkey never remains silent. No matter of any reason or any specific issue, the Monkey starts to jumps from here to there. Human Mind is similar as the Monkey Mind. It never remains in silence.. Even you feel you are in quite in silence but the Mind is still continuing its own activities of creating thoughts. No matter you like them or not, who cares? Mind never bothers at all. It goes its own way like a wild Monkey.
The Mind always Chatters
Chattering is one of the most common activity of the Mind. If you carefully observe, you can find that your Mind is never stop in one certain point or certain issue. Mind always starts chattering. Talking to any issue with someone else or even no particular issue, just love to talk by itself. That is self-chattering.
As an example, why this happens? Why that happen? What is the reasons? Anything wrong done by me? I was right, but why it happened? What will happen afterwards? Once get attached to any thoughts or part of chattering, the Mind starts to keep continue chattering. It is like that if no chattering, I am going to die. I am not alive anymore.
This is like the Monkey who never remain quiet. Start to chatter with all other monkeys. If no other monkeys are there, the monkey starts to chatter alone.
The Mind is always unsatisfied
Mind never get satisfied. Keep continue desires is very natural activity of the Mind. If desires to get something, once get it and fulfilled desire, the Mind starts to create more & more desires. Like this way. I need a good job, then I will be happy. Once get the desired job, oh, I need a car. Once Car in possessions, nope, I must have a home. Once bought home, come on, this home must be changed. Location is quite far. Then, shift to a new home in a new location. These desires appear like a Chain Form. Once meet, then, another one arise followed by one after one desires.
In fact, desire arise only one. But, the Mind was not happy once got it. It wants more and more. Desire never stops. Even needs something or not, desires comes one after one. This I must have, that I must have, Nope, I must have all these things. Situation creates more and more distractions in the Mind. This is like a Monkey who bit one thing, then move to another thing, then keep continue biting here & there.
The Mind always prefers to remain is Comfort Zone
Mind is always fearful for uncertainty. Hence, the Mind most of the time try to remain in comfort zone. Insecurity, fear of failures, etc., are always force the Mind to move to comfort zone. If you look at the Monkey, in most cases, the Monkey always like to stay with the other monkeys in a group. If one of the monkey goes a bit far away from the monkey, everyone starts to make noise, including the monkey who went a bit far away from the group.
Uncertainty always make fearful situation in the Mind even this situation creates by the Mind itself. As a result, the Mind always push itself to be in safe zone that is in the comfort zone. This tendency, in most cases not allow the human being to step in new assignments or activities.
As an example here – Someone got a new job with good facilities. Mind starts to create thoughts like – Whether the new jobs is secure? Is the working environment is safe & comfortable? The situation leads the person to face indecision whether to take the new job or to stay in the same job. It is a dilemma. Indecision starts to roll on. In most cases, if the person is too much self-distracted by the Mind, he has no option rather to stay in the comfort zone of the existing zone instead of having the offer of new job.
The Mind mostly remains in Un-mindfulness Situation
If we observe, we noticed that the Mind always wanders from one thought to another thought. Never settle in a particular thought. Moving here & there and absolutely unsettled. Thus, result, un-mindfulness situation. Such un-mindfulness situation leads the human being to face more & more distractions. In fact, the Mind itself creates the situation of un-mindfulness due to non-settlement and continuous wandering thoughts to thoughts. As creation of thoughts one after one in a chain form, the Mind has to move around in the circle of thoughts. This is a self-generated puzzle by the Mind itself.
The Mind never keeps quiet. It goes to outer objects or creates images, forms, patterns or mental phenomena based on memories. Just wanders from one point to another or one thing to another thing. Never settles down. Such wandering activities create frequent un-mindfulness situation or non-concentrations or non-focus activities by the mind itself is very common phenomena. This is like the Monkey.
Most of the time the Mind observe from the Surface Level
Due to Ignorance and impurity of the Mind, it is a very common nature that human mind always look or observe or think from the surface level. In most cases, never goes into deep level. Just on surface level observation, the reality of things or materials or phenomena or things never appears ‘The Way it Exists’!
This observation of surface level can create an Illusion in the Mind. As no clarity exists in the Mind due to impurity or clouds of thoughts, human mind fails to see the true nature of the Matter & Mind itself too.
When any decision made by surface level observation, true nature of the Mind itself or matter or situation of phenomena, never appears in front of the mind. Hence, wrong decision or actions leads to face due to non-clarity of facts or situation.
The Mind Always Self Centric
If you look at the Monkey, you can find that the Monkey always like to have everything in his or her possession. Fighting with other Monkeys in the group to get in his or her possession is absolutely a natural scenario. Everything belongs to me or mine like tendency. Human mind is not out of that. Self-centric tenancy is always been observed in human mind. This is mine, that is mine, my home, my car, my money, so on. In fact, creation of the ‘Self’ feelings is nothing but the mind generated.
In such self-centric activities, the mind creates more & more desires to grab. This kind of situation leads to face dis-satisfaction or unhappiness in most when desires fail to fulfill. If deeply observe, the Mind has created desires. When desires not met or full-filled, the Mind itself starts to suffer. Also get distracted by creating unhappy feelings or dissatisfaction. This is one kind of self-harming activities due to continuous desires.
The Mind Mostly Look Outside Rather Than Inside in Depth
From the moment of birth to death, human beings are used to look outside the mind rather than look inside the mind itself. Moment to moment experiences of daily activities from the moment of birth, the mind is used to focus outside rather than inside. In fact, human being is consisted of both the physical body & the mind together. Mind or Brain is the main driving force of the physical body. Even the mind is the driving force of the physical body & mind with a balance level, surprisingly the mind mostly never looks into itself. This is caused by continuous experience of outside movements of the Mind which stores in the subconscious Mind as Memories.
The Monkey never settled in a place as the Mind of the Monkey is always used to look into outside for something always. This behavioral pattern of the both Human Mind & Monkey Mind are very similar. As the mind is not settled, not in stillness, the Mind has tendency to move around outside. If no movement to outside, the Mind feels that it is going to stuck up like a dead end. This is quite a surprise characteristic of the Monkey Mind.
The Mind Always Busy
Human Mind always busy in some kinds of activities. Look around here & there. No matter of day or night, the Mind never stops its activities. Even in the rest time or sleeping time, the Mind always keep continue to work. This is like a non-stop machine. If you look at the watch or clock, you can find that the watch or clock keep continue to move its round circle of time without any stop.
From the moment of human brain or mind creation in the mother’s womb, the natural activities of the mind is to keep continue until death. As the mind keep working day & night, that is round the clock without any rest or stop, this is obviously leads to face distractions. This is the most fantastic nature of the mind which works round the clock from the moment of birth to the end of life.
If mind doesn’t find anything to get attached for creation, it starts to create thoughts of various kinds of patterns, images, etc. as thoughts These thoughts either from the past memories or possible future based on past experiences which has been stored as memories in the Sub-conscious Mind. Moving in the past, moving in the future, moving around in the present, no matter of what, and the Mind keep continues to functions as its own way. No rest, no stop, no relax, moving on & on.
The Mind Mostly Look For Pleasure in Materialistic Things
Based on day-to-day experience in life, it is very often observe that the Mind always like to have some kind of pleasure. Pleasure of amusement, pleasure of hang around, pleasure of watching movies, pleasure of spending time on Social Media, etc. If no activities, the Mind can’t keep itself isolated. Always like to move around within the circle of pleasures or happiness. No matter of good or bad, the Mind always try to find something which keep the Mind in some state of pleasures all times.
Continuous searching for pleasures or happiness, the Mind has no option, rather to move here & there. The Mind always try to find out or search for something which can meet desired expectations. This is a continuous activity of the Mind to move on. No rest or stop for a while. This is very common for all human beings.
The Mind Creates Thinking of ‘Self’ By Itself
Who creates the image of ‘Self’? This question you might also asked yourself sometimes like me. The answer is very straight. The mind creates the image of ‘Self’. Creating image of ‘Self’ by the Mind itelf, starts to create desires after desires, thoughts after thoughts and get self-distracted. This is quite surprising. Creating ‘Self’ by itself and facing tremendous distractions of thoughts and desires by the Mind itself too. Then, starts to struggle in the waves of distractions.
Once the image of ‘Self” is in the mind, ego, jealousy, envy, greed, emotions etc., starts to get attached to the Mind and creating feelings of happiness or un-sadness, good or bad, positive or negative, etc., all starts to flow around in the mind. Mind starts to get very restless while it faces continuous distractions. Mind become wild like the crazy Monkey. The Mind starts to jump from here & there, ups & downs. But, not able to settle down in center or get in stillness. This is quite a surprising nature of the human Mind.
What you think about it?
The Mind Creates Fantasy & Like to Remain in Fantasy Too
The Mind always deserve to remain in fantasy. In fact, all the fantasy creates by the Mind itself by pulling different scenario, memories, etc. from the experiences and move around in the fantasy. Even getting attached to present moment situation or scenario, the Mind creates Fantasy. Not surprising at all that predicting futures situation from imagination, the Mind creates fantasy as well.
Unfortunately, such fantasy never last long times. Once see such fantasy disappears from the Mind by itself as usual, the Mind starts to face dissatisfaction. Creating fantasy & facing reality of disappearance, the Mind again starts to get distracted and get restless as well. This sis nothing but the self creation of the Mind by itself.
The Mind Always Like To Do Multi-Task At A Time
Almost all the times, the human Mind intends to do multi tasks at a time. Doing this, doing that, etc. at a time. As for an example, having Coffee and same time talking to someone else over phone and also same time checking Email in Laptop.
Human being wants to do a series of works at a time. Like to perform very often, can observe in human life. In fact, the Mind never stay in a center and keep continue push to do more & more things or works at a time. This is quite similar as Monkey is fighting with other Monkeys & eating food & jumping from one branch of the tree to the other branches. Almost all together at a time. In reality, nothing has been done fully. Everything either by half done or just in surface level done.
What about your thoughts here?
Conclusion
In Conclusion, can say that the average human Mind has no control over thoughts. As a result, continuous distractions has to face. All the distractions are nothing but the self-creations of the Monkey Mind nature of human beings.
What you think about your Mind?