Be a Master of Mind

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water.”  ― Bruce Lee

'cascada' by paul bica

     Bruce Lee was always a master of his surroundings because he followed his own words:  be shapeless, formless, like water.  Instead of striving blindly for a goal, he was always changing, always mindful.  Looking at Bruce's wiki page only confirms this; he's noted as, "...an actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, and screenwriter."  If you only cultivate some parts of your life and neglect others, you start to lose form.  You become more like rocks than water; you can still form to your surroundings somewhat, but it's a rigid and awkward adaptation.  The less fluidity you have, the harder it will be to keep mindful in any situation.  The goal is to act so deliberately and mindfully that you can adapt to fit any vessel, just as water does.  

     It sounds so obvious, but just remind yourself to be mindful.  Write a note on your hand, set a cue for yourself.  A deliberate mindset is required to snap ourselves out of the autopilot we find ourselves operating with so often.  For me, the best time to practice this is while driving.  During a long highway road trip, driving starts to feel like second-nature, and I used to find myself in somewhat of a daze, staring at the road ahead of me and listening mindlessly to the radio or getting lost in an audiobook.  It seems like that would have passed time, but in reality it made the trip feel boring.  So, recently, I've kept the radio or the audiobook on, but I've started reminding myself to regain mindfulness whenever I see one of the mile-counter signs on the side of the road.  Doing this makes the drive feel like a multi-hour-long meditation session.  After I've reached my destination, I feel refreshed, which I much prefer to the burnt-out exhaustion I used to get after a long drive.

     Think about something that bores or exhausts you, and next time you find yourself participating in such an activity, come up with a mindfulness cue.  Turning an undesirable situation into a mindfulness meditation will further your ability to adapt to other situations, and ultimately, avoid 'bad' situations entirely.  Continue cultivating mindfulness, and you'll be on your way to being a formless, shapeless Zen 'master of mind' like Bruce Lee.  Remember the old proverb:  

"Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind."

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