YOU OWN YOUR SENSES, YOUR SENSES DO NOT OWN YOU
It is very important for us to master the art of controlling our senses. Our senses are our resource for gathering information from and of the outside world. That’s the end of it. But does it really end there?
Our senses are designed to feed us information of the outside world. But we end up being coerced by them or misuse them, knowingly and unknowingly. There are two ways of perceiving information through our senses;
- *Through direct perception* – Here we observe with complete detachment. We just gather information and not let the object become a cause for distraction.
- *Through our mind* – When the mind observes through our senses, it is also actively trying to match the information it gathers through the senses, to resolve the incomplete information or experiences from the past. So, when it perceives and gathers information, it is also getting deeply influenced and attracted by what it sees, hears, tastes, smells or feels.
We should be very careful and be very vigilant about the way we receive and perceive the information the senses provide to us. We should not be unduly attracted, influenced or attached to what we observe through our senses.
If we are not vigilant enough, the mind will project the object of perception to us as most valuable and cause an attraction we cannot resist. We then end up owning the object. The attraction is so deep that the object in turn, starts to own us. All our actions there after are in relation to the object we own.
We end up making impulsive purchases and waste our money on sense gratification which happens only because we let our minds influence our intelligence and we got swayed by our motions. Soon we realise the mistake we made as the object has lost its importance in our lives.
We also end up flaunting our decisions and make a mockery of ourselves. For example, if we wear an expensive watch or dress, or we drive an expensive car, these objects (the watch, dress or car) own us and we project them as extensions of our personality and expect people to respond to the way we project ourselves.
I was once a witness to a very funny incident. There is a mobile phone manufactured in United Kingdom. It’s laden with jewels and is designed to attract attention. It clearly stands out from other phones.
A person who owned one of these instruments (I came to know from the conversation) was saying that when he made calls from this premium mobile phone, he managed to get his work done (like booking a ticket for a concert or asking for a special favour etc. etc). But the same did not happen when he made calls with other normal phone he owns. People around him, who were his friends sharing the same affluence, were amused by his tall claims.
If people do not acknowledge our character we play then, we are disappointed. Imagine even an inanimate object can control us and make us behave and act ridiculously. The ego feels hurt and we feel we need louder expressions to attract peoples attention. We are then pushed and pulled by our emotions. These actions are the very reasons for our sadness, grief and arrogance.
Senses are precious instruments for our survival and right expression. We need to use them judiciously to ensure they provide us the information in the “Here and Now”. We should not be influenced by them rather we should be more aware of the information we gather through them with discrimination and dispassion.
We need to understand that the senses are our servants and we are their master.
*EXERCISE* – Whenever you observe any object, situation or any circumstance, tell yourself, “I am the CEO of my life, my mind is my Manager, my senses are my staff. My senses are only observing and providing me information through my manager without being unduly influenced, attracted to, prejudiced or biased by what they are perceiving. They are obeying my command to help me take the right decision and are not trying to teach me or influence me in any manner that will cause hurt or damage the peace of mind within me”.