The Mind Block

 

During a research experiment a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank. As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish. The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other. Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off. Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to no avail. Meanwhile, the bait fish swam around unharmed in the second partition. Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up. 

This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether. 

The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark didn’t attack. The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed, so the bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm. 

Point: Many people, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark in the story, we believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go. 

You cannot change the past but you can change what is going to happen next.

Paradise and Hell

 

One day a samurai came to the Zen Master Hakuin and asked:

– Where is paradise? Where is hell? And where are the gates of heaven and hell?

Samurai knew only two things: life and death. He did not have any philosophy, he just wanted to know where were the gates – to escape hell and go to heaven.

– Who are you? – Hakuin asked.

– I’m the leader of samurais – the warrior replied – and the Emperor pays a tribute to me.

Hakuin laughed and said:

– Are you really the leader of samurais? You look like some poor raga-muffin!

Samurai’s pride was hurt. He forgot why he had come for, whipped out his sword and was going to kill Hakuin. And Hakuin laughed again and said:

– This is the gate of hell. With a sword, being in anger, with your ego you will open it.

Samurai realized that idea, calmed dawn and sheathed his sword. And Hakuin continued:

– And now, when you calmed down, you open the gate of heaven.

Heaven and hell are inside you. And the gates are inside you. If you are not conscious, this is the gate of hell. If you are vigilant and conscious, this is the gate of heaven. But people continue to think that heaven and hell are somewhere outside. Heaven and hell are not after life, they are here and now. And the gates are always open. At any moment you make your choice between heaven and hell.

 

 

What is Greed?

A little boy asked his father, “What is Greed?” The father said, “In order to answer your question, we should go through the chocolate factory and there you need to pick one chocolate you like the most. But there is a rule. As you pass through the factory, you cannot turn back. You must pick the chocolate as you go forward only.”

The little boy and his father went to the chocolate factory. His father stood outside the factory and asked to go by himself. As the boy walked through, he saw the one big chocolate wrapped nicely, he instantly liked it but he wondered that he may find much bigger one further. So, He walked further, then he saw another chocolate. But again, he thought the same. When he started to reach near the end of the factory, he couldn’t see any chocolates as big as the one he didn’t pick earlier and started to regret his decision of letting it go.

Finally, he gave up. He went back to the father who was standing outside the chocolate factory with an empty hand and gave an explanation of what he did.