Humblebragging is pretty common in most circles when the topic of meditation comes up. People are quick to say “how active their mind is” or how they're "such an achiever, meditation always seems like a waste of their time.” And while those things are probably true, what jumps out at me is how as a culture we’ve elevated, either consciously or subconsciously, the notion that a mind that is constantly churning out (and churning over) millions of thoughts per second is more intelligent, creative and curious than those that don’t have all that going on in their head. And that those into meditation are a little “slower in the thinking area” to start with so meditation is easier for them. Or meant for those types.
The subtext to thinking of oneself as having a constant stream (or multiple streams) of thoughts, is that it signifies the thoughts are sooo important that you shouldn’t stifle them in any way. Or accidentally edit them. Or chance not having them in the first place. Or risk interfering with the reason you’re successful. Or potentially not being able keep all your balls in the air.
But I guess my real issue isn’t with the active-mind/achiever humblebrag or even with our culture’s elevation of the aforementioned thinking around having a constant stream of thoughts. When I drill down to it, my issue is that there are some pretty subtle yet substantial roadblocks keeping people from being able to experience all the success they want AND have a calmer, less repetitive and non-stop mind. The humblebrag is an example of one of them!
What other examples can you think of that keep people from cultivating a calmer, less repetitive and non-stop mind?