What does it mean to "speak your mind"? I'm wondering if that is a good idea. My mind is messy, and filled with contradictions and old scripts and bits of trivia. Perhaps Donald Trump speaks his mind, but the rest of us are attempting to exercise caution and hopefully speak from the heart. If we speak from the heart three things happen: not harming is in the consideration of what to say, compassion tempers our words and there is more room for pausing and listening and not making judgemental statements.
In Buddhism, we talk of heart-mind. The head mind carries all the garbage floating around in our brains and in the culture we inhabit. The heart-mind approaches all communication and connection with love. The heart-mind is quieter, non-aggressive and not engaging in fantasies of dualistic thinking. Nothing is black and white in the heart-mind and nothing separates us from our fellow beings. We are all human, and all the possibilities of humanity are inside each of us. We acknowledge that fact and move on to right action and right speech, with the goal of inclusiveness not divisiveness.
I dread a lot of "mind speaking" in this election year. I won't participate, but it will permeate our culture. I hope others will double their efforts to stay centered in their heart-minds, and weather this blizzard of supposed "straight talk". I've got my earmuffs on and will huddle in the warmth of the dharma to keep protected and compassionate.
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