Do you remember what was in your mind when you were still a baby? My guess is that most people probably have no idea. I certainly don’t remember what was in my mind when I was a baby. As far as I remember, thoughts started emerging as I started to pick up words and understand the meaning of words. One could probably say that thoughts came with words. As we learn more words, we have more thoughts and the memories become clearer. I can definitely remember more clearly the thoughts I had as I became older. But ironically as our thoughts grow, so have our worries.
So what is this ‘state of mind’ that we had when we were babies prior to knowing any words? It seems that this state of mind is actually very similar to the meditative mind. What is the meditative mind? It is simply a state in which there is no judgement, no labels, no thoughts or any preconceived ideas. It is simply ‘being’. A lighthearted existence, like a blank canvas. Everything we saw as a baby was interesting because our mind was fresh and curious. It is also a state of mind that knows no worldly concerns and worries. One could probably say we were at our most conscious state of mind when we were babies. Eckhart Tolle has also talked about how children are actually more conscious beings than adults.
The good news is that we can still access this state of mind as adults. Obviously we can’t go back to our baby minds or unlearn everything we have learned in the past but there is a powerful tool called meditation. Meditation is probably one of the best tools we can use to go back to this mind of clarity where there are no words or thoughts. The more regularly we can access this blank canvas the fewer stressful thoughts we will have and therefore become happier.