Roger Harty: Why Turkeys Don’t Vote For Christmas

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I HAVE listened to many talks and speeches in my lifetime and I have a particular interest in how they are delivered.

A key aspect of any speech is to inject a little bit of humour as it will engage the interest of your audience and may also help to make a point or create a picture that will stay in their minds.

While I’m not for one second suggesting that you take the title of this article seriously, but I hope you can agree that it helps me to make my point.

Yes, my title is very seasonal (pardon the pun – season – salt and pepper!), but I believe that the essence of the message is that turkeys don’t vote for Christmas for the very same reason that snowmen don’t vote to go on sun holidays as it threatens their very survival.

Yes it true Christmas is not good for turkeys and the sun is not liked by snowmen.

In a similar manner the ‘Thinking Mind’ does not agree with meditation.

‘Why is that?’ I hear you ask.

Simply because it threatens it’s very survival.

You see the ‘job’ (Power) of the thinking mind is to do exactly just that – to think.

It loves problems (a job) simply because it has something to think about.

In fact it is also true to say that if the thinking mind doesn’t have a problem it will create one anyway as it needs to have a job.

The more problems the better as far as the thinking mind is concerned (bring on the jobs!)(Power)

Now when we learn to meditate (practice meditation) it helps to remove these problems from our lives.

How can you really have a problem if you don’t think about it?

Because of this, the thinking mind feels threatened by meditation as it is challenging its very survival.

Thus as the first opportunity it is going to tell you that ‘it doesn’t work’.

A key aspect here is to remember that saying that meditation doesn’t work is an ‘opinion’ and remember an ‘opinion’ involves thought.

So it is not going to like something that threatens its very survival in the same way that turkeys don’t vote for Christmas and snowmen don’t vote for sun holidays.

It (opinion) has a vested interest!

That is the reason that many people with anxiety and depression find it extremely difficult to meditate, or often say “I can’t meditate”  because their thinking mind is in overload with problems and has plenty of work (power) and it is not going to give up on that power easily.

It is going to fight for its very survival – just like the poor auld turkey!

Merry Christmas everybody.

Next week I am going to write about – yes you’ve guessed it….New Years Resolutions.