There lies great beauty in the monastic life. Daily religious rituals, chanting, mundane chores – a simple life of selfless devotion or unwavering spiritual pursuit. Yet there is a reason most of us don’t chose this life…

We are too afraid of leaving all our possessions, addictions and distractions behind. For that is one of the things that separate us from monks and nuns – the elimination of distraction.

Even though we say no to a life in the monastery we can still learn from those who’ve said yes, by grabbing the machete of clarity and cutting away some distractions from our lives.

You might have noticed how meditation is really hard when you have lots going on in your life.

All your extra tasks at work, the volunteer work you reluctantly said yes to, the school work you don’t like doing, the errands you’re doing for someone who could easily have fixed it themselves, the list goes on and on.

While there are many ways to reduce this kind of stress (time management, prioritizing better, tackle the most difficult tasks first, etc), the most effective way is to start eliminating the cause of the stress itself.

Too stressed at work or school? Perhaps you need a new career.

To hard to say no, and you end up doing tons of things you take no pleasure in? Take charge and start saying no.

Has money become nothing but stress and an endless chase for more and better? How about you stop buying, start selling, downsize and live more simple.

Yes, all these examples are drastic. But they still hint at the fact that our mind takes every opportunity to make your life harder and more miserable.

When it is left with no distractions – nothing to cling to – it is much easier to make it shut up and let our inner self blossom.

“When the mind is left without anything to cling to, it becomes still.”
– Ramana Maharshi

Does your mind easily cling to something, not wanting to let go? Tell us all about it in a comment below.