Boredom
"We all share a common enemy—Boredom!"
Introduction
Defining Boredom
Boredom is essentially a state of mind where one is no longer able to appreciate and enjoy the Present Moment for what it is: perhaps one is tied up with a tedious task, engaged in a bland conversation with someone, or stuck in an undesired situation that one cannot get out of.
When one is bored, one is unhappy,
In this article, we will go on a deep journey into ourselves to explore this state of mind to see what it really is.
Boredom In Depth
In terms of what activities can bring the state of boredom to one's mind, it will be completely subjective because everyone is unique: what interests one may bore the other.
For example, some people may find playing cricket boring; others, exciting. Some may enjoy going to a two-hour music concert whilst others may be disinterested in such an idea.
So, it's perfectly natural to be interested in one thing and not the other.
However, when one is bored with "life" in general, then that the cause of that boredom can be worth exploring because it may well be the suffering states of mind within that are sucking away the enjoyment out of one's life.
One can explore how their boredom is affecting their happiness by asking the following questions:
"Throughout the day, am I experiencing more unhappiness than happiness?
"Do I have any goals that I am passionate about? That makes me happy when I do them?"
"Do I try to rush through my daily activities or do I take my time to enjoy them?"
"Am I able to stop stimulating my mind with things that make me happy without experiencing pain and discomfort within?"
"Am I able to sit down and enjoy the present moment without doing anything?"
If you are bored all the time, then it's the same as being unhappy all the time. Thus, the word boredom can be easily replaced with the word unhappiness.
But the good thing is that all suffering states of mind can be transformed, even boredom. Realize that the mind at its most natural state is that of happiness and acceptance of all experiences. When the mind is in it's most natural state, it will be able to appreciate and enjoy even the "boringest" of tasks.
Thus, if you shift your mind towards its natural state, you will be able to address the boredom that you are experiencing right now.
The mind's most natural state
Realize that the mind is at its most natural state when it is without wandering thoughts and emotions, so learning to introduce Stillness into the mind every day will help you tremendously to address your boredom.
The practice of meditation will help you on that journey. Through the practice, you will learn how to bring Stillness deep into the mind. You can try it to experience how quickly the state of boredom can disappear as the mind becomes more and more Still through the practice.
And when you spend long periods of time in the states of Stillness, you will also gradually uncover the Unstillness that is happening deep within the mind and come to know the suffering states of mind which caused the mind to be Unstill.
With time, one will gradually realize frin direct experience that boredom is simply the suffering states of mind within bubbling to the surface to the mind, making one unable to enjoy their life experiences.
And why does it surface?
Maybe because there is too much of it!
So, the journey of addressing boredom will be mostly about addressing one's unhappiness.
To make progress on one's journey, one can explore within for the answers to the following questions:
"Why can't I just be just happy with what I have?"
"What beliefs do I have that is making me see the life experiences around me negatively?"
"What beliefs can I change to make me enjoy life more?"
"What habit patterns can I change to love myself more?"
Importance
Importance Of Addressing Boredom
Let us look at some more reasons to address the state of boredom. Hopefully, knowing more about the negative impacts of boredom will motivate one to address this state of mind.
The state of boredom is a state of mental agitation. When one's bored, the mind can wander around in search for more stimulation, which can be mentally draining.
Within the state of boredom can exist other suffering states of mind: dissatisfaction, impatience, anger, unfairness, unluckiness, depression, unworthiness, loneliness, and so forth.
Are you always trying to find exciting things to do all the time?
When we make decisions out of boredom, we can end up making unwise decisions in life, for instance, getting into a relationship with someone just because we're bored, which usually won't end well for both parties. Realize that you can only find a partner that is suitable for you when you can choose someone out of love and happiness rather than from the desire to escape pain and boredom.
So, without addressing the states of boredom, one can end up making unwise decisions in life, i.e. choosing the wrong jobs, the wrong friends to be around with, an unhealthy lifestyle; it can even make persuade one to do drugs, alcohol, partying, anything that can alleviate the pain of boredom that one is experiencing inside.
Are you in a relationship with someone just because you are bored or lonely?
Boredom can also make one dependent on objects and activities for one's happiness, which can lead to problems with addiction.
Boredom also can bring states of mental and physical fatigue to one's life. When one finds life boring, one will be less motivated to drag themselves through the day. Boredom can make one see everything as pointless.
The states of boredom thus can make it difficult for one to make efforts to pursue their dreams because it can make the otherwise enjoyable experience in life tedious.
Blockages to addressing boredom
To address boredom, one has to have the intention to release it, and within, there can be blockages within one's mind that can work against one's journey of releasing it.
For instance, one may believe that boredom is a good thing to have because it makes them look for new experiences. Although this is true, realize that new experiences can always be sought with the state of joy rather than the state of boredom! In fact, the more happiness one has, the more driven one can be to pursue new experiences. Boredom is not needed!
So, see from these reasons that there's really no reason to keep the state of boredom.
Time to address it and be happy!
Path Of Creator
Boredom In Relation To The Path Of Creator
Boredom is one of those states of mind that when experienced in the mild form can seem harmless; that is why it's often overlooked. Much like the states of apathy and procrastination, one may simply think it's a personal trait, thus making no effort in exploring their nature. As a consequence, their nature and cause remain mysterious and unknown.
To embark on the journey of addressing one's boredom is to aim for higher happiness from within: to see that boredom is a state of unhappiness that can be transformed into greater happiness. Even if one is experiencing boredom in the mild form, it's still worth exploring because through the journey, one will be able to uncover more suffering states of the mind that are hiding within.
People will always begin their journey of addressing boredom by looking for external solutions, for instance, looking for exciting and interesting things in life that can distract them from the inner discomfort caused by the boredom.
But external solutions will always bring temporary results because what makes us happy in life we will eventually tire and become bored of it, which will only lead one to the craving for more and more. And after one has exhausted all the fun things in life, one can end up confused about the meaning of life, possibly leading one to have a mid-life crisis!
Transforming Boredom
The state of boredom is naturally addressed when one works on their various suffering states of mind. As this whole website is dedicated to transforming the suffering states of mind, one can simply explore the various articles here to learn more.
But there are some pieces of wisdom one can use to accelerate their journey of addressing their boredom.
One is to realize the importance of developing Self-Knowing. The more one can know themselves, the easier it will be to discover the suffering states of mind that are causing the experience of boredom. Practices such as yoga and meditation will help one to develop Self-Knowing.
Perhaps, as one knows more about oneself, one will discover that in order to address the boredom, one will need to learn to be more optimistic rather than pessimistic. For instance, why is one's mind always choosing to view the cup half empty rather than half full? Why is one's mind always choosing to find reasons to reject experiences rather than to enjoy them? The more one can know oneself, and the more one will be able to answer these questions and know the solutions to one's unhappiness.
Temporary Solution
Developing Inner Stillness will always help one to develop Self-Knowing. Thus, any practices in life that can help one to Still their mind and improve their focus will help their journey to address their boredom.
So, in addition to yoga and meditation, one can find other hobbies that can bring Stillness and Focus to the mind, may it be gardening, joining a hiking or an art club, learning to do less stimulating things, using the computer less, and so forth.
Having a goal and purpose in life can also help the mind to be more Focused and Still. Goals that can improve one's mental and physical wellbeing will be ones worth having, for instance, having goals to become more fit, communicative, social, introspective, healthy, wise, and so forth.
Being Present In Relation To Boredom
When the mind is focused on the Present Moment, the mind will be happy and still.
Thus from this perspective, boredom can be said to be a Rejection of the Present moment.
And why is the mind is not focused on the present moment?
Because there are suffering states within that are making the mind wander to somewhere else.
From this perspective, one can ask questions to explore one's mind even further.
"Is there something that is making me think towards the future? For instance, do I have any worries?"
"Is there something that is making me think to the past? For instance, do I have any regrets?"
"Is there something that I feel that I don't have in the Present Moment? For instance, unfulfilled desires?"
Exploring the answers to these questions can help one to discover why one is subconsciously rejecting the Present Moment, helping them to understand the deeper causes of their constant boredom.
Knowing that Rejection is the cause then, one can realize that to transform the mind is to develop greater Self-Acceptance.
But how do we develop this Acceptance?
One way is to learn to enjoy The Present Moment
Realize that if we look hard enough, we can always find things we like and dislike about a particular thing.
For instance, those who find school boring will tend to focus only on the boring parts about the school, i.e. book reading, annoying exams, authoritative teachers, and so forth.
But if one looks hard enough, one will also be able to find positive things about school, for instance, making new friends, learning new things, meeting challenges, and so forth.
So, instead of simply choosing to look at the boring side of things, a good practice is to challenge the mind by asking:
"What is the positive side of the annoying thing that I am doing?
"What are the reasons to enjoy this?"
Realize that the suffering states of the mind will always skew the mind to look at the negative sides of an experience. By learning to nudge your mind to enjoy the experiences can help you to discover the cause of your negative perspective, which can be quite transformative.
Transforming The Negative Ideas
The suffering states of the mind will always have their seed cause in the beliefs we have created about ourselves and the world.
So, let us look at the journey of Self-Transformation from this perspective.
When you find yourself bored, look at the negative beliefs that surface within the experience. Once they are discovered, you can then invert it to develop even greater Self-Knowing and Self-Transformation.
For instance,
It’s not ok to do → it’s ok to do
It’s a hassel to do → It is worthwhile to do
“It is useless to do” → “It is useful to do”
"This moment is not Worthwhile" → "This moment is Worthwhile"
"This is Boring" →"This is Enjoyable"
"This is a waste of time" → "This is a good use of time"
"It's not going to be fun" -→ "It is going to be fun"
"I can’t be bothered/give a damn about it, what’s the point?" → "I'm going to find things to enjoy about it"
What you will realize that by trying to invert your Negative Beliefs towards more Potentiating Beliefs, you will experience a shift in perspective in the mind, even if it's just momentarily.
That is when you will realize just how much of your deeply-rooted beliefs have been causing your lack of enjoyment in life. And as you challenge the patterns of the way your mind perceives the world, you will discover Inner Resistance that you can use to explore even deeper into the causes as to why the mind is refusing to enjoy the present moment.
With time, you will realize that the experience of boredom is simply an illusion created by the negative states of the mind. Realize that all experiences are uncoloured until they are touched by our perception. Transform your perception and the whole world will change its color.
The destination is towards the state of being able to enjoy all moments in life—a where one can accept the Present like a Present, even if it appears to be Rubbish!
Know and Transform The Self!
Reading articles helps with understanding, but to transform the mind, one realizes the truth from experience.
For such an enlightening journey, the Self-Transformation Course has everything you will ever need!
