Friend with the Monster

I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed,
get along with the voices inside my head.
You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath.
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy,
well, that's not fair!
(Rihanna, Eminem; The Monster)

My hunch is that one day we will have a mind tracking device that very much like an EKG records for a given amount of time all the thoughts that pop through your head. Wow, what an eye popping experience that will be! Have you ever tried to monitor the stuff that goes through your head? The Indian sage Ramana Maharshi once said, "The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge spiritual progress." True, but you know what, I am pretty advanced spiritually, but when you put me in a pressure cooker with a few sleepless night, there will be thoughts popping up like ...

I wanted the fame, but not the cover of the Newsweek.
Oh, well, guess beggars can't be choosy.
Wanted to receive attention for my music.
Wanted to be left alone in public. Excuse me
for wanting my cake and eat it too, and wanting it both ways.
Fame made me a balloon 'cause my ego inflated.

Not to mention this part of the song ...

Yeah, pondering will do you wonders.
No wonder you're loosing your mind the way in wanders.
Yo-lo-lo-lo-yee-whoo!

If Rihanna is friends with the monster, the more power to her. In my experience that is all we spiritual travelers can aspire for. Understanding where our monsters are coming from, making friends with them, and making sure that they can run in a spiritually kosher way. If you can live a spiritually balanced life and manage to keep the monsters at bay, perfect! But if life decides otherwise, face them and make friends with the voice inside your head. Being friends is on thing, giving power to them is quite another. Just let them be and they will fade naturally.