Two scientists traveled halfway around the world to ask a Hindu sage what he thought about their theories.
When they arrived, he kindly brought them into his garden and poured them tea.
Though the two small cups were full, the sage kept pouring.
Tea kept overflowing and the scientists politely but awkwardly said, “Your holiness, the cups can hold no more.”
The sage stopped pouring and said, “Your minds are like the cups. You know too much. Empty your minds and come back. Then we’ll talk.”
-Leroy Little Bear

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‍You Know Too Much

Part of my morning routine for the last several months has been reading daily insights and meditations from Mark Nepo's Book of Awakening.

Recently, one was titled You Know Too Much and it resonated with me.

Nepo says, "If at times you feel numb or distanced from the essence of what you know, perhaps your mind, like the sage's teacup, is too full. Perhaps, like a bowl too full of fish, your deepest thoughts have no room to move."

He explains that we cannot think clearly when our minds are full of undigested information, just as we cannot speak clearly when our mouths are stuffed with unchewed food.

So where do we begin? How do we begin to empty our minds to create space for our deepest thoughts?

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‍Information Diet

My husband, Junior, often goes on what he calls an "information diet."

The idea behind this is, of course, to allow the mind to digest the information it's already holding, to stop pouring into a cup that is already full.

In the age of information, we have to consume consciously.

Here are some ideas for how you can do this, too:

1. Unplug

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Turn off your phone, delete your social media apps, close the computer. Our inboxes and social media platforms are bombarding us with information from the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep. Get outside, go for a walk, do yoga or dance, paint or draw. Whether it's for an hour, a day, a weekend or an entire week, give yourself space by stepping away from technology.

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2. Stop Learning

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If there's a particular topic you are constantly learning about and immersing yourself in - take a break from learning. Whether you're reading books, listening to podcasts, signing up for new trainings or all of the above, give yourself permission to take a step back. If your teacup is overflowing, stop pouring tea.

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3. Write
Get some of your thoughts out of your mind by putting them onto paper. Do not try to organize or intellectualize them, just write them down! Keep a journal and a pen close by so that you can empty out throughout the day.

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4. Be Still
Nepo reminds us that all wisdom traditions tell us to be still, that "the stillness will bore holes in our useless knowing." Meditation allows us to be still and to create space in our minds, letting some fish out of the bowl, pouring some tea out of the cup.


One of the suggestions in this daily insight I read was this:
If your mind were a suitcase and could only hold five things, what would they be? Bring only one thing from your suitcase with you today. Leave the suitcase home.