I originally wanted to call this blog Papañca: the Pali word used to describe the runaway nature of the mind, and the manner in which it incessantly (and often wearyingly) riffs, romps and spins in thought-circles throughout the day, pretty much of its own accord.Andrew Olendzki in his book Unlimiting Mind does a lovely job of pinning down the three-pronged meaning of the word (proliferations, illusions, obstacles):
"The term is used to describe the tendency of the mind to (1) spread out from and elaborate upon any sense of object that arises in experience, smothering it with wave after wave of mental proliferation, (2) which is quite often illusory, repetitive, and even obsessive, and (3) which effectively blocks any sort of mental calm or clarity of the mind. These are the narrative loops that play over and over in the mind, the trains of thought pulling out of the station one after another and taking us for a long ride down the track before we even know we're aboard."
So papañca, it was to be, until I discovered that the word is also a Portuguese surname, and thus taken in terms of blog addresses.
I then remembered Sharon Salzberg talking about papañca on a retreat I did with her last year, remarking that to her ears the rhythmic bilabial plosives, associatively presented to her mind an image of popcorn. So papañca (also) = popcorn mind. Thank you Sharon.
My own feeling is that online life works in this manner too, particularly with regard to social media. In the last 24 hours, according to Blogpulse, eighty seven thousand, two hundred and nineteen new blogs came into being (this one is the 87,220th btw).
So for me, the reminder's in the title: writing online can equal frenzied, aerated, proliferating thought-snacks. For a full meal, read a book. That said: I shall endeavor to keep my popcorn relatively fresh and salted; hope it occasionally hits the spot.
