How does one break free of habits? | J. Krishnamurti
What is a habit?
Habit is a repetition. Like clean teeth in the morning, and in the afternoon. You do it quickly, without giving too much attention.
The brain established a pattern, say drinking, or whatever it is, it became mechanical.
The brain, through constant habit, has become what it is now.
So how can you break bad habits? Without conflict. Right?
Let's say I have a habit of chattering.
I'm not only chattering with myself, but i am always endlessly chattering with others.
The other day, someone came to see me. I don't give interview anymore but she insisted, she came. She began to talk, talk, talk, talk, .. then when she left: "I'm glad to have met you".
We're all chatter endlessly. Not only tongue goes back and forth, but we also chatter inwardly.
So this habit of chattering, how do we stop it?
So who is to stop chattering? Fear? seeing it as a wasted of energy? would you stop it?
So ask yourself a question: "Is there an entity outside of you, or inside of you that will act as a brake upon chattering?"
Is it will? The decision not to chatter?
If it's will, what is will? The quintessence of desire!
So, again, how do stop your habit of chattering?
If you stop habit through will, through desire, that creates other conflicts. Isn't it?
I'm not aware that I'm chattering. A young man pointed it out to me "Old chap chattering so much".
I get rather hurt by it. But if I go beyond it and "In what manner am I to stop it?".
Then I have got the orthodox means of will, or taking a drug that quiets me down. And having been quietened down I take another drug to keep me awake. And I keep on that routine.
So I want to find out: How to stop a habit, like chattering, keeping mouth open, scratching yourself out, etc. without any kind of effort? Without any side effects?
First of all, I am aware of my habits, without anyone pointing it out.
If you tell me my habit then I either resist it, or say, yes, I must stop it.
But if I see it for myself, I am a step ahead, if I can so put it.
Now what does that awareness mean?
Awareness is looking at something without judging.
I am aware, that is the first thing to do.
Then to be aware without reaction from memories, condemnation, justification, or explanation. Just watch it. Will you do that?
So that your old reaction, your old tradition doesn't come in. Like "I must stop this. I must stop that. I must do this. I must do that” doesn’t come into action.
The watcher is not different from chattering. So the watcher is not structure of words or memories, he is just watching.
This is rather complex, because we usually watch things with our memories, with prejudices, with our opinions, etc. So can you watch without them?
At that moment, I am giving complete attention. At that second, all my energy, capacity, and attention is there.
This means, when there is complete attention, then that habit has no place. Do it please try it once.
But would it come back? How would you react?
So I did once, give complete attention to my chattering, like I’ve just mentioned. It did subside for a second.
So if we give attention again, it will subside again. It became mechanical.
Then the next moment, the next hour, whatever period of time, you begin to see your chatter, and suddenly you catch it "I must pay attention."
Gradually, what you are learning is paying attention, which means you're not attending!
If you give complete attention, which means no waste of energy, then the things go away. So the concern is not attention, but wasted energy.
I'm going to pursue that. I'm going to watch, learn, see where I'm wasting energy.
So my mind now not becoming mechanical that I must attend, but it is moving. All the time making up new things.
Then the brain became strongly alerted. When it is so alerted, the habit has no place.
