Buddha and The Parking Lot Drama: Understanding Our Mind in Action.
I am sharing a story of the recent parking lot drama from my student. I suggest read this story and observe your own mind producing memories, emotions and etc. You may remember your own recent little dramas, that produced upsetting and surprising emotions. in this blog, I am trying to show how our mind works.
Here is the story: "I was going to meet my boyfriend for lunch at his place of work. However, when I got there the whole parking lot was full. I ended up parking at a nearby business, but one of the workers told me I couldn’t park there either. As I was driving around trying to find a new place to park, I was becoming increasingly distressed to the point that I started crying. I was frustrated with myself for not having planned better, and then for letting something as simple as parking stress me out to such a degree. In that moment when my nervous system felt like it was under attack, I found myself thinking about the times when I was very consistently practicing yoga (especially yoga nidra). I remembered that resistance to this kind of drama is something that needs to be built up over time."
When I was reading this story, I remembered numerous upsetting dramas of my own parking lots stories. When I almost finished writing the blog, I had Aha moment - all those little and big dramas of life pushed me strongly to find an authentic yoga tradition to get a freedom from all the life dramas and find a true wisdom to navigate my life.
This parking lot experience provides a remarkably clear window into the four dimensions of the human mind.
1. Manas (The Sensory, Processing Mind or Monkey mind)
This is the mind's front line, reacting to immediate external data from all five senses. For my student, Manas was processing the visual input of the full lot, the frantic scanning for a new spot, hearing a voice "You can't park here.". It was jumping like a monkey from one stimulus to the next, creating sensory overload and trying to make immediate sense of them.
2. Ahamkara (The Ego or "I-Maker", that like a velcro attaches to everything)
Ahamkara takes the common problem of a full parking lot and makes it personal. Here what my Ahamkara used to say: 'I was not prepared. I did not come earlier. How I can find my true path in life, when I even can not find the parking space." It creates our story of identity and self-worth. My student wrote, "I was frustrated with myself for not having planned better." The ego attaches a storyline of failure and to the situation. The tears and the feeling that the nervous system was "under attack" happen because the ego feels deeply threatened by the loss of control.
Chitta (The Memory Bank or Storage and Subconscious) Here is where the real depth of my student's experience lies. Our own Memory bank holds the impressions (samskaras) of both positive and negative pasts:
The Habitual Response: When the initial frustration hit, Chitta pulled up old emotional patterns related to feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or unprepared, causing tears and distress to surface automatically.
The Restorative Awakening: As the distress peaked, another layer of Chitta was activated—the positive memories of steady contemplative practice. The mind recalled past states of deep stillness experienced during Yoga Nidra. It was a gentle reminder that calm is possible and that emotional resilience is built through regular practice.
4. Buddhi (Wisdom, Intuition, Or Inner Buddha)
Buddhi is our wise, discerning inner witness capable of standing above the storm. While Manas panics, Ahamkara judges, and Chitta reacts, Buddhi observes calmly and discerns truth.
This is the turning point of this story. Buddhi is the wisdom that finally cuts through the panic and the ego's self-judgment. It is the observant voice that concluded: "Resistance to this kind of drama is something that needs to be built up over time." Buddhi allowed my student to step back, recognize the nervous system's disproportionate response, and realize that mental resilience is a benefit of regular and consistent practice of awareness, meditation and Yoga Nidra.
Transforming Life's Drama Into Self-Discovery
Life will inevitably present us with full parking lots, unexpected crisis, and moments where our nervous systems feel overwhelmed. Authentic Yoga never promised to eliminate external challenges, but to change our attitudes towards them. When we understand the architecture of the mind, we stop blaming ourselves for initial reactions. We begin to feel profound Gratitude to our own incredible mind. We see our own emotional dramas as opportunities to purify the mind, and reconnect to inner Buddha mind and beyond.
I knew I found the freedom from unpredictable reactions, and changes of emotions, when I started laughing at the silly inner Monkey and my strong Velcro during the dramas of life.
Join Us for Satsang: Fall 2026
If you want to step back from life's daily drama, gain profound insight into your own powerful and incredible mind, understand all the hidden forces that play without your control as well as to reconnect with your wise Buddha mind, I invite you to join our upcoming Satsang Fall 2026 Class.
Link for more information, video and register:
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