The Pinball Mind
Imagine your brain as a pinball game. In a pinball game, small balls emerge from the bottom, hitting various pins that result in either positive or negative points. The goal is to guide the ball to the region that yields maximum points while avoiding smaller, less rewarding areas or those that cause the ball to be lost.
I believe the mind functions in a similar way. The balls represent sensory information captured by our senses, the circulating thoughts, or memories. As they move, they collide with different regions, triggering emotions and more thoughts. The mind, being a thought machine, constantly generates these thoughts. When the ball makes contact with a certain area, we may feel sadness, happiness, or anger. However, upon closer analysis, all these emotions exist either in the past or the future—they are never truly in the present. It is a hard thing to say.
Guiding the Mind
A person’s goal could be to guide this ball effectively so that it reaches the right regions without generating new adverse psychological karma, from a karmic perspective, or creating unbalanced emotions that form samskaras, in a yogic understanding of the mind. Through meditation, we learn to observe rather than identify with our thoughts, achieving what Eckhart Tolle calls the state of "no mind." In this state, one detaches from the mind and simply watches the ball (thoughts) move through its path.
This is incredibly difficult and requires persistent practice, but a simple filter can help: whenever an emotion arises, ask yourself whether this emotion exists in the present moment. The emotional part of the brain tends to draw attention toward it. But most of the times, the emotions exist in the past or future. When thinking about the past, happiness often leads to feelings of longing or nostalgia in the present, while sadness creates regret, anger, or attachment. The future, too, can generate both happiness and sadness.
The Illusion of time
Interestingly, the mind does not exist in the future or the past; it only exists in the present. However, because of the way the mind is —largely for human survival —it frequently shifts into these temporal illusions. When fixated on the future, negative emotions emerge due to undesired potential outcomes. Happiness in the future is the anticipatory pleasure our ego gives us to cope up with the uncertainties of the present. You just had a call with a client, and your mind is already their best provider ever, or what if they stop working with you and dont reply to the emails? Anxiety has found ground to root in you. The ego manipulates awareness, pulling attention away from the present to maintain emotional equilibrium through imagined future gratification.
Yet, the future and past are illusions. This may be difficult to accept, but when examined rationally, it becomes clear. Using the pinball metaphor, one can remind us that when I gain or lose too many points from regions outside my control, I should evaluate whether my focus is in the past or future and then guide my mind back to the present.
Techniques ?
Various techniques can help with this. Mindfulness, whether in the Western sense or traditional meditation, allows one to refocus on the present. The mind will naturally oscillate, but the practice lies in continually bringing it back. Techniques such as Pratyahara meditation, gazing meditation, breath anchoring, or even basic pranayama help center consciousness in the present moment.
In yogic scriptures, the mind is often compared to a wild dog—constantly restless and unpredictable. The role of the master is to bring this dog under control. Similarly, the goal of a skilled pinball player is to direct the ball strategically toward the highest points. In this metaphor, the ultimate "maximum points" come from reaching a state of no-mind—where one gains mastery over the ego rather than being controlled by it.
Understanding the mind as a pinball machine provides a useful mental model for navigating emotions, thoughts, and awareness. By consciously guiding the "ball" to remain in the present moment, we can cultivate a sense of balance, inner peace, and greater control over our own minds. Whether through mindfulness, meditation, or self-inquiry, the goal remains the same: mastering the game of consciousness and living fully in the now.