Techniques and Theory
Sixteen: Overcoming Idleness
There is yet another fundamental, natural impediment that keeps a person from simplicity, that ruins him and turns him into an insincere dissembler, a man who lacks heart and soul. It is a mental disease, something that has twisted his mind so that it cannot think straight, but is askew, tangled and confused.
Like a person with a nervous condition, this person cannot think straight. His mind has grown so incoherent and confused that he cannot think simply. This is a type of insanity, a mental illness and affliction (heaven have mercy).
Usually, just as one can discern whether a person is mentally ill (to whatever degree), one can tell a person like this, a liar, by his face and eyes.
The Talmud gives the reason for this condition: Aidleness leads to uneasiness@ (source). Although a person suffering from a malady of this type speaks rationally, his consciousness has grown so confused and entangled, one thought conflicting with another, that there is nothing fundamental and no truth.
This is whyBas a ruleBthe greatest liars are those who are idle. Contrarily, a person who must engage in mental work or who engages in difficult physical labor (which also suppresses his mental activity, cf. section four above), typically is not deceptive. In other words, this malady of uneasiness and confusion has not affected his mind.
What is a true healing regimen?
The answer is: do not be complicated, but simple. Avoid idleness as much as you can. And do not imagine that it will suffice to avoid idleness for three or four hours. The evil inclination is a thief: he is content to make you idle for minutes, then ten minutes more, and then another ten minutes, untilBfor the remainder of the dayBall of your thoughts will be confused.
Idleness is like a rot that spreads to everything it touches, destroying and ruining that which was healthy.
