Language of meditation

When I first started meditation in the early 80’s, the idea of sitting in silence and quieting the mind was considered more than silly, it was crazy.  In fact, an extreme type of meditation (staring at a wall and not moving or blinking) had me and my two-year-old homeless! The idea of being still was literally a threat to the idea of sanity at that time. We have all come a long way.

To be quiet, or without thought was considered inane. Energy flow in the body was a taboo subject, and even today we have those that think the idea of being “woke,” or awakened is “bad” or even wicked. Until recently “thoughtlessness” has been considered a negative quality, it’s been equated with a lack of intelligence and carelessness. An inconsiderate act was and is still called thoughtless. Change focus now, thoughtful acts, we all know, are committed with consideration. They are mindful. To be thoughtful, and mindful is to be caring and considerate.

We now know better, carelessness is more a lack of awareness, a form of ignore-ance that’s not grounded in a quiet mind, but in an overactive and habitual mindset. Instead of relying on what is happening in the now, we react with  habits that no longer serve us and events that aren’t relevant. The quiet mind is in tune and aware. It is care-ful, it is mindful of others. It’s focused on the now and is willing to question old habits. We think, but not out of habit, not out of a lack of consideration, but out of taking a moment to be mindful and considerate.  The actions then stem from the root of consciousness. Quietness and peace are something that we actively seek.

Focus on what matters

Now we’ve come to a point where the quiet mind is a tool, but not the cavalier ruler of our world. The mind is simply a way to make sense of the chaos unfolding around us. It allows us to work with the world instead of fighting with it. The quiet and calm mind seizes the day and harnesses it’s opportunities to achieve goals. It takes time to identify ideas that no longer work for us and to choose those that will benefit our lives. When we sit to meditate, we are prepared to receive peace and joy because we’ve calmed our mind to welcome it.

The beauty of meditation is that in the silence and privacy of that space we can choose based on what is right for ourselves and ourselves alone. Because the mind is silent, we are not engaging the part of ourselves that worries about what others are thinking, where we should be next, or planning our next project. In meditation we can let all that drop. Once the meditation is complete, we can jump right back into our busy lives, but we’ll come to it with that space of mindfulness, thoughtfulness, and consideration. We choose our own path and create what is right for ourselves.

 Once we’ve slowed our thoughts, and come to them with consideration and mindfulness, we can use them to create the day, the week, the month, and year that we want. We create space for ourselves to simply be in meditation, and by maintaining a calm, quiet mind we prepare ourselves to meditate deeply and open ourselves to our true nature, a loving, happy, peaceful place in ourselves.

 Instead of being at the mercy of our habitual lack of awareness, we can focus on what matters.

Namaste