The biggest stumbling block to new meditators is the feeling, “but I can’t get my mind to be quiet!” The truth is none of us can, and the good news is, we don’t need to…
“Did I pay the electricity bill?” “What should I make for dinner?” “I wonder if Sarah got that promotion…” Frustrated, you open your eyes, feeling like a failure.
If this scenario resonates with you, join the club! The misconception that meditation requires a completely silent mind is a major roadblock for many beginners.
So please don’t make the absence of thought your goal during meditation, that is a battle that you can only lose. We don’t have to try and stop the thinking, but with practice we can more easily slip below the surface of the thinking and find that, “I am not these thoughts. I am what is below the thinking.”
Silence is that place of pure potential from where everything arises.
“Silence and stillness are not dependent on the mind being quiet. There’s a deeper silence and stillness in you.” – Adyashanti
“Silence and stillness are not states and therefore cannot be produced or created. Silence is the non-state in which all states arise and subside. Silence, stillness and awareness are not states and can never be perceived in their totality as objects. Silence is itself the eternal witness without form or attributes. As you rest more profoundly as the witness, all objects take on their natural functionality, and awareness becomes free of the mind’s compulsive contractions and identifications. It returns to its natural non-state of Presence.” – Adyashanti
You don’t need to first quiet your mind before you can tap into the pure potentiality of silence. If you can find the place within you from where you can look at, and see your busy mind, then you are already becoming free, and more potential becomes available to you.
Here are some guiding mantras to keep in mind as you explore this concept:
- “I am not my thoughts. I am the awareness that observes them.”
- “Stillness isn’t the absence of noise; it’s the ability to find calm amidst the chaos.”
- “My mind may be busy, but my essence remains peaceful.”
So next time you meditate, don’t worry if your mind remains active. Instead, focus on cultivating that space of observation. Watch your thoughts come and go without judgment. In doing so, you’ll discover the gateway to true inner stillness – a place of boundless potential waiting to be explored.
Have a flippin beautiful Sunday peeps!
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: Finding silence.