YOUR MIND AND THE SKY

YOUR MIND AND THE SKY

 

I woke up early one morning and decided to meditate on the porch in the cool of the morning. My mind was doing that thing it likes to do sometimes when it just refuses to be still and wants to act like an over stimulated two-year-old, so I gave in and decided to just enjoy the now and be the observer of my morning. The breeze was deliciously refreshing, and the birds were just beginning to awaken. One would twitter off in the distance, then another a little closer. The sun was still well below the treetops, and the early train blew to announce its pending arrival in the city. 

As I sipped my coffee and let my mind have its way, my attention was drawn to movement overhead. Looking up, I had a beautiful view of the early morning blue sky way up overhead, calm, serene and completely unconcerned about anything going on below. A little lower than the blue were bright white, feathery clouds that did not appear to move. Lower than the feathers were large fluffy towers of a not quite so white clouds, tinged pink by the sun on top and shading into a light grey toward their bottom, that were moving along at a respectable pace. Lower still, so low in fact that I felt I could have touched them with my hand had I stood on the table where my coffee sat were very thin, angry looking, dark gray wispy clouds that were scudding along so fast you have thought they were being chased.

As I watched the play of sky and the three layers of clouds it struck me that the difference in the clouds appearance and speed was rather like the mind. The angry grey ones were acting like my unruly disrespectful mind was acting; full of thoughts I would rather not entertain and scudding rapidly, not calming down when I asked. The big fluffy sun-tinged ones were similar to thoughts that I have on a daily basis, rosy in places and darker than I would like in others.

They moved ponderously and deliberately like my average day ran. The high, still ones made me decide that they were the thoughts just before meditation, light airy and barely moving at all. And there, beyond all this colorful, multi-shaped movement was the sky. Blue and still, always there whether I could see it or not it would be there, just being very much like the quiet, still mind in mediation, totally unaffected by the clouds. As I sat and considered this play of cloud and sky, I slipped, unnoticed into meditation where I stayed until the sun peeked over the treetops and shown in my face. Surprised and blinking like I had just come out of a movie theater I realized three things.

1) that I had enjoyed a beautiful insight and lesson;

2) that I was ready to go inside and get another cup of coffee and

3) My backside was ready for a softer chair.

Coffee replenished, and my softer chair acquired and unwilling to give up my feeling of calm and quiet, I decided to read in my yoga book before starting to work.  I opened the book at my marked place and began to read. Imagine my surprise when I read; “…do not try to impose any conditions on your meditation. Simply turn your attention and meditate on the knower who is always aware. Do not worry if your mind spins. So many clouds come and go in the sky, but the sky remains pure; it is not affected by the clouds. In the same way, when thoughts arise and disperse in the mind, the Self is not disturbed by them.  If you can, clear your thoughts away. If you cannot, try to perceive the witness of those thoughts.  If you focus on that witness, the thoughts will calm on their own.”

The Law of Attractions lessons flooded in upon me as I sat thinking about what I had just experienced and read just behind it. With lessons learned and internalized it came to me that I should share them with you. So, I punched on my computer and…  Bright Blessings to you all. Chessie

©2011, all rights reserved C. S. Roberts