Beyond the enticing noise of experience and identity, there is a silent place of observation. A place without judgement or questioning. We’re unaware of it because we are so caught up in the surface-level events of life. It makes sense for us to be that way, with our focus so intensely on the world and the self, because it’s a good survival strategy.
In time, survival opens out to the possibility of a deeper reflection of existence. But instead of shifting strategies and exploring beyond the veneer, we continue as before, seeking merely to upgrade our experiences and refine our identity. We remain focused on the world and the self, craving novelty when actually it’s repetition which will provide us with what we’re looking for.
Repetition in this case can simply mean reminding ourselves that a place of silent observation exists. More often than not – to begin with at least – we are so distracted by life that we forget to remember. Then, when we remember, it can be difficult to get there.
My current practice is to let everything go – all thoughts, feelings, and associations with identity and obligation. Then, remembering what I wrote in Inhabiting The Silence, I rest there for a while, before my breathing leads me to the stillness of observation. From there, everything I think and feel, and with which I identify, becomes just a story line. I find it difficult to stay there, such is the powerful pull of a distracted mind, but the more I visit and the longer I stay, the more natural it feels. As if returning to the place where it all began.
Related posts: Drop Everything For A Moment | Inhabiting The Silence | Are You Still Breathing? | Life Is Unimaginably Large | Distracted By The Shiny Stuff | Survival & Growth | Novelty & Repetition | Life In The Middle