Oakville Zen Meditation
Spacing our mind
When we look, by definition, we always look at something or somebody. Cannot be otherwise.
During the day, we look at zillion of visual objects such as screen, the road, the face of someone, your plate, your watch, your face in the mirror, etc....
We never look at the space existing between these objects because it is invisible, we don’t pay attention to it and because it is meaningless.
Here is an easy exercise of mindfulness on the go. Try this:
As often as you can during the day, shift your awareness from people and objects to the empty space around them. For example, if you look at the mirror, notice the space around your head and not the
visual content of the mirror.
In a room, notice the emptiness of the space rather than the furniture, people or any other visual objects.
Among many other things, our own identity is strongly connected to people and objects around us.
They reinforce our sense of self and what we are doing at this time.
We seldom step back and see the background because this empty space, making most of the room is irrelevant with what we are doing or what we want.
We simply don’t see it, we are not aware of it because this “empty space” is perceived to be useless.
When we are able to shift our awareness to the space surrounding you, there is immediately a sense of openness and relief . It will happen when we walk in a forest, sail on the sea or, simply, watch the sky.
It is equally important to put our awareness of the still space that exists in our mind. This is mind spacing .How?
Zen is using the sea as a wonderful metaphor to a spacious and quiet mind .
Is surface can be agitated where the wind (thoughts and emotions) creates relentless and noisy waves; but the bottom is always still and quiet.
By being mindful to the space actually around you and then by letting go your thoughts and feelings few seconds even minutes you will achieve the stillness and quietness of your mind.
A good example is to look at the sky as it is in a mindfully way that is w/o any analytic judgment.
Look at this infinite space intensively but passively. It is like switching from 5th gear to neutral.
You realize that you are part of this magical, timeless, endless and infinite Universe.
Your mind becomes quieter and spacious by miracle. The waves evaporate.
This feeling of “emptiness” and quietness will not last too long since the mind will always take over very quickly in its restless thinking activity including what you are looking at.
Let your mind be spacious once a while and don’t be focusing of its contents all the time.
Thanks
arnaud
