We have a great habit of hearing and little practice in listening.
In societies like ours, noise and stimuli easily fill our day-to-day lives, so that we do not become aware of the amount of information to which we are exposed.
These stimuli and impulses for movement, whether aimed at (1) the discovery of the new and the variety of experiences we opt for or (2) the maintenance of a routine or project, take us away from becoming active subjects of our lives. If we do a reflective act on the influence that the environment or what is expected of us on our own decision-making, we will probably recognize that conditioning is considerable.
Generally, with lives full of demands and fast (even stressful) rhythms in some cases or excessively rigid routines in others, we are prevented from connecting with who we are ourselves, what we want and above all what we feel from Being.
Also the mind tends to fill us with thoughts, of which we are often unaware, we could then speak of mental noise, since in these circumstances thoughts have no concrete purpose. We probably couldn’t claim that they bother us either, as we don’t pay attention to them to get on with our day-to-day lives. Thoughts, like noise, when they persist accompany us without us realizing it.
Just as if after walking along a busy road we come to a forest we appreciate its calm, so does the mind: when we unload our thoughts and improve our attention (or consciousness) we appreciate well-being immediately.
Knowing how to consolidate the state of mental calm promotes the balance between mind and heart, opening up the possibility of Being. It is in this stillness that perceptual capacity is sharpened and we allow ourselves to feel beyond what we think. In this state the bodies harmonize and any contradiction or conflict loses strength, thus allowing us to enter into a higher vibration. Elevation is possible then, because neither thoughts control nor emotions invade us.
Reaching this inner calm is a process of discovering oneself and what we can understand of live, from an experience that goes beyond the senses and ideas, while including them.
I think there are no specific instructions for this path that we have started, however I leave you with proposals and guidelines that I was trying when I started this type of practice, trusting that they will be useful to continue building your own route to yourself. Far from being a manual, it seeks to be a source of resources from which everyone can freely experience their own way of being.
DAILY PROPOSAL: 10 minutes of silence a day.
There is no other goal than to spend 10 minutes with yourself. So it’s not about fighting thoughts or emotions, it’s about listening to them and giving oneself permission to express them if that’s the case.
Nor is it necessary to look for a transcendental experience, because they usually occur when there is full presence, as the vibration is higher and allows us to recognize them.
With continued practice, the experiences will vary for sure and you will celebrate every moment you spend with yourself.
BENEFITS OF THE PRACTICE:
- To distance oneself from doing, to open oneself to being.
- Be aware of the own rhythm of life.
- Calm the mind.
- Be aware of your own automatisms.
- Observe where and how we live.
- Be aware of the influence and role of both thoughts and emotions in ourselves.
- Give space to Being.
- Discover yourself.
- Practice fluid communication with subtle worlds
GUIDELINES:
- Meditate preferably during the day, not at night.
- Find a space where you can be alone.
- Find a position that is comfortable, preferably sitting, to keep you awake and not fall asleep, as could happen if you lie down.
- Avoid putting on music or guided meditations, as the mind would be active and possibly distracted interpreting the messages, following directions, and so on.
- Take 3 deep breaths, inhale through your nose and let the air through your mouth.
- Close your eyes to avoid being distracted by what you see. Or decide a point on which to focus your gaze.
- From here, the practice can take different formats, depending on how you feel or what you are most comfortable with:
- Observe the body.
- Focus on some bodily aspect that you want to understand.
- Allow spontaneous movement or vibration of the body, if it arises.
- Observe thoughts.
- Choose a thought and focus on it.
- Observe if you feel any specific emotion, some of them or if you find yourself in deep calm (neutrality).
- Give way to an emotion.
- Whoever has perceptions, it is a good habit to improve communication with the subtle worlds.
(original channeling: Catalan)
