A practical exercise for stilling the mind

Sanat Kumara, May 10, 2009. This tool was given in the following message.


A tool for stilling the mind
And so, I will endeavor to give you a simple, yet effective method for experiencing that stillness, my beloved. You may approach this in a variety of ways. But the general concept is that you set aside some time every day, or at least as often as you can. Go into a quiet room. Sit down in a comfortable chair with your spine somewhat erect. And then direct your attention within.

Inevitably, thoughts will come up. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that in order to still the mind, you have to fight the thoughts, hold them back. For in so doing, you strain the mind. And how can you still the mind by straining even harder?
Many people have wasted countless hours in meditation attempting to still the mind—and in so doing only increasing the struggle and the turmoil within the mind. Instead, the approach is simple. You know that behind every surface appearance there is an underlying, deeper reality. If you look at your physical body, you know that beyond the visible surface there are organs and bones. Yet the bones and organs are made of cells. The cells are made of molecules. The molecules are made of atoms. The atoms are like miniature solar systems with electrons orbiting around the core. But between the electrons and the core is empty space.

And so, if you go deeper and deeper behind surface appearances, you see that eventually you come to something that is empty. Empty. There is nothing there. No electron, no neutron, no proton. No molecules. No “thing.”

You can use different visualizations—perhaps the one I have just given. Perhaps you can visualize a river and how it is constantly moving, but that still, between the molecules, is empty space. Beyond the flow of the water, there is a stillness that is the backdrop for movement.

For movement must be movement in relation to something, as you know very well that a very gradual movement – where there is no point of comparison – cannot be detected by your senses. And so, ultimately all movement is possible only because there is a backdrop of stillness.

So you might meditate in your mind on a river. And as thoughts come up, you see that they are like swirls in the river. But as you go into them and go beyond them, you eventually come to stillness. My point, then, is that when a thought comes up, you do not then seek to fight it. But neither do you flow along with it. You go right into it. You go through it. And you look for what is behind it.

Another thought might come as a result. Go into it, go through it. Look for what is behind it. If another thought comes up, go into it, go through it. Look for what is behind it. Keep doing this, my beloved, and you will eventually reach some measure of stillness.

Spend time in the stillness
Keep practicing it day after day, and you will come to a point, where you can quickly go into the stillness and experience that behind, beyond, the stream of thoughts, there is a stillness—a Presence that forms your sense of identity, your sense of Being, your sense that “I AM.” And it is only because you have that sense that “I AM” that you can have thoughts come through your mind, through your being. And so by going beyond every thought, every feeling, every sensation in the mind, you can come to that ground of Being that is the core Presence, your I AM Presence.

And then, spend some time in that stillness—without forcing, without wanting, without asking, without praying for anything. Be content to simply experience the Presence, my beloved. Do not ask for anything, any answers, any changes. Be content to experience the Presence. And when you feel that it is time to move out, then take a little time to gently return to a normal state of consciousness.

This is not a meditation that should take a long time. As you get more proficient in it, it should take only a few minutes every day. And then, afterwards, you simply go out and go about your daily business, not expecting, asking for or demanding anything. But you will be surprised how contacting the Presence can be the catalyst for bringing new thoughts, new perspectives, new ideas to your outer mind. Ideas that you realize are not part of the general static that goes on in the atmosphere of this Earth from the mass consciousness, but come from a higher realm, have a certain measure of infinity in them—and therefore allow you to be in that creative flow and bring forth new solutions, new perspectives.

And then, as you tune in to that Presence, you can also begin to carry the feeling of that stillness with you. You will come to a point, where you can begin to speak from the stillness. So that your words are not flowing out of the static of your own mind or the collective consciousness, seeking to counteract some other form of static. [Instead] they flow from a deeper level; they are imbued with something. They are imbued with a Presence, and thus, they reach people at a deeper level. For they touch them in the heart and help them see beyond.

There is sometimes validity to challenging people in a very direct and confrontational way. For some of you, this is a natural expression, at least at your present level. I am not hereby saying that all of you should express yourself in the same way. I am simply saying that all of you have the potential to consider sharing your Presence in some way, so that there is more to the words than just the words and the linear mind. So that they are infused with something that is genuine, my beloved.

 

Copyright © 2012 by Kim Michaels