Stillness

Today, I hiked up an escarpment via many switchbacks to a mesa top that has mostly grassy fields.  Usually, there are cattle up there, but not today.  It was nice and quiet.  I walked over to a cattle pond and sat on a rock.  The pond was starting to dry up for the season, but was still being enjoyed by many blue dragonflies that were flitting about.  It was so still and quiet, just the atmosphere I was looking for.

In a few weeks, I will be on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca for the Autumnal equinox.  After quieting my mind, I tuned in to anything I could see or perceive there.  Wow!!!  What I saw was a huge vortex of light coming up from the lake and shooting out into the space.  I had been sensing that the time on the island may very well be the highlight of my trip, and you will be hearing all about it when I get back.  Some amazing things are bound to happen there.

As I sat there, I realized how important the practice of stillness should be to not only my spiritual practice, but to others as well.  I am not talking about a strict and structured meditation practice of silencing the mind.  I’ve tried that, as many of you have, and it can be a frustrating exercise in futility that can take years to master.  I am talking about taking some time out of each day to just sit and clear your mind.  Observe the world around you and listen to not only the outer sounds, but your inner messages as well.  This is actually the best way to receive those messages. 

Have you ever had the experience of sending a query out to the universe and at the same time, working that issue through your mind ad nauseum?  Then, when you are tired of that and your attention goes to something else, the answer to your question just pops into your consciousness.  That answer has magically found a gap in your thought processes that it can penetrate.  It found a point of stillness within you.  The trick is to cultivate these points of stillness, and then pay attention and listen.

Why are humans so taken up with what I call their monkey minds?  Part of it is the world of distraction that we live in, and another part is the general ungroundedness of people.  If we are not grounded into the earth, toxic energy that we all build up every day can’t drain down and out of our energy fields.  It can back up into the head and over stimulate the mental processes.  There is probably also a plan by the powers that be to keep our minds occupied so that we do not notice, or care to notice what is going on around us.  I am convinced that we are bombarded with mind stimulating energy every day, probably all day.  It may take some effort to overcome that, but it can be done. 

So the plan for my trip is to spend quiet time, tune in, observe and listen, and see what shows up!  I can feel myself getting in that mode already. Our group will have plenty of free time, but remember that you do not need to be in a quiet place to do this, either.  It is an internal state that you can call upon any time.  Once you get the hang of it, information will just flow to you.  I am looking forward to sitting in the Plaza de Armas, the main square in Cusco, and tuning in to the energy in that very busy place.  I will go to my inner still place and just receive!