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Institute of Serenity PMB 875, 713 W. Spruce, Deming, NM
Teaching Relaxation, Rest, and Renewal since 2002
Serenity Practice: Summer 2010
Watching the
Clouds
We
think a lot. To be more specific: We have a lot of thoughts - about
60,000 to 80,000 per day – according to psychologists.
This is
not necessarily a good thing. Many of these thoughts are neither
creative nor helpful. Moreover, most of our thinking is repetitive.
How often
do we play the same mental movies over and over again? How our mom made
us feel during the last phone conversation; what we should have said to
our boss the last time she asked for an additional task to be completed;
how mad we are with our husband who does not finish his to-do list, etc.
On top of
it, most of the mental activity happens unconsciously. We are not aware
of it. And the less we know what’s going on “up there,” the more power
our thoughts and emotions have over us.
Imagine
the difference between being just in the other room and being away for
the weekend. Wouldn’t your kids’ party be wilder in the latter case?
Our mind
pulls us in all directions, tears us away from our inner center, and
messes up our presence in this world. We feel drained, depressed, angry,
and restless.
Here comes
the Eastern concept of “emptying the mind” into play. It refers to a
practice in which we first become aware of the mental noise in our head;
secondly, we do not allow our mind to take us wherever it wants.
We
vigilantly observe our mental activity. The moment we catch ourselves
thinking, for example, “It’ll never work out” and sensing the
hopelessness that comes with it, we let it go. Whatever enters the stage
of our awareness, we let it go. When the mind is “empty,” inner silence,
peace, and centeredness arise.
Different
methods can teach us how to do it, meditation being the most important
one.
Of course,
emptying the mind takes intensive practice and patience.
In his
book, A Path With Heart, Jack Kornfield compares this learning
process with “training the puppy.” You bring your attention over and
over again to the mind activity, consciously let go of it to reconnect
your scattered mind with the Here and Now.
Instead
of vigilantly directing our awareness inwards, it may be easier at first
to rest our attention in something outside of us. Notice that the
emphasis here is on “resting” the attention: Allow it to rest - instead
of to jump around. Ultimately, we allow ourselves to be absorbed by
whatever your attention rests on.
The ever
changing cloud formations in the summer sky offer an ideal resting place
for our attention. Watching the clouds is one of my favorite practices
for emptying the mind. And it is easy:
Make sure
you have at least ten minutes uninterrupted time. Silence the phone. If
you wish, have soothing music running in the background of your room.
Find an absolutely comfortable sitting position or lie down. Know that
you can change your position any time you feel like it. Make sure you
have an unobstructed view into the sky.
Take a
couple of deep breaths that reach all the way down into our abdomen.
Look into the sky and, at the beginning, allow your attention to wander
around a bit. Where are the clouds billowing? Where in the sky are they
flat? Are there different layers of clouds? What colors do you see? Can
you see faces or objects? Become aware of the vastness of the sky above
you. Continue to breathe evenly and deeply. Relax.
Now see if
you can rest your attention on a particular cloud. (I like the white
fluffy ones that remind me of whipped cream!) Observe how it changes its
form, its color, its texture, its position. Become aware that the sky as
you see it at this very moment will never return. It changes from one
moment to the next. How does this magnificent display of impermanence
make you feel?
Continue
to breathe evenly and deeply. Relax ever so deeply.
While
you continue to watch your cloud changing, even disappearing, notice
your connection to the cloud and the sky above you. Become aware that
everything around you and in you is subject to change: The trees in your
front yard, the grass in the park, the hair on your skull, and the cells
in your body. See if you can immerse yourself in the cosmic dance of
twirling atoms, connecting to ever changing forms. Feel your
participation in this dance. Allow a deep joy to arise from within.
Spend a
few more moments, simply resting, breathing, holding the connection to
the clouds above you.
Whenever
you are ready to return to your room, deliberately take another deep
breath, feel the chair you are sitting on or the floor you are lying on.
Then stretch yourself out, allow your jaws to relax with a big yawn, and
get up.
We
think a lot. To be more specific: We have a lot of thoughts - about
60,000 to 80,000 per day – according to psychologists.
While
you continue to watch your cloud changing, even disappearing, notice
your connection to the cloud and the sky above you. Become aware that
everything around you and in you is subject to change: The trees in your
front yard, the grass in the park, the hair on your skull, and the cells
in your body. See if you can immerse yourself in the cosmic dance of
twirling atoms, connecting to ever changing forms. Feel your
participation in this dance. Allow a deep joy to arise from within.
