• by Patty Paulsen • Singing at Sunburst’s Sunday service, and listening to the music, quiets our thoughts, so we become very attentive to this very moment of being totally present, totally alive and awake. We experience the movement within our heart as it opens up, and we feel the devotion and love expressed in music. It brings forth within us a peace that is very nourishing.
We can cultivate that peace. It’s always here; it’s eternal. We can do many outward things to cultivate peace in our life. For one, associate with people that have a sense of peace, because it’s contagious. You feel comfortable around them. You feel peaceful too.
We can be mindful of what we nourish our body with. Does it agitate our system? And how does it affect our mind? Is it healing and nourishing?
The greatest work to do in cultivating peace starts within. We can take the most wonderful vacation and get away from it all, but still carry our restless mind and anxious thoughts with us. We’ll never find peace if we don’t start looking for it within ourselves.
That’s the wonderful gift and grace of using a proven tool of meditation. It can tap into that natural peace within. Meditation brings it forth so you can carry it with you in your daily practice of life.
Sit comfortably upright, and still. Sit so you are comfortable and attentive. Notice how much tension you’re carrying in your body. We are bombarded by so much—outer thoughts and activities, anxiety and worry. Sometimes without our even knowing, its piles up in our body.
Mentally scan your body; relax and release tension to create space. You may notice as you release gripping tension, you also release the breath. It moves freer in your body. At the very end of your exhaling breath it dissipates into a neutral background and the new breath comes in from the same place, the same neutral background, the silent witness of just being present.
You’ll notice this neutral background where the breath dissolves, and where it arises again. Breath has an effect on our mind, our thoughts. There is less of a grip in the mind; it too begins to relax, release, and feel more spacious. The inattentive mind can run frantic with thoughts, running to the future, going back in the past. Like watching a train pass in front of us, it’s going so fast with thoughts. But as we begin to watch the breath, the thoughts begin to slow down.
That same neutral witness, that same neutral back drop, that never changes, never jumps into the future, never goes back into the past. It’s totally present. The more we stay in that place, observing that silence witness, the less we get carried away by the train of thoughts. We can pause between our thoughts, by pausing between the inhaling and exhaling breath. In meditation, this pause begins to lengthen naturally on its own. This is the place of peace that surpasses all understanding. It’s a peace in which our ego surrenders, and the mental critic is gone.
The inner critic, that finds fault with everything dissolves. In it’s place, the neutral witness of just being present allows you to feel the peace and joy of being alive, fully alive, fully present in this place.
In this state, we can connect to the center of our soul, to the pure self, to who we truly are. And when we feel this connection, the heart opens up and allows us to stay here. We feel the Divine Presence; we have a center to be a part of, a center to give us the security that we need. We don’t feel empty or alone. Allowing thoughts and feelings to come up later, we don’t grasp and hold them as our own.
And when we find this peaceful, non-judgmental place within us, we see the perfection in other people, and everything around us. We can see what’s behind their personalities, their thoughts, and actions. Our little judging ego steps aside and we just see who we really are, and how connected we truly are to one another.
This peaceful center is where we hear intuition speak to us. We have that pause, that moment to help us make the right choices in life, if we listen. The more we cultivate this awareness, this Presence, the more we’ll be conscious of it throughout our day.
When you catch yourself wandering, just bring yourself back and be present in this space, this spirit; feel the peace of being at home in the present. Staying in this neutral place allows you to partake in life all the more. When you take a walk in nature, you are not thinking of tomorrow or what you did yesterday, but you are present, aware of the wind blowing through the trees, the feeling of the earth beneath your feet. You’re hearing the animals call for their young, noticing the vibrancy of colors, seeing the sacred geometric patterns in nature.
Every morning in meditation, catch that moment of peace, and carry it with you throughout the day. As we calm our thoughts down, we see the light of consciousness, the pure self that we truly are. We feel our connection to all life, to all beings. We know we are loved, we are here for a reason, we are never alone, the Universe is supporting us every moment. Peace…Peace…Peace!