I was reminded this morning as I rode the train to work and observed how beautifully calm Wellington Harbour was how similar our minds can be when we are calm and centred.
The converse can also be true. Some mornings as I make the same trip the Harbour is choppy and the water disturbed. Similarly some days my mind can be anxious and disturbed.
The key understanding here is not whether we can control the weather in our minds but more importantly whether we can still remain calm and centred in our essential “Being” regardless of the weather outside.
Weather will always be weather – sometimes the sun shines, sometimes it rains, sometimes its cloudy, sometimes its windy……There is nothing anyone can do to change any of this.
Sure we are going to have preferences depending on what is important to us at the time. An inner city dweller going to work is more likely to have a preference for sunshine than rain yet a farmer who is trying to grow crops may welcome more rain.
There is much truth in the “Crowded House” lyrics “sometimes you take the weather with you”. Should we allow the fact that is raining or not raining ruin our day?
Whatever is occuring externally to us will be what it is – we can either allow it to disturb us or just allow it to be. If we take the latter approach while our periphery may be experiencing some turbulence we can remain at the centre of ourselves calm and peaceful.
Our thoughts are like waves in the vast ocean of our Being. They come and go and because there are so many of them they give the appearance of being a continuous connected flow which they are not.
It is our observation of our thoughts as continous flow that gives rise to the illusion of “One Mind” which we give life to by believing that is who we are. Our mind is not real it is only our thoughts which have any substance and these thoughts are generated through the memories of our past experiences.
Imagine a piece of music you enjoy. What would that sound like if there were no spaces between the notes? The music would be changed from something of great beauty and inspiration to a constant stream of noise! That noise would predominate everything else.
It is through this “One Mind” process that we miss the reality and beauty of the present moment. The present moment is all we ever have.The past is gone and the future has not yet happened.
If we allow the quality of our thoughts to impact on our experience of life there is no wonder that many people experience little happiness and satisfaction in their lives. Sounds like “Hell” to me!
If instead we can imagine our central Being as the blue sky above and our thoughts as clouds that scoot across it it we can take an approach which allows us to merely observe and remain centred and calm rather than one in which we identify with the clouds and resist.
The next time you experience turbulence “within or without” try to remember that you can either choose to to be like the depths of the ocean undisturbed by whats going on at the surface or you can just rest in the inner depths of your Being and observe without being affected at your core.
21 responses to “Mind Waves – An Inevitable Part of The Ocean of Our Being”