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Be Silent

Tuesday, November 10, 2020 (Part I), 
Literal silence is seldom present.  Whether in our homes, our cars, or our offices, noise, and other physical sounds, are almost always being generated from somewhere. 

Try a little experiment next time the opportunity arises; turn off all music, all noise making devices, and make your environment as quiet as possible.  Then, close your eyes and sit for 2 minutes. 

You’ll, very quickly, begin to hear things you weren't noticing before. 

The same is true when you silence your own thoughts. You turn off the “noise” of your own brain, and you begin to notice and hear things that are always there, but that you simply didn’t notice before.  

To “turn down the volume” in your own head, physically imagine a hand turning down a volume dial. Then, select an object of meditation (a loved one, a religious object, or something plain and innocuous, like a pineapple), and hold that image in your mind.  Within moments, your mind will unfocus on the object, and begin to think about a myriad of things.  When that happens (and it will happen), gently bring your mind back to the object of focus again.  Repeat this as many times as needed.    

Tuesday, November 10, 2020 (Part II), 
I always try to practice what I preach but, for whatever reason, my brain was not silent this morning.  It jumped around, like a monkey with a noise maker, and went off on it's own, innocent, but completely unwieldy path:

"Should I make this for dinner tonight?......that woman at the grocery store was nuts......It'll be Winter soon and I have got to Hidden Valley at least once this winter for tubing.....ugh.this posture sucks.....OOP!....I'm supposed to be keeping my mind still...whoops!"- My Thoughts This Morning

It's easy to have our brain jump around, making noise, and other observations; there's no control in that.  A practice calls on you to refine your body, and your mind.  The refining of both comes from learning, and practicing, control.  This mental control will come when one learns to be silent.   

Namaste

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