The water and the wave

 

The coming storm

 

 

Our minds are like waves on the sea, swaying all the time. Concentration helps this swaying mind become still… The state in which my inner mind is not grasping, not excited, not busy, is a state where my mind has settled down completely, in the same way as the water settles down.  The sea of the mind, the deepwater of the mind, when it settles quietly this is concentration—Myongsong Sunim

I read this from the book, Woman on the Buddhist path by Martine Batchelor and it reminded me of the beauty of stillness in the fast pace world we live in. We are constantly on the go, in a rush to get somewhere, do something, be someone that we let life pass us by.  Sometimes I feel like a hamster, frentically running on a wheel that I can’t get off and the harder I try the faster the wheel turns until I am going so rapidly that I am flung into space.  I use this analogy as an example of how out of control our life can be if we let it.  Myongsong is right when she says that are mind is swaying, “moving” all the time like the waves in the sea.  Even when our body is at rest, our mind is still racing, we are still stressing, still thinking of the next big thing… still obsessing over things we can’t control… still refusing to admit that we need to slow down.  Are we missing out on life’s little moments because we are so busy racing around trying to live life too fast?  I think we are.  Sometimes our life becomes so frentic, chaotic, and stressful that when we actually slow down we panic because we feel that we are not being productive.  Then the whole crazy cycle starts again.

Easing our mind, slowing it down to rest, to focus, and to concentrate fully on one thing is a difficult thing to do in a fast moving world.  I am reminded of the pleasure I get and the benefits I reap from slowing down mentally and physically.  My Yoga class reminds me of the power of the stillness of the mind, body and soul.  When I am doing Yoga, I deliberately shut out negative thoughts, worries, and frustrations and tell myself the hour of class is solely for me.  It’s my time to come within myself and to myself without letting anything or anyone intrude on my moment of mental and physical focus and concentration. 

Give yourself at least an hour a day to relax and rejuvenate.  Besides, Yoga, I love looking at the ocean, the sunset, and the horizon. 

Sunset in San Diego