Note: This was written in early March of 2020, but was never posted.
So sorry. Next posting coming in a few days.
This morning I sat down to meditate, but my mind was so overactive that I could not get still. Higher mind kept trying to pry open the wall of mental armor to get between the chinks somewhere, and it was a struggle.
Then everything went still. I sat, at first, with no thought at all. Then I realized how essential it is to be quiet, when the world is full of madness, turmoil, anger, fear and terror. So much emotional noise – a patchwork quilt of chaos, smothering so many areas of the planet with mixed emotions of rage, frustration, uncertainty and shattered hopes.
Here I sit in my tranquil home, while many miles away the world is being torn to shreds – not just physically, but psychologically – by mad uncertainties and crazy bureaucracies.
People ask, “how can we fight this?” and I believe that is the wrong question. The more we think of fighting, the more we create combative situations. Being silent – creating a pool of stillness within the mind – is a gift to the world. Creating a place where anger, noise, fear and chaos do not exist is a way to alleviate the pain and constant turmoil that envelopes us, if not physically, certainly psychically.
And so, I am inviting all people – whether you meditate or not – to take time each day, even if it ‘s only five minutes, to be completely silent. Consider it a service to the world. Just find a space to sit, close your eyes, and be still. Listen to each breath. Listen to the air move. Expect nothing and give all your attention over to these moments of quiet, where nothing is said, nothing is done.
Think of the Sun, which shines every day, and never asks, “What have you done for me lately?” Just return the favor for a few minutes a day – be still, a place where chaos cannot enter. We are all connected – we can give the message of stillness and peace simply by being.
An addendum:
I was thinking after writing this of a visual example of what stillness against terror would look like. Some of you might not be old enough to remember the June, 1989 student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in the Chinese capital of Bejing. Demonstrations went on for days, and exposed the split within the Chinese political leadership.
A crackdown on the demonstrators began on June 3rd. Martial law was declared; troops with assault rifles and tanks attacked unarmed civilians. The protest was memorialized by one lone man, who stood silently in front of a column of tanks. When the tanks attempted to move around him, he continued to move until he was once again standing in front of them. Time Magazine later named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
Silent, still, unmoving, standing in front of a line of tanks. No stone throwing; no attempts to harm anyone. Simply silence and stillness. I will never forget seeing this man, because he was a lesson to the world.
Silence does not mean doing nothing. It means merging with the essence of being, and simply allowing life to be, without affecting you, until you choose to allow it to.
