Situating Yourself: Mind Noise
…continued from Becoming Aware 1:2 – Busy Mind
Once you start to become aware and take note of what your mind is doing, create a Quiet Corner bank (some call it a God box—if that works better for you) in which to store all your questions, self-judgments, and self-criticisms. Perhaps you could make something out of construction paper. Make it colorful and big enough to hold many slips of paper. Don’t try to imagine how many questions you might ask yourself before the questions slow down. You can always make a second or third or fourth container if the first becomes too small. Once you fill one up, you can create a ritual to burn them all!
Have some fun. Make a game of it. Use magazines or old newspapers or even an empty coffee can. Paint it, decorate it, label it. And then put it away. Let it be the vessel for your nagging questions. This is the beginning of clearing your head of some of the noise so that you can begin to hear your inner voice. Be aware that once you write a question down and put it in the bank, it may revisit you. That’s okay and perfectly natural. Simply write it down again and redeposit it. There may be something to learn from the repetition.
The Aha! Experience
As we go along, I will make suggestions of things to do that will help you along your path. So far I’ve suggested that you
1. Carry with you and use your “purpose tool,”
2. Observe your mind as it works,
3. Write down your mind questions (and judgments and criticisms), and
4. Make a mind question bank.
A lot of suggestions just to begin! If you’re anything like me, you might judge them as silly and inconsequential or resist doing them at all. At first glance, many of the suggestions in this book will seem slight and meaningless, but try to think of them as a grocery list. Before you go shopping you know what you have and what you need, but a list is always helpful in assisting you in your chore; it helps you to remember all that you need and to avoid buying things you don’t need. A list may seem unnecessary (you have it all in your head), but it can be useful. And while each ingredient you buy is not always or necessarily a meal in itself, it will combine with other ingredients to form a perfect meal. That’s how you can look at each suggestion here—as just one ingredient to be included in a life of serenity.
You can also look at these suggestions as nuggets of surprise. Until you actually do them, break open their shell, you can’t know what’s waiting for you inside. If you’ve ever discovered or learned something in an indirect way (in trying to solve one problem, the answer to another is revealed), you’ve had the aha! experience. So keep an open mind as you approach the suggestions because they have the potential to work this way. And each one will reveal a secret just for you.
To be continued…
from Just Listen – A Guide to Finding Your Own True Voice
Wow! That’s really beautiful and enticing. Practical too!