Becoming Silent: Detaching from our thoughts
February 7th, 2012Becoming aware of our thoughts: No matter what is happening, or what we’re looking at, our habit is to always be thinking. If we can’t control our thoughts — if they’re like a radio station we can’t turn off — they can affect our mood, and even affect our ability to perceive reality. The first step in becoming silent — in entering a state of meditation — is to become aware of our own thoughts: “Hmmm, that tree in our backyard. I wonder how that tree is doing. I always liked that tree. I once fell out of that tree — boy did that hurt. I hope no-one has cut down that tree. Wow, I sure am having a lot of thoughts about a tree.”

Detaching from our thoughts: After we become aware of what we are thinking, the next step is to see the content of our thoughts, without being attached to our thoughts. The thought no longer controls us; it no longer causes a reaction; it doesn’t distract us from what is right in front of us: “There’s a statue, and there’s a thought about a tree.”

Inner peace and silence: The next step is to enter fully into meditation. There are no thoughts. There are no shadows from the past, and no worries about the future. We are stress-free. We perceive directly what is in front of us, without an inner babble of opinions and reactions. With daily practice of Sahaja Meditation, most of us can move easily and quickly from non-stop thinking to a state of inner silence in less than a minute.




