It’s Here, There, And Everywhere

I woke up this morning and went for hike up in the hills by Griffith Park Observatory. If you are ever in Los Angeles  I would recommend a trip over to Griffith Park Observatory.  There are wonderful trails that lead to the observatory and the views are breathtaking.  As I walked up the winding trail to the top of the hill, I found a wonderful little place to close my eyes and meditate.

I have had opportunities to both lead meditation and participate, and what has blossomed in practicing meditation is that it’s not about controlling your mind, controlling your feelings, controlling anything, but it is about witnessing it all.  The witness is you. We are always witnessing in mediation. What are we witnessing? In our day to day practice, we are witnessing everything that is happening here. Right here. Right inside of you and outside of you. When you first begin to meditate it seems like there is here, there, and everywhere, and it all seems separate.  As we continue to practice resting here, we begin to see the unity in everything. There is no past, future, because as we witness the mind, it is all happening in the mind. If you can witness the mind, you will glimpse this.

As you close your eyes, the mind is active, the breath is active, the sensations in the body are active, there may be car noises, birds chirping, people talking, but we simply witness. As we witness what is unfolding here, we leave the nonsense of wanting to change it, fix it, so it fits into our little box of what we think peace is. We realize that by witnessing everything, things begin to change and shift naturally.

For example, you may feel a sensation in your jaw of tension, the mind wants to move the jaw, shift positions, but the witness just observes it, and allows the sensation to exist here in this space. And sooner rather than later the sensation floats away. This is distressing to the mind, the mind believes you have to use force, will yourself, do something, prove; whereas the witness knows this isn’t true at all.  The power of the witness is in the observing.

So just for today, practice for a couple of minutes. Close your eyes, and witness the mind, the breath, the sensations, and give up the need to fix yourself.  I have met many people that are addicted to healing, nothing is ever okay, nothing is enough, and when I hear that, it sounds like the mind, not the witness. Practice as the witness. There is nothing wrong with the mind, it just needs to understand it’s place in your life, it is not the master but the servant.