The Rich Experience of A Quiet Mind
La rica experiencia de una mente serena.Por John Coleman
Los entretenimientos, en cualquier forma que un@ los lleve a cabo, son necesarios y, de hecho, vitales para la felicidad en el sentido común y corriente de la palabra. Tanto el cuerpo como la mente necesitan descansar y las baterías se tienen que recargar de alguna manera. Pero los métodos convencionales para la revitalización de nosotr@s mism@s en medio de los conflictos de la vida, sólo hacen parcialmente el trabajo. Se quedan cortos en poder mostrarnos la verdadera naturaleza de la realidad. […]
¿Entonces, a dónde vamos desde aquí? Para mí la respuesta a esa pregunta está en mi conocimiento obtenido de la rica experiencia de conocer una mente serena. He sido ayudado a adquirir este conocimiento al escuchar y entender a l@s much@s mujeres sabias y hombres sabios que he tenido la suerte de conocer, y también al verles y aprender de su ejemplo.
Ahora sé que no es necesario viajar por todo el Mundo en busca de un líder o un sistema, porque las respuestas están dentro de nosotr@s. De hecho, tal búsqueda es en sí misma es una distracción y sólo sirve para retrasar el momento de la visión. Fue sólo cuando mi búsqueda terminó que, después de ella, la paz llegó.
La clave está en el sufrimiento y el conflicto; es necesario tomar en cuenta el sufrimiento de l@s demás con compasión y, al nuestro, con toleracia y ecuanimidad. Debemos ser conscientes de estos sufrimientos, pero en silencio, sin tratar de invitar forzadamente y de manera consciente a este silencio. Y esta conciencia silenciosa se le debe permitir suceder en su propio tiempo, porque cualquier cosa que hagamos para apresurarla, añadadiremos más trabas.
Un@ debe ser consciente del momento sin ningún intento de cambiarlo; va a cambiar por sí mismo. Un@ debe estar atent@ a un grado extremo, tan a menudo como sea posible. Incluso estar atent@ de que un@ no está atent@ es una forma de atención. Para conocer la realidad un@ no puede estar fuera ella y racionalizarle, hay que entrar en ella, convertirse en ella y vivirla. Entonces la mente se vuelve serena y está en paz consigo misma.
La belleza de la vida y la belleza de la Tierra se desembuelve y nuestras acciones ya no son centradas en un@ mism@, ni son destructivas. Cada acción se vuelve creativa. El fuego del descontento cambia de una fuerza destructiva que consume nuestras vidas, a una luz luminosa brillante que llena nuestras vidas con paz y alegría.
– John Coleman, en “La Mente Serena”
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What practice serves you well in developing attentiveness? What does entering reality mean to you? Can you share a personal experience that illustrates entering, becoming and experiencing reality?
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13 Past Reflections
On Apr 20, 2022 Brent wrote :
One learns little when one is talking. Learning/knowing comes from listening with ones whole sole, leads to being able to hear all.
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On Jul 2, 2016 Ed Bourg wrote :
Stage of getting to silence
1. Listen rather than talking
2. Select quiet over talking or listening
3. Discern the"talking" in silence
4. Listen for the sounds of silence
5. Notice your anxiety and impatience with silence
6. Just enjoy deeper silence
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On Mar 14, 2016 Jo T N Murphy wrote :
During my daily morning Yoga exercises I become aware of my wandering mind, still processing my past life experiences, and my eternal mind - the mind that knows time, space and self as arbitrary concepts.
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On Sep 18, 2012 Ganoba wrote :
It depends on what we take the mind to be.
To me mind is Akash, empty space. It is, still and quiet. That is its nature. We have to do nothing to make it quiet, just as we cannot do anything to disturb it.
If we take it to be an organ of the body then it would be functioning as long as we are alive. That is not disturbance. That is the way it is.
It then comes down to the notions that we hold based on our limited exposure to life on planet Earth. As we open up by travel, physical and intellectual, we would experience all that existence is; peace, beauty, adventure etc.
To me mind is Akash, empty space. It is, still and quiet. That is its nature. We have to do nothing to make it quiet, just as we cannot do anything to disturb it.
If we take it to be an organ of the body then it would be functioning as long as we are alive. That is not disturbance. That is the way it is.
It then comes down to the notions that we hold based on our limited exposure to life on planet Earth. As we open up by travel, physical and intellectual, we would experience all that existence is; peace, beauty, adventure etc.
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On Sep 16, 2012 david doane wrote :
For me, paying attention develops attentiveness. I don't know how to break it down further, except to say the practice of reminding myself to pay attention helps me to be attentive. My thought in response to 'what does entering reality mean to me' is what reality are you talking about. I've come to have more and more sense of being in two worlds, that is, the world of form and the world of Being. The world of form is what we call reality, though it's not or at least it's very limited, and the world of Being is Reality, though it is mostly ignored or unknown. Being in the world (of form) and not of it has come to be reality for me sometimes -- I have periods of abiding in that awareness, which is peaceful and positive for me.
1 reply: Kwerk | Post Your Reply
On Sep 16, 2012 Narendra wrote :
What practice serves you well in developing attentiveness? Attentiveness needs practice of love and courage in all aspects of life. Love or acceptance of the present moment no matter what it is, and secondly, courage to let go desires and fears that interfere with the present moment, so that I can be in the present with complete awareness. Adherence to unconditional truth as a principle, supports love, courage and presence of mind …….What does entering reality mean to you? ‘Absolute Reality’ is complete experience of the present moment, as is - in its ‘multiple dimensions’. We enter or experience a little of this reality as consciousness, when we let go our ego, desires and fears to become the ‘process’ or the ‘object’ we are focusing on – in a semi-trance state. This is ‘Samyama’.…..Can you share a personal experience that illustrates entering, becoming and experiencing reality? I ... [View Full Comment]
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On Sep 16, 2012 Ricky wrote :
This Quiet Mind is essential for the change you want to see in the world, the change you can be. As I read down the passage, paragraph by paragraph, insight after insight, I was reminded that attentiveness is awareness, and being aware is a practice.
I remember my first meditation class. I was very fortunate to be in the presence of a wise young teacher who guided us through a quieting practice that asked only that we be attentive to the patterns of thought and what arose for us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually with those thoughts. We were reminded that thinking is human. Quiet mind does not imply ‘no thinking’. Quiet mind meant being at ease with thoughts swirling and twirling, and actively releasing attachment to these thoughts.
For over a half century of my life, meditation as a term was defined as an ancient form of religious practice that I was taught to avoid because of the eternal ramifications. Now,... [View Full Comment]
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On Sep 15, 2012 Conrad P. Pritscher wrote :
I found the following after my last reply:
"The education of attention would be an education par excellence." William James.
Be Peace.
"The education of attention would be an education par excellence." William James.
Be Peace.
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On Sep 14, 2012 Conrad P. Pritscher wrote :
My noticing the tremendous importance of attentiveness has helped me be slightly more attentive. Entering reality means noticing what is. A wise person told me that when I most desire to not be attentive is the time I may need it the most. I am reminded of the ancient saying which states: "The way that can be said is not the way." I am reminded of reading that Einstein believed God was the universe. In that sense Thomas Keating's statement is very helpful: "God's first language is silence. All else is a poor translation." I'm also reminded of the wise statement: "Nothing ever happened in the past, and nothing ever will happen in the future. Everything that happens, happens now, or happens not at all." I'm also reminded of Gandhi's statement: "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." Paraphrasing Gandhi one might say, there is no way to attentiveness.&n... [View Full Comment]
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On Sep 14, 2012 Vigyananand wrote :
A flurry of dogmatic, prescriptive and impractical advice seems to flow from one error of judgment: "but the conventional methods for reviving ourselves in the midst of life's conflicts only partially do the job. They fall short of showing us the true nature of reality. [...]"
Consider: If the conventional methods for reviving ourselves in the midst of life's conflicts (good humour, good food, old wine in good company of old friends, great sex...) appear to be adequate for 'the common low-life humans', shouldn't you (John Coleman & followers) consider yourself very inadequate to need "silent awareness" and wait indefinitely for it to come to you?