I have a new spiritual practice- to do Nothing. and it is very very challenging. This mind wants to stay very busy. it’s like a little scavenger picking up thoughts and feelings to feed itself and keep it alive. It has created itself a busy busy life of people, places and things.
If I ask the mind to stop what it is doing right now- being on this computer- and go sit down and do nothing- it revolts! “No way- there are things to do, things to take care, communications to make!!” it says. So right now- I am going to make it go over there and sit. I will be back in 5 minutes to tell you about my experience…………..
This mind is happy to be back at the computer because those 5 minutes were no easy task! It was busy thinking about lots of silly and mundane things that it HAD to do- pet Lucille, comment on the dog fart, get going to work, scratch my neck, glance around the room, think about who I was walking today, wonder if I got a new email, and on and on…and to just sit there- and allow these thoughts and not DO anything about them- was challenging.
And yet- there was another feeling in those 5 minutes deeper inside- a kind of sigh of relief- that there was nothing I needed to do in those few moments..that this mind could rest if it wanted to…it was given time off..And there was a grasping of some Presence that was watching all this mind chatter. This Presence was huge and tall and magnificent, quietly standing observing without judgement.
I am going to let my mind have a few moments off every day. Give it a cigarette break , shall we say! It might want to chatter throughout that break, that’s okay. I just want it to know it doesn’t have to do anything in that time. It doesn’t have to fix, change, or understand anything….and maybe it will come to realize that in these moments- it can connect to that deeper place of resting anytime it needs to. My counselor said it very sweetly- “Allow your mind to have curious compassionate loving pauses throughout the day…”
Doing Nothing is my new hobby. It will take a while to master, yet I think once I get the hang of it- it can nourish this mind when it is stressed or overwrought with thought . I’ll keep you posted!