Cultivating Stillness Of Mind (Day 3)

The mind is a wanderer.

It chases thoughts into the past and into the future,

Rarely resting in the here and now.

Much of our restlessness comes from believing every thought we think,

Identifying with every story the mind tells.

But you are not your thoughts.

You are the one who sees them.

You are the witness behind them.

Today we practice cultivating stillness of mind,

A stillness that allows you to rest in awareness itself.

And so we begin with the breath.

Inhale slowly and feel the mind settle.

Allow the mind to settle.

Exhale and release the need to follow your thoughts.

Inhale slowly and allow the mind to settle.

Exhale and release the need to follow your thoughts.

When thoughts arise,

As they will,

Gently notice them.

See them as clouds moving across the sky of your mind,

Across the sky of your awareness.

No need to chase.

No need to push away.

Return again to your breath.

Return again to the still point within.

Here you discover that silence is always present,

That awareness is always steady,

That peace does not depend on the absence of thought,

But on your relationships to your thoughts.

Rest in this truth.

Rest in the witness.

Rest in stillness.

Presence is watching thoughts come and go,

Emotions come and go,

Sensations and desires come and go.

Chaos comes,

But stillness remains.

Remain in stillness.