The next exercise,
The vision.
Sit on the bank of a river,
In reality or in fantasy,
And watch the water flow.
If you know how to look without reflections,
The river will speak not to your brain,
But to your heart,
And it will create a silence in your spirit,
And a wisdom which your conscious mind could never grasp.
Or sit at an airport and see the crowds go by.
They come within your vision and disappear,
Never to be seen again.
Or watch the leaves fall from a tree and see them decompose and turn to dust.
Light a lamp and look at the flame the way you looked at the river.
Or light an incense stick and watch the smoke lose itself in the atmosphere.
Or stand at your window and look at the rain.
Observe the special mood the rain creates in you.
No reflections now,
Just look.
Observe,
Feel.
You see one raindrop stand separate and apart.
Then it is jerked forward and pulled away.
Only look and creation will speak to you.
What will it speak of?
Of life and death and love and self and God.
Look,
Observe,
Watch,
Become aware.
That is all you need to do.
Finally lie on your back with arms outstretched and imagine that you let go and are carried onward just like the raindrops and the leaves and the smoke of the incense stick.
For you like them are a particle of the universe.
So let go.
Close yourself and flow away.
Look for evidence.
