As we practice slowing down, noticing little by little what our stations are broadcasting, we begin to see why Presence is such a wonderful thing. A needed thing.
Remember Anne Lamott's "My mind is like a bad neighborhood--I try not to go there alone." When we run on automatic, we're just meandering through our stuff: our hopes and fears and traumas and ambitions and likes and dislikes, etc., etc. Our minds are a little like a bad neighborhood, a little like an asylum being run by the inmates.
Becoming mindful of this will be unnerving. Discovery is often scary. It's not a good idea to wander through our mindscapes alone. But, truth be told, we often (usually?) wander there alone anyway.
Mindful practice cultivates clear and kind attention. Ultimately, we never want to be with ourselves or anybody else without the company of wisdom and kindness.
Simple. Yes? We just invite and embody these two qualities into every moment of our lives.
For us God people, this is Presence capitalized. Love + Wisdom = Something-Very-Like-God.
For non-God people, it's equally a Wonder. Something to be capitalized.
For either group, the practice is much of a muchness. Becoming mindful we learn not to tread old paths or new paths without being in the Presence of Love and Wisdom. Without bringing kind attention to each moment.
The reason I meditate most mornings is to get better at this. To anchor the process of consciousness in a sacred rhythm of breathing in and out seeing clearly and loving dearly. 'Anchoring the process' is another way of saying 'training the brain.' 'Forming new neural pathways.' It's not enough just to understand how it works. New pathways are only developed by travelling them.
