Recently I was really stressed by a situation that involved helping a loved one. A thousand thoughts and emotions flooded through my mind, I simply couldn’t think straight and the harder I tried the more tired and confused I became. Then someone said the magic words “LET GO” to me and I remembered to make time to meditate. In the spaciousness of meditation I was able to view my thoughts and emotions with a totally unbiased attitude. When your attitude changes your whole mind changes, even the nature of your thoughts and emotions change. I simply sat and watched my thoughts drift by like the sky watching clouds pass through it. I noticed love, fear, anxiety and a feeling of wanting to control the situation drift by but didn’t try to grasp them, cling to them or indulge in them. I merely observed that, like the wind, they came and went. In allowing them to flow through my mind while keeping my mind free of afterthoughts and possible solutions I found them quickly settle and from a new detached space I was free to see the reality of the situation. What I could change and what I just needed to let go. It was amazing what a difference it made.

Sogyal Rinpoche  said,

“In the ordinary mind we perceive the stream of thoughts as continuous in reality this is not the case , You will discover for yourself that there is a gap between each thought. When the past thought is past and the future thought has not yet arisen, you will always find a gap in which  Rigpa, the nature of mind is revealed. So the work of meditation is to allow thoughts to slow down, to make that gap more and more apparent.”

Learning to meditate certainly takes a bit of effort but the effort is more than repaid by the peace and clarity you find and yes the situation resolved itself, working out far better for everyone concerned, than I could ever have dreamed of.

Namaste!