An Exercise in STILLNESS

I once read that the word "nothing" really meant "No Thing" - in Zen speak.

No Thing is a state in which you train your mind to be still. To not contain any thoughts, visions - complete silence. Complete empty. Complete stillness.

It is said that when the mind is in this state, one can be prepared to receive the messages of the Universe. And in this stillness one can reside in their own true being - so they say.

I had attempted this practice on a few occassions and something that sounds so simple was indeed almost impossible after the first few attempts. Needless to say, it has been a few years now that I have been practicing this, only on moments when needed - like under extreme conditions of stress.

But what one views as stressful, another may simply smile and know that 'tomorrow is another day'. Hence,despite that fact that not all of us can master the method of a 'still mind', we definitely have the control to choose how we react.

Choosing to react and practicing a 'still mind' is still challenging and takes a strong, dedicated conscious effort to keep at it.

Often, the state of sleep over powers my still mind and I enter the land of dreams.