“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.”Or Washing the Doors of Perception
Great thoughts form in the void between mundane thoughts. Worrying, planning, analyzing, classifying, ordering, criticizing, fantasizing, plotting, fuming, and regretting may serve some purpose in our psychic lives, but they are mostly static for our deeper selves. When we calm down and listen to the inner voice that can best be heard in quiet times, we can access our wiser mind.Gaining access to the still place can seem like finding the way through a maze in the dark. To find it quickly, when we need it, we must become familiar with the way ahead of time. If we had to find a dark place in a maze quickly, we would want to practice going there over and over, until it became second nature. It is the same with finding our quiet mind. We need to go there repeatedly so that we know the way and it becomes easier to make the trip when we might need to.
If life is stressful, what better time to go inside ourselves just to listen and observe? Wisdom can only come out of accepting what is. We can only accept what is if we drop through our preconceptions, projections, and fantasies to perceive clearly. Meditation is the tool for cleansing the doors of perception.
Breathing in
Breathing out
Sitting still
Slight inner smile
Ungrasping mind
Open mind
Thoughts pass untethered
Checking posture
Back to the breath
Breathing in
Breathing out
Just sitting
Connected
Not clinging
Awake.
© 2003 Tom Barrett