I wanted to share with you an experience I had recently while I was on a family vacation in Vietnam. Hanoi is a bustling city with loud street vendors, traffic and an incessant flow of motorbikes on the roads. Although I enjoyed my time in this lively city with many attractions, the noise and chaos felt a bit overwhelming at times. One evening, during our stroll around a busy neighbourhood, we came across a beautiful gate opening to an equally lovely courtyard of a temple. From the business and chaos of the street, we stepped into the serenity of this beautiful temple courtyard with its dimmed lights and many trees.
As soon as I stepped inside, I realized how exhausted I was from all that commotion outside. There was a ceremony going on inside the temple with people sitting quietly to pray. My mind calmed down immediately with the peacefulness of the environment.
Then it dawned on me that most of the time, my mind is also like that crowded street. An incessant flow of thoughts, emotions and involuntary reactions to the stimuli from outside world dominate my mind. When I sit quietly to meditate or think sattvic thoughts relating to Brahman and Ishvara, only then my mind stops. So meditation for me is exactly like retreating from the busy and crowded streets into a tranquil courtyard. I will keep that imagery on my mind for deeper contemplation. I believe that in this peaceful courtyard of my mind, there is more room for insight and true understanding. 💛🌼🔅
thank you Ozlem. A peaceful courtyard of the mind does bring calmness and a sense of quiet to my mind after reading your words. Our minds can go everywhere and nowhere all at once! Thankful for the practice of meditation. Each morning I stand and look out our bedroom window, it's upstairs and we get a view of houses, trees, and then hills in the distance. The sun rises over these hills and I open my arms and hands and thank the sun for its rays of light on our mother earth and the light within me. Doing this ritual means everything to me, really gives me peace.