Mind as the sky

The mind is a wonderful tool, but it overwhelms us. Like an oppressor in our head, it selfishly chooses themes, reactions, scenarios... It is concerned with keeping the past alive (because without it, who are you?) or constantly projecting itself into the future to find some relief or satisfaction. He is always running either to the before or the after, and as a result we lose the Now. It seems as if we are unable to free ourselves from enslavement to endless thinking, even if we wanted to.

Inspired by Alexander Jullien, in class we sometimes use a beautiful symbolism to describe the process of meditation... Our thoughts are like birds flying above us in the sky. Some are small and subtle, others large and majestic. Others stay longer, others are migratory. Others sing and others call unpleasantly. Others we feed and others we fight. We spend all day focusing on them, but we miss the vast blue sky beyond. In meditation we don't try to chase the birds away, we let them fly freely, we just choose not to follow them with our gaze. They pass through our field of vision and then fly away. We focus only on discerning where there is a clear corner of blue sky.

Let the thought pass before you and watch it as if you were watching a movie. Do not interact with her, do not fall into her arms, do not respond, do not water her to blossom. At some point, she will probably weaken and leave. There experience the discontinuity in the flow of the mind. At first the gaps between thoughts are small, but gradually they become larger and larger. Stay in them awake and alive. They hide a wonderful quietness and peace.