Staring for peace
George Clark 19 February 2006
When you make time to stand and stare1 you will come to grips with your flow of consciousness - with that never ending stream of thoughts and feelings that occupy your attention centre. There are two ways to come to grips with the flow. You can either side-step it or go with it.
You side step the flow by engaging in one-pointed concentration. The classic meditative focus for this is your breath which has many desirable qualities2 . This is dealt with in great depth in most introductory books on meditation3 so will we not bother with it here.
A more 'active' approach is to focus on 'tasks' and there are two ways of doing this. You can be mindful of every day practical tasks like walking or washing the dishes. The idea is to prevent your mind from running into the past or future by paying close attention to the details of the present moment.
Another, even more practical, option is to concentrate on your 'work' tasks whether these be artisanal or intellectual. The idea is to lose ego-consciousness so that you are running on auto-pilot4 . This mind state is more common than most people suppose. The more famous cases are when (a) a poet is inspired by the 'muse', (b) an athlete or novelist is operating 'in flow', and (c) a Christian is happy to 'Let Thy will be done!'
You go with the flow when, instead of sidestepping it, you make a positive effort to witness the comings and goings of thoughts and emotions. The witnessing can be passive or active.
As a passive witness you notice when a thought or feeling arrives but you do not pay it too much attention. Soon it will disappear to be replaced by another. When you first begin this practice you will be amazed at (a) how much is going on, (b) how little control you have over the process and (c) the flimsy and evanescent nature of mind stuff.
As an active witness you interact with what you notice. By categorising and labelling you gain insight into what is going on. There are two main types of insight - rational/ intellectual and emotional/ spiritual. When you begin to have these insights you appreciate why Socrates reckoned that 'the unexamined life is not worth living'.
The two techniques complement rather than contradict each other5 . If, when you make time to stand and stare, your mind is a stormy ocean, then you can use side stepping techniques to calm the waters. Once things have quietened down you can go with the flow and gain insight.
The busy mind can be thought of as muddy water. Keep it still long enough and the mud settles. Then you will know the brilliant clarity which is, always has been and always will be your mind's natural state. You will see through the illusion which is ego and know unity consciousness (the Oneness). This mind state is the peace that passes all understanding.
Make the time to stand and stare
and (eventually!)
know the peace that passes all understanding
This poem describes another way, being totally enthralled, being held in thrall, by the natural world, or whatever grabs the attention totally, into the state of one pointed concentration
The Whale-watcher by Kathleen Jamie
Saturday October 9, 2004
The Guardian
And when at last the road
gives out, I'll walk -
harsh grass, sea-maws,
lichen-crusted bedrock -
and hole up the cold
summer in some battered
caravan, quartering
the brittle waves
till my eyes evaporate
and I'm willing again
to deal myself in:
having watched them
breach, breathe, and dive
far out in the glare,
like stitches sewn in a rent
almost beyond repair.
· From The Tree House by Kathleen Jamie, winner of the 2004 Forward prize for best collection, published by Picador at £8.99