I once did a meditation in Birmingham at a yoga class, it wasn’t really my thing before that but I enjoyed this one tremendously. We all sat in a circle and considered a flame, it’s flickering light captivating everyone in the room. I normally have an active mind that never rests, but this time it did. I had not a thought in my head and no awareness that my mind was empty. Like Alan Watts said, “don’t try not to think because then you will be thinking about not thinking and so you will still be thinking, quiet the mind by not trying”. In the end all I was aware of was my breathing, I counted to ten on the in breath and ten on the out breath, that’s three full breathes a minute. My heartbeat was practically non-existent and I was in a utopia where all pain and worry disappeared. The smell of the room was Jasmine and the flickering light danced on the walls, I could have lived in that moment forever. It was the most relaxed and serene I had ever been.

Whatever you have to do to get there is what you must do. Not forever, because life must be lived, but for moments in your busy existence. I sit in the garden sometimes now and I don’t think at all, it’s glorious.

A friend wrote me this….

Sit upright but comfortably on a chair in the garden and take a few slow deep breaths. Then look around and observe what you see. Don’t look for things to see, just casually rest visual attention on them whatever they may be. Then, slowly close your eyes and let your awareness rest on the things you hear. Don’t strain to hear anything or try to work out the source of what you hear, just rest attention on it. Then rest attention on how your body feels in the chair, on the points of contact and your weight. Then, rest awareness on your head. How does it feel now? Is it tense or relaxed? Just be aware of it but don’t judge. Don’t try to make it different. Does it possess any feeling you can describe? If not that’s fine too. Move down to your neck and shoulders and do the same. Don’t judge and don’t try to make it different. If you have any aches or discomfort rest awareness on them without trying to make it different. Rest awareness on your body right down to your toes. How do they feel? Be inquisitive but don’t judge or try to change anything. Then rest awareness on your breathing but don’t try to change it. Just be aware of air coming in and out, of your chest rising and falling. When thoughts intrude don’t fight them just note that they have occurred and return to awareness of your breathing. This may happen multiple times. Say to yourself ‘aha, yes, thoughts.’ After a while rest awareness back on your body in the chair and then your surroundings again. Then slowly open your eyes and take a few moments to note how you feel. Don’t judge either way

David J Watts

These days I try to quiet my mind, to turn it off. I’ve been through a lot recently, more than is good for a person. I have been living within a lie for a quarter of my life and I don’t truly know who I am anymore. Words like this can help, if I am to find myself I must stop looking and just be, my self will emerge on its own from the quiet of the garden or from the flickering flame.

Paul Simon Wilson