Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Still Point

I've been enjoying two practices lately that bring my mind to a wonderful moment of stillness.  In a sense, they're the same practice - placing attention on a sensation and following it until it fades away.  The still point comes as the stimulus leaves the mind's grasp.

One practice involves the breath.  I follow the breath - in and out - with my mind.  Then I'll follow an exhale as the breath leaves, and when the exhale ends, as the mind releases from it - I pause, delaying the start of inhale, as the mind settles gently into the stillness.

The other practice uses sound.  Two excellent sound sources are my grand piano and a Tibetan singing bowl.  Holding the damper pedal down on the piano as a note or chord fades slowly away, or bringing sound out from the singing bowl and then letting it ring, I listen as the sound diminishes, my mind becoming increasingly focused as it listens for the faintest remnant of sound.  Then, the sound is gone, the concentrated mind left in the empty, still point.


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