The noise of the world comes to our senses; the noise of the mind arises constantly; the noise of the emotions dramatizes the noise of the mind. We have been so immersed in the noise for so long, it feels normal. Even when there is a natural quiet time, we feel that we need noise for company. When we are alone in the quiet, do we call a friend, turn on the TV, reach for the ear-buds to groove on our tunes?
Can we just sit quietly and embrace the peacefulness? What is behind all the noise? We subtract the noise of the world in a steady and comfortable posture. We subtract the noise of the mind remembering the mantra or following the breath. We subtract the noise of the feelings by shifting our focus of awareness to the stillness of just being.
Just behind the noise is the impartial witness, watching. This is pure consciousness, the light of awareness. This is our true Self, waiting to be awakened.
So what happens when we turn inward and become the watcher? Suddenly we realize we are not the body, not the senses, not even the emotional roller-coaster of ego drama. We are the Self, pure consciousness, the impartial witness. When the outer and inner noise subsides, we feel the expansiveness of boundaryless awareness, the sweetness of just being, the compassion of seeing the world without expectation or attachment. We are free from the suffering caused by the fiction of the mind.
~Dennis Hill
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