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Sit there and DO NOTHING

 

Mental Training

 

My buddhist teacher told me to sit there and do nothing. It was his way of mental training, something I apparently needed to determine what is real and what isn't it. It was his way to show me how I am not my mind. Really, is there ever a good time to sit still and do nothing? Is it best in the morning when you are just preparing for the day and looking at your To Do list? Or isit better around lunch as half the day has passed? Or perhaps at night after work when the day is over? Or before bed when you get to review your day and you are just glad you survived?  Who has time to sit still, right? And then add the extra "do nothing" to the mix and what do you have? A whole lotta nothing! 

 

Sitting there and DOING NOTHING 

 

I simply sat there, many times with eyes opened, partially closed, and nodding-off closed eyes. What did I experience? Nothing really except for the fantasies that exist when I am by myself. Oh, the great stories and adventures my mind would wander in and out of. It was fantastical and in full Technicolor. I traveled to distant lands and planets,  I wore really outrageous outfits, I married the superhero, I had many births and deaths, I lived in my very special crystal cave, and I even flew my own dragon . Oh, my mind..... how it wanders and what seems real totally isn't!  I use to fidget with the timer, looking down every few seconds, astonished at how time moved so slowly (especially when i watched it). It was like being in the dentist's office when I was a kid, sitting and staring at the white sterile walls and glancing over at all the magazines, painfully waiting to be called to the dentist's chair. Then came a time when I would sit and go over my mental To Do list over and over organizing the most efficient order in which I think things would be best completed, on-time, and within budget. Doing nothing is counter intuitive especially for a western-raised, productive, analytical, and very results-based trained mind like mine.  "Just breathe" I recalled from my many years of yoga training. Focus on the breath. Whatever happens, whichever asana I twisted myself into, the breath was the only thing I had to keep me sane. Doing nothing became a way for me to accept what is exactly as it is. No more fantasies, no more seeing the world through super hot pink colored glasses. This is real and it is raw. Not exactly how I wanted to experience my reality but, man! was it way more effective. I spent less time reacting to the world and more time embracing and accepting it. I realized I lived a life full of drama. I reacted to everything. What calm and peace could there be when I lived a life actually listening to the random rantings of my mind. The 1,000 monkey mind wins again and again. I became a slave to my own mind. What a miserable place to be. Doing nothing was the ultimate act of defiance!  How victorious I am each day I get up from my meditation calm as the sea at dawn, like a glassy lake. Peaceful and clear as a bell.


In the Wee Hours
 

I like to call it the "Wee" hours of the early morning. It is the best time to sit, 3-5am (or 4-6am), during the amrit vela, the darkest hours of night right before the dawn appears. It is the time where you can access the infinite universe. Many religions and spiritual disciplines wake up in the wee hours of night to defy the ego's desire to slumber and continue dreaming. The ancients say it's the most powerful time to listen and get connected to the divine intelligence. There are no disturbances and the earth is in her silence. This is the time to wake up and listen, just listen.  Listen to the mind's wanderings and off-handed comments. Watch the mind's reactions to everything and simply observe.  A good meditation is when you observe and are not affected by the thoughts.  The meditation worked for you.

 

Creating Karma

 

The buddhists say that karma is created in three ways: thought, words, and actions.  You are not creating karma if you don't do anything. Did you know your words can kill people? Scary thought, isn't it?  Think good thoughts. Say good things. Do good things.  The opposite would mean you are creating bad karma and that will somehow come back to you, somehow, somewhere.

 

Consciously Choosing

 

This wasn't written to scare you, this is to invite you to become more aware of your own thoughts, words, and actions. Please ask yourself if what you say, think, and do has an effect.  If your words last forever would you say half of the things you say?  If your actions can hurt someone, would you take back what you've done? As for your thoughts, are they really yours? Or do they seem like a preprogrammed reaction? If so, from whom did you learn it? Are you willing to consciously choose to unlearn these patterns and come from an authentic part of you? Are you willing to be YOU? 
 

Know thyself

 

Oh those precious few words that send us life-long journeys seeking ourselves.  To know yourself means to know who you are and accept all that is. Yogi Bhajan taught me that every human being has 3 aspects: angelic, human, and animal.  The angelic aspect is the side of me that wants to assist others, do good, and be good. The human aspect is the one that loves, experiences emotions and commotions. The animal aspect is the one that is focused on surviving and procreating. There is no judgement as to which aspect of me is dominant at any given moment.  However, it is my choice to accept all aspects and to know when to be which.  The knowing of myself is more basic than that, it is not of a place to label, it is not a mind set or a mood even, it is a knowingness that I came from the stars. The very base amino acids that all life originated from. That I am a part of and an extension of THE ONE. I am God, God and me are One.
 

Separation

 

When I forget, I feel alone and separated and weak. When I remember, I am apart of a greater sense of existence, the pressure lessens and I know I belong. Belong to what you ask? To God, to the angels, to the devas, to the planet, to my family of lightworkers across the planet and among the different dimensions and other worlds.  How could I ever be alone? Just because I don't see my family doesn't mean I don't have a loving mother and a protective father and siblings that love me.  How did you ever fall into the trap of thinking you are alone? It's just simply not possible. You have somehow alienated yourself? Why do that to yourself? Choose differently. 

 

My Invitation to You: Be still and DO NOTHING!

 

The fact is, the Time is now! I invite you to just sit there and do nothing. For me, it was the path inward, the path to the stillness in my heart, a place where the unknown was known. Start listening within you and place less focus on what's happening out there. Out there just isn't as important as the inner landscape. Ultimately, there is only one landscape, YOUR landscape, what you consciously choose to create in your reality.

 

What's happening inside is happening outside.  

 

For instance, traffic in Los Angeles, is for some nightmarish, a sea of cars on the crowded 14-lane 405 freeway. You can decide whether it is a joy or a pain. Either way, you need to get where you are going, right? You can accept the ride, put on some good tunes and just cruise or you can curse at every driver that seems to cut into "your" lane, how dare them! Your reality is what you decide it to be. So, start turning that frown upside down and put a smile on that bright and shiny face. If the world seems hostile, which part of you is hostile?  Like attracts like, remember so put out what you want to receive.  Yogi Bhajan taught me that I have one chance to uplift everyone I come into contact with. So, which do I choose? Take them down like the sinking Titanic or uplift with my inner sunshine? Of course, now that I am aware of it, I choose to shine and beam bright light!  This is me beaming some light in your direction hoping to be the lighthouse to guide you home.
 

So much love from that place of Doing Nothing,

Thi Hoang/ Haridass Kaur

Sat Nam

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