 | Have you ever sat quietly to meditate only to find you’re unable to settle because of the constant chitta-chatter of your mind, thinking about this and that, going over what happened yesterday and or anticipating the day ahead? I don’t meditate every day, but this morning I felt to and what I noticed was how quickly the chitta-chatter started up. In that moment I had a great realisation. Chitta is anti-joy. |
As soon as I sat still and focused on my breath, my body started to relax, and the activity of my mind came fully to the forefront. Oh me oh my! It wasn’t letting up, going over a conversation I had the night before, thinking about what I wanted to say to someone when I next saw them, then intensifying further, thinking about the day ahead, whether to wash my hair or clean the bathroom or juggle both, or whether to make some soup first, and after that, the other things I had to do today. All Very Important Matters!
And so the chitta-chatter of my mind was laying out a plan for the day ahead, full of calculation and strategy wrapped up in the complication of what I ‘had’ to do and or what I ‘wanted’ to do. I was being fully prepared for an intense state of exhaustion before the day had even begun, and it wasn’t my body that was preparing me, it was my mind!
In that moment, I caught what was going on. As I observed what was happening, I instantly arrested it, and a feeling of joyful light and warmth suffused my body, and a smile came to my face. “Ah, there it is, fully exposed – how chitta doesn’t allow settlement or joy.” In fact, it does its darndest to stop us from feeling settled or joy-full.
We learn from daily experience that it is a condition of being human that the mind doesn’t ever stop (and some days are more intense than others in this regard), but my mind did stop momentarily.
Could it mean that I was no longer held in the condition of being human in that moment, because the chitta-chatter of my mind had stopped momentarily? And if I had been (momentarily) outside the human condition, then where had I been? Could it be that I was with my Soul? That I was with God and Heaven? And hence Joy?
We long to be free of the constraints of the human condition and yet we are here, in a body and on this planet. We can’t get away from that. It is our reality. But is it possible to have moments of connection with Heaven and our Soul, where we are free of the constraints of the human condition, even momentarily, allowing a flow of light and joy through our body?
I know from past experience that I have felt refreshed after meditating, and frequently during meditation I have also felt how immensely tired my body has been. But the ‘moment’ that I experienced this morning had a different quality, because it was instantaneous and without thought – not an out-of-body experience but an out-of-mind experience! A moment of deep settlement and joy experienced in my body and in that, all the hard edges of body and mind were extinguished, melted away. There was nothing between my body and space. We were One.
And in the joy of realising what was happening, I opened my eyes, and the moment was over. I could so easily have gone into a lovely floating sense of bliss if I had wanted and if I had let my mind and emotions take me there, but I know that bliss is not true. Unlike joy, bliss is an out-of-body experience that can disconnect us from our body and our innermost essence. And to be safe in this world we need to be fully present in our body.
We are told that it is the nature of the mind to be in constant chatter, but could it be that by bringing focus to the body (and the breath), by focusing inwards we are able to remove ourselves from the stimulation and distraction of the outer world, and yet, and this is important, fulfil all we need to in the outer world? It is the busy-ness of the mind (our thoughts) that brings stress and anxiety and disconnects us from our innermost and the easeful flow that can arise from this inner connection.
If we can experience a few moments each day settling the mind and body, then we are likely to experience a more Soul-full and Joy-full life.
What I experienced this morning showed me that nominating what the mind was doing stopped the chitta-chatter long enough for me to feel joy arising in my body. It showed me that joy is experienced through the body and in the body, not in the mind or through the stimulation of the mind or by focusing on pleasant thoughts, images, or activities. And it completely de-bunked the notion that we need to ‘empty’ the mind through meditation (or even that we can!).
The mind can simply become still, completely still for a moment, allowing us to be fully present in our body and through that to experience the truth of who we are in our essence.
In that moment of harmonious union between body and mind, space opened up for me to feel the joy that is always there to be felt.
“Meditation is not about escaping. It is about re-connecting and thus, it is about being with you.” ~ Serge Benhayon, Esoteric Teachings and Revelations, p. 509
Judy F., Australia
If you enjoyed this article, for further reading you may also like:
Meditation Demystified
If you are interested in listening to a meditation recording, you can click on the link below:
Free Meditations
And so the chitta-chatter of my mind was laying out a plan for the day ahead, full of calculation and strategy wrapped up in the complication of what I ‘had’ to do and or what I ‘wanted’ to do. I was being fully prepared for an intense state of exhaustion before the day had even begun, and it wasn’t my body that was preparing me, it was my mind!
In that moment, I caught what was going on. As I observed what was happening, I instantly arrested it, and a feeling of joyful light and warmth suffused my body, and a smile came to my face. “Ah, there it is, fully exposed – how chitta doesn’t allow settlement or joy.” In fact, it does its darndest to stop us from feeling settled or joy-full.
We learn from daily experience that it is a condition of being human that the mind doesn’t ever stop (and some days are more intense than others in this regard), but my mind did stop momentarily.
Could it mean that I was no longer held in the condition of being human in that moment, because the chitta-chatter of my mind had stopped momentarily? And if I had been (momentarily) outside the human condition, then where had I been? Could it be that I was with my Soul? That I was with God and Heaven? And hence Joy?
We long to be free of the constraints of the human condition and yet we are here, in a body and on this planet. We can’t get away from that. It is our reality. But is it possible to have moments of connection with Heaven and our Soul, where we are free of the constraints of the human condition, even momentarily, allowing a flow of light and joy through our body?
I know from past experience that I have felt refreshed after meditating, and frequently during meditation I have also felt how immensely tired my body has been. But the ‘moment’ that I experienced this morning had a different quality, because it was instantaneous and without thought – not an out-of-body experience but an out-of-mind experience! A moment of deep settlement and joy experienced in my body and in that, all the hard edges of body and mind were extinguished, melted away. There was nothing between my body and space. We were One.
And in the joy of realising what was happening, I opened my eyes, and the moment was over. I could so easily have gone into a lovely floating sense of bliss if I had wanted and if I had let my mind and emotions take me there, but I know that bliss is not true. Unlike joy, bliss is an out-of-body experience that can disconnect us from our body and our innermost essence. And to be safe in this world we need to be fully present in our body.
We are told that it is the nature of the mind to be in constant chatter, but could it be that by bringing focus to the body (and the breath), by focusing inwards we are able to remove ourselves from the stimulation and distraction of the outer world, and yet, and this is important, fulfil all we need to in the outer world? It is the busy-ness of the mind (our thoughts) that brings stress and anxiety and disconnects us from our innermost and the easeful flow that can arise from this inner connection.
If we can experience a few moments each day settling the mind and body, then we are likely to experience a more Soul-full and Joy-full life.
What I experienced this morning showed me that nominating what the mind was doing stopped the chitta-chatter long enough for me to feel joy arising in my body. It showed me that joy is experienced through the body and in the body, not in the mind or through the stimulation of the mind or by focusing on pleasant thoughts, images, or activities. And it completely de-bunked the notion that we need to ‘empty’ the mind through meditation (or even that we can!).
The mind can simply become still, completely still for a moment, allowing us to be fully present in our body and through that to experience the truth of who we are in our essence.
In that moment of harmonious union between body and mind, space opened up for me to feel the joy that is always there to be felt.
“Meditation is not about escaping. It is about re-connecting and thus, it is about being with you.” ~ Serge Benhayon, Esoteric Teachings and Revelations, p. 509
Judy F., Australia
If you enjoyed this article, for further reading you may also like:
Meditation Demystified
If you are interested in listening to a meditation recording, you can click on the link below:
Free Meditations