Silence

To “become as children” is to recall listening to the silence – the first and last of the myriad languages of Creation.

Growing up, my father instructed me (and many in his Science of Mind study group) with this: “Learn to evaluate wisely what you think about the things you think about.” Many years of thinking about this – which is what koans are designed to instigate – led me to a book by my namesake and eventually through graduate school and into Eastern philosophies, Buddhism, and even quantum insights from David Bohm. To say today that I am grateful for this journey is – evaluatively – an understatement.

“There is a difference between being lost in thought, which is wandering mind, and being aware of thinking while thinking.”– Sayadaw U Tejaniya.

From Relax and Be Aware: Mindfulness Meditations for Clarity, Confidence, and Wisdom by Sayadaw U Tejaniya © 2019 by Sayadaw U Tejaniya. Reprinted (by Tricycle online 9/10/21) in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.