Midweek Pause : Space

© 2015 Margaret Adie

“Most of our suffering comes from habitual thinking. If we try to stop it out of aversion to thinking, we can’t; we just go on and on and on. So the important thing is not to get rid of thought, but to understand it. And we do this by concentrating on the space in the mind, rather than on the thought.”

– Ajahn Sumedho, “Noticing Space”

Consider: how accustomed we become to fullness. Whether it is keeping a full tummy, a full schedule, a full house, a full fridge…full makes us feel safe, for a while, until we discover it is really exhausting and limiting.   However, when we want to shift and “find space in our life” it can feel like an insurmountable task and it is, if we only look at the BIG picture. However, if we concentrate on the small spaces, rather than the fullness between our thoughts, we can grow them and find peace.

Do: connect with your breath. After the third cleansing breath, place your attention on that tiny space that exists between the trail of thoughts. By relaxing, if only for a nanosecond, into that space you will begin to feel the joy of nothingness. This nothingness is the place where you will find your rest.