You could hear a Pin drop

The external choir of voices gently faded. The chant gracefully evolved into and internal whisper. Stillness pervaded the room, minds went quiet, bodies appeared to have entered a time warp. You could have heard a pin drop.

My mind wandered away from the mantra we had just recited and started to ponder ‘how quiet my mind would have to be to hear a thought drop’. If I could hear the rumblings of a thought before it took hold how would this change my daily life? I could allow the thoughts that elevate my life to continue into my conscious mind and become speech or action, alternatively I could disallow the thoughts that hinder my life. I was aware that my thoughts shape my reality, but what would happen if I could shape my thoughts before they affected my behaviours?

I have believed for sometime momentum is both an obstacle and an assistance to our realisation of the Soul. When momentum is intertwined with pure, non-attached, selfless and aware thoughts a level of truth and freedom is unmistakable. When momentum is bound to heavy, attached and selfish thoughts suffering and increased karma are assured.

It takes a giant will to halt the unhelpful thoughts that arise in our mind. An even more colossal application of the will is required to keep the unhelpful thoughts from being performed. It was not so long ago that the thought of an after dinner sweet or Ice cream could lead to from a lovely relaxed state, through frustration and agitation and then to find myself in the car at 9.30pm driving to the shops to fulfill the thought that had erupted.

If I could quiet down inside enough to feel the thoughts in my mind arising from my sub-conscious I could nip the ignorant, impure and selfish thoughts in the bud and not allow them to see the light of day. It seems intuitive and logical, a process occurs in the mind, change the mind, the process, and the outcome will bear different fruit. It would be similar to the Lotto ball not being picked up by the big magic arm. The ball could never start its journey down the shute of destiny, coming to rest in its custom-made lottery bed.

My mind was now happy with its exploration of having “a mind so quiet it keep hear a thought drop” and returned to the mantra. Over the next few days I started to gauge how far along a thought was before I observed it. Sometimes it was already being acted on before I twigged at too its emergence. Other times I was like a panther, pouncing on the thoughts helpful and unhelpful before that had a chance to gain momentum. I have committed to monitoring the ones that slip past the early warning system with renewed vigour to discover why and how these cunning thoughts evade detection.

So while diligently and vigilantly keeping on eye out for the thoughts that necessitate nipping in the bud, I continue to do the things that quiet the mind. The Yogic practices, the meditation, the study, the service, the postures and the devotion to the all loving being.