Witness

Most mornings I try to take some time to sit and meditate before beginning my day. And when I sit in meditation I get a chance to

Witness

my mind and how it works. Some days I find great peace in my sitting time. Other days I feel as if a monkey is chasing through my brain. I keep getting caught up in one thought chasing another and I totally forget my intention to simply witness the mind. I’m learning to accept and witness whatever is happening in my mind without judging it. Instead, when I notice that I’m thinking I say to myself “Oh, that’s mind doing what it does, now back to my breath.”

Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.
— Swami Muktananda

Over time I’ve notice common patterns of thinking, like rehearsing, rehashing, analyzing, or trying to figure out the “one right way” to fix something. These are some of my most common monkey mind states.

We all come into the world unfinished, still stitching ourselves together.
   ― Maggie Smith, You Could Make This Place Beautiful

Notice

I have noticed that when I come back to my meditation chair every day and make the effort to quiet the mind and to simply witness my mind, I feel better, mentally and physically. Each time I sit I feel as if I am finding lost parts of myself and stitching them together. And I am learning to let go of judgment and find appreciation for all of the parts of myself.

I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.

   —Emily Dickinson

The past few weeks I’ve been spending hours a day, every day, making photographs, editing photographs, and learning more about photography. In fact, I’ve been spending more time each day on photography than I remember spending in recent years. I keep thinking that I will tire of this. And I never seem to.  I am so grateful to have new things to learn and explore, and to have discovered my passion for photography at a time in my life when I had time to embrace and explore that passion. How fortunate I am!

What do you want to explore or learn about? And what are you passionate about? Do you take the time to explore and embrace your passions?

May you walk in beauty.

Note: Photos I made yesterday and this morning.