Dear Listeners,
It’s been a scorcher of a week in parts of the US, the North East was particularly hot and humid. I hope you are finding ways to stay cool and navigate this weather, even if it means keeping a cool head. Peace of mind seems to require greater dedication to maintain these days.
Recently I’ve been contemplating free will and the thoughts that accompany will. The topic of freedom comes up a lot, in politics, medical related news, but what can be overlooked is a freedom within which allows for intuitive actions/non-actions, novel thoughts/perspectives or an ability to pause before an impulse takes hold. When freedom is limited, the mirror condition occurs; habitual behavior/routines, repetitive thoughts, narrow interpretations and/or imbalanced emotions.
Free will is different from will/willfulness- the latter being somewhat forceful or goes against a flow or rhythm. Will, accompanied by a thought, interrupts the flow of free will. Free will tends to be easeful, like an unobstructed wave. For this reason its important to be aware of our thoughts and thought patterns because that can intercept free wills limitless-like state. Meditation, such as mindfulness, is a wonderful tool to help a person notice his or her own nature, habits. Any practice that helps quiet the mind/body and cultivates focus, can facilitate the practice of self observation.
If this resonates with you, consider noticing what you feed the mind (or put into it). Technologies like phones, tablets and computers- are amazing and revolutionize living- however they also generate distractions, emotionally charged content and at times feelings of disconnection. This carries a potential to fragment our minds, our focus, muddy thoughts and/or disturb feelings.
To support this endevour- experiment with limiting phone/screen time to a half-day, full day, or longer. Notice what it is like to live the first/last 10min of your day without electronics. Explore the experience of letting a text, a call, an email go unchecked. If you do any aspect of this, what happens? If you have this ability, good for you! Keep it up!
If you’re struggling with above suggestions, consider starting with even smaller steps, such as limiting alerts, reducing time with exciting or agitating content, increasing more quiet time- to reduce the noise-input, then, listen to one of these meditations.
In the meantime, stay cool. Keep a warm heart.
Thank you for listening. This post is public, please share it with anyone you think it may help.
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