“One of the most effective things we can do when we see the gathering storm of our habitual tendencies is the practice of pausing, or creating a gap. We stop and take three conscious breaths, and the world has a chance to open up to us in that gap. We allow space into our state of mind. Meditation practice itself is a way to create gaps.
Every time you realize you are thinking and you let your thoughts go, you are creating a gap. Every time the breath goes out, you are creating a gap. If you don’t fill up your practice time with worrying and obsessing and all that kind of thing, you have time to experience the blessing of your surroundings. You can just sit there quietly. Then silence will dawn on you and the sacredness of the space will penetrate.
Or maybe not. Maybe you are already caught up in the work you have to do that day or the projects you haven’t finished from the day before. Maybe you worry about something that has to be done or hasn’t been done, or a letter you just received. Maybe you are caught up in busy mind, in hesitation or fear, in depression or discouragement. In other words, you’ve gone into your cocoon.
The experience of your entanglement differs from day to day. Nevertheless, if you connect with the blessings of your surroundings—the stillness, the magic, and the power—maybe that feeling can stay with you and you can go into your day with it. Whatever it is you are doing, the magic, the sacredness, the expansiveness, and the stillness stay with you. When you are in touch with the larger environment, it can cut through your cocoon mentality.”
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