A Quiet Mind
Normally the mind is something of a chaotic marketplace. Sensations come in, feelings, emotions, ideas, all kinds of distractions arise and the mind reacts and follows them willy-nilly until the next impulse moves it in another direction. The past arises as we review things that have occurred to us and ruminate over what that means. In some cases, we obsess over something someone has said or done and we repeat thoughts over and over again. The future enters our minds as we focus on something we would like to do, intend to do, or on some possible outcome that we fear or hope for. The present impinges on us with the constant flow of sensations and impressions that demand our mind’s attention. Even when we are relatively focused on a project or task, oftentimes thoughts intervene to reflect on something in the past, or we may get distracted by sounds or sights in our environment, or we may experience a pang of hunger or feeling of thirst and interrupt our concentration on the task to atte...