What is the nature of mind? The truth is, it is easier to understand the nature of the entire universe than to grasp the nature of mind. But this is not because the nature of mind is so complicated; it is because you can’t see the forest for the trees. You can’t see the mind because you are lost in your thoughts. You are so involved in your thoughts that you can’t step back far enough to see what is creating them. You have to be able to get behind the mind enough to see what is not mind; then you’ll be able to see what is mind. Meditation gives you this perspective. In deep meditation you see the mind from a distance, like you see a star in the sky. But if you got up really close to a burning star, you would not recognize it as one of those things that dot the sky at night – you’d see it as a giant ball of burning fire. In order to see ‘star’, you must be able to see ‘not star’. The same is true with the mind. If you step back deep enough within your Self, you will see the mind talking at a distance – yackety-yak. But around the edges it’s not doing this, and beyond the edges there is perfect stillness. In other words, in deep meditation there is absolute peace, quiet, serenity, and total calm all around you. But if you gaze in the direction of the personal mind, there is noise. You are now able to see the thought-generating mind because you can see the still mind.
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