Searching For Something? Try Nothing

Yesterday I listened to a meditation CD by Dr. Wayne Dyer. He got my attention right away by saying, “It is the spaces between the bars that hold the tiger.” I had to think about that one. His voice is so smooth and rich, his tonality so soothing that he could have said, “That there’s a dang possum on the counter. Git ‘im Cooter,” and I would have been lulled into reflection.

He went on to explain that the spaces between our multitudinous thoughts are what we need for spiritual growth and renewal. The nothingness that comes intermittently in the craziness is where you find the goody.

If you think about it, he’s right. Society has become so frenzied–me, stating the obvious–that we rarely sit and focus on just a leaf or water droplet or the blackness we “see” when our eyes are closed. Many people, including myself, have such a hard time with meditation because it is nearly impossible to think of nothing. I try to force myself. Sometimes I’ll even chant, “nothing, nothing, nothing” internally, just to get me to focus on, well you know…nothing.

Invariably, my mind strays like a beagle tracking whatever they track to an unbelievable array of earth shattering issues. “Do I want pork chops or spaghetti for dinner? Where is that other sock? I wonder why Beatrice (my dog)is so fat? Maybe she has diabetes or a thyroid condition.” It just goes on and on. Then I refocus only to drift away again.

Something I’ve noticed recently about myself: when things are very bad, trying NOT to think is very good. Maybe it depends upon just how overwhelmed we really are. The missing sock and the fat dog are different than whether someone I love will live or die. When circumstances are dire and I can’t reduce or eliminate the condition I have found that laying down in a comfortable place and focusing elsewhere, on God in my case, soothes my nerves. I really do feel a connection.

I’ve often wondered if, in stillness, a sort of portal is created to convey cosmic knowledge. Maybe we already possess the knowledge but, like ignored muscles, our receptors become atrophied. It is anamolous because, in this case, it’s overstimulation rather than lack of which causes the problem. Do you notice how more and more people don’t listen? I see it every day in my job and in general contact with people. If you study them you can almost see their minds racing toward what I don’t know at top speed. Their eyes appear glassy and they are focused at a point way past the person in front of them. I’m guilty of it myself. But I am really trying to do more stopping and more being still. And I believe it works.

We go, go, go and then we crash at bedtime. Although a lot of people I know wake up throughout the night only to experience more whirling thoughts. This cycle continues day after day and night after night leaving the masses exhausted, frustrated, and starved for solace.

I’m going to check out some of Wayne Dyer’s books because he sure seems to be onto something with his talk about nothing. It seems that nothing might be the answer to everything.