Living Life with a Mind as Light as a Breeze

Can we live our lives feeling as light as a breeze? Many of us can remember times when we have felt that way — totally satisfied with how we are in the present.  There was lightness and spaciousness to our overall experience. Yet, at the same time, we felt deeply connected to the world around us.

You may have experienced this in nature —at the ocean, by a mountain, in a forest.  It might have been while in relationship to another — waking up on a soft and sunny spring morning, in love, life filled with opportunities but nothing needing to be done right then and there.  Or possibly in a sacred place where you felt connected to the past, living in the present with no concerns about the future.

A memory that often comes up for me is a summer evening sailing on a nearby lake.  Gliding through the soft rhythmic roll of the waves.  One hand on the tiller, an eye on the sail keeping it tightly trimmed in the breeze.  All of this being done effortlessly and with minimal thought, while communicating silently with my partner.  For me, this was truly one of those moments of complete openness and presence.  And yet, at the same time, I experienced the beauty and ease of a deep meditation.  Somewhat like sailing itself — I was moved along by a light breeze but maintained my balance with my keel gliding through the deep water below.

Living life in the ways described above share several common features.  The first is that the rush and press of mental activity that is so present in typical everyday life is not there.  Our thoughts may come and go, like seagulls carried on the breeze that blows gently on a sailboat, but there is no place for them to settle in and begin to take form.  The second is the sense of spaciousness that arises in such moments.  A spaciousness that allows one to take in all that is and hold it all with wisdom and equanimity.  The third is the feeling of deep connection with all that is around us.  It is a feeling of being in relationship with what is, without being controlled or restricted by it.

I call this living with Deep Mindful Awareness.  It is a way of being as well as a process that allows one to open up to, and live fully in, the present moment.  It is a process through which we become effortlessly aware of the activities of our minds and our emotional selves.  We learn to loosen the grip of our wants and desires and live without fear and aversion by shining the light of awareness on each of them.  It is a gentle process of self-care by which we develop our ability to love ourselves and even gently laugh at ourselves when our thoughts and activities surprise us.

Deep Mindful Awareness can allow us to make a transformational leap. We can leave behind a life that is mired in the past, filled with the anxiety of want and aversion, and numb to our true potential.  We can enter a life that has a lightness of being that is far more than just bearable.  The ultimate goal of Deep Mindful Awareness is to waken within us the knowledge of who we truly are — to our true nature that is too often hidden by our conditioned mind and forced to stay in hiding by our conditioned world.

Take this opportunity to find your true self.  Learn to live your life with a mind as light as a breeze and a spirit as deep as an ocean.  Let deep mindful awareness guide you to a new way of being.