Making the Mind a Window, Not a Wall
Watch Marshall Vian Summers speak during the Messenger’s Vigil, Jan 22, 2021.
Full Broadcast
2021 Messenger’s Vigil
There’s an interesting phrase in the early teachings where it talks about the man and woman of Knowledge. And one of the things it says that’s always intrigued me—it’s a thing you have to really think about; it doesn’t have an obvious meaning—it said the man and woman of Knowledge are highly aware of everything around them and hardly aware of themselves. It’s almost like their mind is like a window and not a wall. It’s just they’re awake; they’re aware. But their awareness is not inner focused as much as everyone around them.
So they’re picking up the cues from people, situations, events, circumstances, hazards, opportunities that everyone else seems to be missing. When I go hike trails, I’m like completely there in the environment. But the people I see around me have their head bowed. You can tell they’re internally engaged, or they’re just talking endlessly to the person they’re walking with. They’re not really there. You know, they’re not…they came there, but they’re not really there, so… But this idea that your mind ceases to become the object of attention and it becomes the window and not the wall…But it’s still a mystery to me because it’s something I haven’t experienced sufficiently enough to really be able to be immersed in that. So clearly, the New Message is here to bring us through ourselves, but eventually out of ourselves. It’s like what can pass through us is what’s of the utmost importance, like the hollow flute, so… But then there’s a lot of work to do, and many of us have backlogs in that work. So a lot of work to do, but then we balance that with stillness. We return to stillness where the mind can be a window and not a wall as we get things in order and adapt to our changing circumstances.
Transcription à venir…
MERCI