Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Restoring Soul

Inner Sanctuary

Inside myself is a place where I live alone and that is where I renew my springs that never dry up.”
Pearl S. Buck

I wonder whether you are aware of the consciousness within you—the part of you that listens to the dialogue, or the monologue, that streams through your brain like that never-ending conveyor belt at your airport's baggage claim. Your network of neurons constantly talk to one another about happenings of the moment, happenings of the past, drawing comparisons, drawing conclusions, arguing with one another. And all the while, there is a consciousness that listens to this, usually in silence. This consciousness is quite capable of simply allowing the voices of the argumentative neurons to run on, while remaining self-contained. Sometimes it's amusing to simply listen without getting pulled into the fray. It's enlightening. But if you want solace, you'll only find it with the quiet consciousness, the listener.

This place inside that Pearl Buck mentions looks like your favorite spot on earth. In my mind, it would be a glen beside a mountain stream, where water tumbles over rocks and scrambles, white and foaming, into pools of clearest green. Ferns grow on either side, and the fragrance of moss and fresh earth is all encompassing. That is where I feel most at home, and where the world and all its crazy-chaos cannot reach me. I'll bet you have a place like that—where the world recedes and you are there with only your silent alertness. Most people identify their inner sanctuary in nature, whether it's a sandy beach, or a wooded path, or even a sidewalk cafe, where the steady hum of natural sounds produces inner silence. This is a place of restoration and renewal. If you imagine it right now, you will feel yourself grow calm and quiet.

These springs never dry up. We should visit our inner sanctuaries as often as possible. They restore us, body and soul.

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                       Jane

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