Going Inward
Priya - Wednesday, February 15, 2012
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“It is our natural state to experience this world with the attention inward.” – MKI
For all our lives we are trained to direct our attention outward. We identify our world with the objects that we see, hear, sense and feel.
When I first heard the phrase “going inward”, it totally didn’t make any sense to me; inward? Where? Because for me I wasn’t even aware that my attention was “outward.” I wasn’t aware of the habitual tendency of reacting to all the ups and downs of the world around me, and the tendency of the mind to drift on thoughts about the past and the future.
The first time I allowed my awareness to rest back into itself, with my meditation techniques, I experienced the very subjective part of me as my awareness detached from all the objective movements. There was a huge, silent, eternal, unchanging place that’s infinitely aware of the world going and moving within itself. The subject that I am is silent and still, beyond any appearance.
As I started to touch this space of stillness within myself, Habitually my mind still tended to drift off and the attention went outward on thoughts, feelings, and objects. I thought, “Why is achieving inner peace so difficult?”
But it is never difficult. It’s just changing the habit of where we put our attention takes a little practice, and our mind tends not to enjoy the practice!
It really is just about changing that habit.
When we consciously stop training our attention to dwell on thoughts, it naturally rests back more and more into itself, because the nature of our awareness is to be aware of itself. All we have been doing in the past is making it not being itself.
“Going inward” isn’t to really go anywhere mentally or physically, it is simply allowing and letting the awareness rest back to the stillness of itself from jumping on thought after thought, object after object.
And it is the nature of our awareness to experience this world fully aware of itself, because this world is simply the content within the infinity of our awareness. It is our nature to experience this world the way it is from a space of silence, contentment, love and peace. It is natural for us to want that, and thus it is natural for us to live that.
We just need to find a way to change our current habit of where we put our attention, and stick to it until it is done.
It’s our nature. It’s meant to be easy. All we have to do is be willing, to allow it to be easy.
Comments
I liked this little piece, thanks. Reading the comments, there are some things I don't get. It seemed pretty clear to me that by "inward" you meant away from mental chatter. For me, my thoughts seem to take me away on movement, which is kind of "outward." It was clear for me that you described "inward" as resting in stillness and silence. It is not in my body, but it is not moving out towards anything, so inward is an OK analogy...the description ponts to the experience for sure.
It is definitely "outward" to be thinking about what is or is not an adequate description of peace.
That was interesting, and I thought, in response, about why we use the term lotus blossom to talk about faith that expands consciousness. And, where does faith come from ?
So going "going inward" is the same thing as "stillness" the same thing being "in the now" or being "being present"?
If yes, than I think the "going inward" term that the Ishayas like to use is a little confusing since you can experience stillness everywhere even in the outer world.
Thanks priya! An enlivening post. What jumped out at me is where we put our attention. I didnt realise the importance of this practice until i met catherine ingram. I have also encountered Pema Chodron. She has a marvellous book called 'Going to the places that scare you.' She says to go to the places that you fear and dread or are simply uneasy with and place your attention there. The light of our infinite attention shines through any negativity and we align with the peace already present within. Also Catherine Ingram has a wonderful suggestion which is simply 'Put your attention effortlessly on the here and now as it is unfolding in each now moment. This was like a revelation to me.
Thanks once again priya for a very timely share. Blessings be, Mark Stearn. :)
I don't know why we usually use "inside" terms
for stillness, silent,... and "outside" for movement, disturbance, etc.
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When actually , why shouldn't be there
the same qualities inward and outward?
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This is also an habit, many times
because of the limitations of a dual language.
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It gives the idea of our awareness
as if it was the axis of a wheel,
or an spiral or any object of revolution.
But perhaps, we can feel the infinite conciousness
made up of more than itself.
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For example, the solar system which is eliptic,
consist of two focus, one is visible (the Sun) the other is not.
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Why this could not also happen in our awareness?
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That would be two focus of stillness within, at the same time...
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