The prevalence of thought this morning so completely occurred my vision it took me several minutes to realize the trees were moving. Noticing is so powerful it made the trees move.
Once one has achieved a state of noticing, there is just a small leap to realize one is noticing. The act is the same. But this is not really an act, it is not a “doing”. No, this is more of an alert, effortless awareness that proceedeth (lol, R.W. Emerson tries to sneak in here) by itself, not directed by volition of thought or movement of muscle.
Notice how noticing does not even require an object to be noticed. Noticing is observation –– is awareness itself, and has no preference for what is observed. Preference comes later as the mind begins to compare, analyze and state its avoidance or desire for one person, place, thing or occurrence over another. But before preference is expressed in thought, noticing IS.
The noticing consciousness is free of problematic thoughts. But so frequently we leap from noticing to judgement in a split second –– “This is horrible! I can’t accept this!” (even though the object of our attention most certainly already is as it is).
How might the circumstances and situations of daily life be changed if one was to increase, just by a few seconds at a time, one’s ability to notice without reaction?
The world would be changed completely.
Our engagement with the world most frequently proceedeth (there he is again) as a series of reactions arising from judgments of one form or another as they are perceived. It does not matter if the form is a thought or an actual person, place or thing. That which is perceived is seized upon, found lacking or desirable, and this sets in motion a chain reaction of thoughts and bodily reactions that arise to either move us to avoid or bring closer the object of our noticing. “I don’t want this, I want that!” –– we are as if we are toddlers.
The act of judging perceptions as desirable or not is an act of separation. Judgment sets the observing mind apart from what is observed. Judgment places emphasis on analysis and quickly disregards our essence identity as observant consciousness.
The observer, free of analytical thought, is also free of reactive problem-making activity. The observer exists in a pure, still, peaceful space in which conflict of ideas have not yet entered. And this is the same space that exists everywhere, eternally, not circumscribed by so-called “time”.
This is the Oneness that is.
Peace is. Peace is not made. Peace is available to be observed. Peace is not won nor obtained through might or clever ideation.
While simply sitting, being aware of observing, one does eventually eventually become aware of thoughts that are of a different character than those thoughts that arise from judgmental analysis. The thoughts that arise from stillness have the power and quality of effortless insight instead of the urgency of avoidance or desire.
One can begin to move through the world powered more frequently by insight and less by reaction. And as this happens, the “one who notices” begins to notice the qualities of consciousness more frequently and see unity, rather than separation.
A world built from the peaceful recognition of unity is a world profoundly different than world built from the anxieties that arise from perception of separation.
