The 14 Day Mind Cleanse by Jacqui Lewis

Author:Jacqui Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2021-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

OPTIONAL: GOING DEEPER

ACHIEVE TOTAL PRESENCE

There’s an ancient Zen story about a monk who wanted to study with an older, very esteemed monk. The older monk refused to mentor him until he did a certain amount of training first. This training ended up taking many decades. Finally, the now not-so-young monk completed his studies and travelled three days to see the older monk at his small monastery up in the hills. When he arrived, it was pouring with rain. He shook himself off, folded his umbrella, removed his clogs and entered the small hall where the head monk was waiting. He sat in front of him and began to explain all the training he had done: six years in southern Japan, a decade with an esteemed monk in northern Japan, a few years here, a few more years there.

The older monk waited patiently until he had finished talking and then asked, ‘On the way in, it was raining, yes?’ The younger monk nodded. The older monk then asked, ‘On which side of your clogs did you place your umbrella, left or right?’ The younger monk looked baffled and conceded that he couldn’t quite remember. The older monk calmly and gently replied, ‘Still much Zen training to be done.’

Time and again, we get caught in the intellectual pursuits of self-development or spirituality and miss the foundations. The whole point is to be present in our lives, to live every moment of them clearly and in alignment with our higher selves. Too often this is missed when we delve into tricky philosophies or practices, when the fact is that every moment of our lives is part of our training! It doesn’t just happen in the yoga studio, or on retreat, or listening to Tony Robbins or Tim Ferriss hype us up about life hacks.

Today, I want you to try paying attention to the here and now. Rather than fretting about the thing that you did an hour ago, or the thing that you must do later, really focus your attention on the present moment. How does your coffee taste, and what does it feel like as it swishes around your mouth? Can you feel the temperature of your tea through the cup you are holding? What does the water in your shower smell like as it trickles down over your body? How does every muscle, every limb, of your body feel as you dry yourself with the towel? Is the towel a little bit crispy because it’s just come off the washing line, or is it soft because it’s been used for a couple of days? What does your pillow feel like? What does the outside breeze on your skin feel like? How does the texture of paper feel when you pick it up? What is the sound of your knife and fork hitting the ceramic plate? Really dive into each experience today, and relish it. Imagine that today is your last day to enjoy what it means to be a human on earth, before you leave the planet forever.

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