“For each five minutes spent in listening, a thousand minds are opened to the truth.”

So says A Course In Miracles.  “If you will lay aside the ego’s voice, however loudly it may seem to call; if you will not accept its petty gifts which give you nothing that you really want; if you will listen with an open mind…then you will hear the mighty Voice of truth, quiet in power, strong in stillness, and completely certain in its messages.”

In our Integral Tai Chi training, we develop an appreciation for meditation.  When I sit in the silence, I first imagine I am laying down my thoughts like tools, and allowing myself a moment’s rest.  Then I listen…listen…listen to the silence.  When thoughts arise, I say “Thank you, not now,” and return my attention to listening.   For me, listening is synonymous with looking within.  When I can get past my self and all my distractions, the experience is both astonishing and comforting.

In The Teachings of Don Juan, Carlos Castaneda writes, “For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length–and there I travel looking, looking breathlessly.”

Listening and looking….breathing deeply….breathlessly….comforted and astonished.