Do we ever consider slowing down for a fuller experience of life? Do we ever stop to take in the beauty of the moment before us? Do we make it a priority to connect – and truly connect – with someone else? Today’s post is about slowing down to experience more. Oddly enough, we will realize that in our fanatic rush to save time, we miss out on a lot of important things in life.

(Don’t just look straight ahead, notice the pretty flowers along the path)

“Slow down and enjoy life. It is not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” Eddie Cantor

Isn’t it true that we are often in the rush of things that we hardly ever slow down? There is not much of a space in-between. Our schedules need to run like clockwork otherwise the later appointments get jammed in the process. We pack as much as we can not just during the weekdays but the weekends as well. We are constantly trying to play catch-up.

Slowing Down in the Park

Since September last year, I have been going to the Singapore Botanic Gardens, our national park. Spanning 63.7ha, I would not call it really huge. Yet, there was much I could miss out on even though I have walked down the same pathway several times. On some of my visits, I intentionally slowed down my steps in order to discover more. I would notice sights that I have not seen before: a mystical looking tree, a new shimmer to the same lake, magical mushrooms sprouting from the log, exquisite flowers from a sea of green.

A new silvery shimmer to the same lake?….

A mystical looking tree that I have missed out on earlier trips? The tree with its branches hanging in all directions escaped my notice in my first few rounds at this part of the park….

Did we miss out on the mushrooms before?

A magnificent crown of flowers blooming from a sea of green?…

Slowing Down to Build Connections

When we slow down, we get to build a connection. No connection with mother nature can be made if we are simply rushing through the park. A jog is not quite the same as a slow walk in the park. Neither is a walk the same as finally making a stop, to take in the breathtaking view from where we stand. Our capacity for joy over the moment of deep connection can only be in proportion of the fullness of the presence that we bring to it.

It is the same with building a connection in our relationships with others. In our rush for time, it is possible that we neglect the people around us. To cultivate healthy relationships, it is important to be fully present with the person in front of us and not wish as if we are somewhere else.

“Always remember to slow down in life; live, breathe, and learn; take a look around you whenever you have time and never forget everything and every person that has the least place within your heart.” Anonymous

One of my favorite quotes is by Buddha which says “If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” Locked in the infinity of the moment, we experience a connection with another – be it flower, person or any other thing – that unifies us as one. Time stands still in this moment. Everything else disappears. What arises is the aliveness of the experience.

Ways to Slow Down to Experience More

So what can you do to slow down in order to experience more?

1. Take Slow Walks in the Park. Slow yourself down by three steps or do a walking meditation the next time you go to the park. If you find that you have been walking a little too fast, retrace your steps and start to notice what you have missed in your first round.

2. Switch off the TV. Watching TV cannot be counted as slowing down. If you are not selective in your TV programs, you may end up with more mental junk than you know. To get in touch with life cannot be found through watching TV. It is about feeling the ground beneath your feet and fully engaging in the reality of the moment through your senses.

3. Spend Less Time On Your PC or Laptop To be honest, I have been spending less and less time on the internet. This is quite a contrast to how I used to work. I used to feel as if I cannot do without an internet connection. However, I now realize that the quality of my post improves when I am able to enjoy life in its fullness and to later share my experiences online. As with watching TV, experiencing reality cannot be made through hours spent on our PCs!

4. Spend Time With Your Loved Ones. It feels sad that our government has to come up with a yearly “Eat with Your Family Day” event. The event has been initiated since 2003. A day in the year is designated because it has been found that “the ritual of family eating together is becoming increasingly important as there are fewer opportunities to do so.”

I would think that eating together with our family once a year will not be enough to build a stronger bond. Eating in togetherness also means communication and attentive attention from everyone at the dining table. It would certainly not do to eat and watch television at the same time. Slow down your other activities every once in a while to spend time with your loved ones!

5. Meditate. My Musing for the M word goes: M is for Meditation, the natural elixir that will allow us to enjoy the Miracle of Life and the timeless experience that will bring Magic into every waking Moment. Read more about the Benefits of Meditation if you are new to the idea of spending time in silence.

6. Keep a Diary of Your Experiences. When you keep a diary or for that matter, own a blog, you start to be observant. You are compelled to slow down to keep records of your experiences. Just like I have found with blogging on this site

7. Pick Up a Leisure Activity. Consider getting involved in an activity that will require you to learn the art of slowing down. Hence, sports that have you up and running do not qualify. The times when I slowed down to take in the vastness of the sea were one of the best experiences I had from my sailing days. When I close my eyes, I recall it all: the smell of sea salt, the nothingness that stretches far out into the ocean and the crystalline blue sky.

Nearer to today, for more than three months now, I have been picking up Tai Chi. Tai Chi is a Chinese system of slow meditative physical exercise designed for relaxation and balance and health. It allows me to enjoy the fluidity that connects one movement to the next, one moment to another. Hopefully, there will come a day when I feel inspired to share more about my adventures with Tai Chi.

Nature Tapestry Notes

Nature Tapestry Notes Slow down to Experience More. Don’t miss experiencing the beauty before you, in your rush to save time. Enjoy the moment fully. And life as a whole becomes full with the succession of such moments.

Abundance Always,

Nature Tapestry Notes is a series of posts that I write and publish from insights gathered while connecting with nature at The Singapore Botanic Gardens. It now comes approximately once per month.

(photo by alicepopkorn)

We explore the frontiers of outer space, in the hope of understanding more about the Universe. Outer space, as we often visualized it to be, comprises of the planets, stars, the different galaxies, and the spaces in between. While many of us are fascinated with the discovery of possible life on other planets or stars, we forget that we hold many answers to the questions that we seek from the space inside us. And in fact, as a reader of Akashic Records, I would like to add that we hold the answers to the meaning of existence within and not on the outside. Quantum physics confirms what we already know about the intelligence of this space.

In today’s post, let us attribute outer space to be the world of form, anything that is beyond that sacred space – the interval from thought to thought – inside us.

What is Inner and Outer Space?

No words can truly describe what space is, let alone inner space. Space is in itself formless. It appears empty, because of its nothingness. However, you already know that just because you see nothing, it does not mean that there is nothing in there.

The outer space is the world of form. Form is about what you have rather than your Beingness. It is about what makes up your “I” – your house, car, credit card, belongings, friends, career, money, etc. To all that, your thoughts are attached. Thoughts take form through conditioning. They are also collections of past memories. They are perceptions of the reality of things. Hence, they are transient or illusory. In your awakening, you will realize that the thought is structure that is neither stable not have any permanence.

Thoughts do not make you intelligent. In fact, if you find yourself cluttered with thoughts, you are not able to have clarity. Your mind is far too crowded. The quietness of your mind is important to seeing truth for what it-is. Meditation is the process of freeing your mind from its conditioning and programming. It is only when you are in inner space that thoughts cease to exist.

Inner space cannot be sought in a sense. It can only be found in the here and now. An intellectual knowledge of what it is cannot suffice. Just like how you cannot truly know what a flower is from reading the descriptions of a book, it is the same with understanding stillness. True understanding is only by experiencing. You cannot know inner space through reading a book, article or even my blog post.

Insights From The Inner Space

Outer space stories are fascinating. Discoveries from the inner space no less. At first sitting, it may appear dull but in reality, it is pretty much alive, awakened by intelligence. All of inner space is consciousness that holds your essence. Our physical form is the manifestation from which consciousness presents itself.

The space within is vast. It is the doorway to many dimensions. It is where you access the higher dimensional aspects of yourself. It is where you can connect with all other souls beyond all concepts of existence. It is the space where you can “meet” your spirit guides, angels, or ascended masters.

Exploring inner space allows you to experience your full Presence. Your full Presence cannot be defined by words, labels or thoughts. It is outside the ego identity of yourself. In inner space, you realize a separation between the ego – your personality, the “I” that you have identified yourself with – and the consciousness that makes the rest of you. What makes up the rest of you is Presence in the Now. With the separation, you let go of your form identity in the “I am”.

Space is experienced in the gaps, the thought-between-thought interval. Presence is the essence found within the gaps. It is like fragrance that reveals itself between the petal folds of a flower – sweet, delicate and pure.

From inner space, insight arises. While insights are also thoughts, they arise from the unmanifested, the source pool to all-knowing. An insight is a gem of wisdom that drops in. Your heightened intuition allows you to “catch” it. It is your moment-to-moment of awareness to the way of life. The way of life is about its ebb and flow, its joy and miseries, and the illusions of the ego. Insight is also about your surrendering to its ripples, movements and waves.

Back in the outer world, upon reflection of my inner travels, I believe that I have only gotten a tiny glimpse into the vast spaciousness of stillness so far. Yet, the tiny windows are enough to let me know what possibilities there can be and how expansive consciousness can be. The tiny windows provide me with clues to my all-knowingness. Without a doubt, I look forward to being in “space” every night.

My Everyday Outer to Inner Space

I am in the midst of making plans for the June holidays. With young kids in tow on a vacation, I am not quite sure that I will be getting complete relaxation. Still, I already know that if it is peace I wish for, I cannot get it from the outer world. It has to come from the inner retreats that I have been taking. Problems mysteriously disappear in this space.

Exploring inner space has become a daily ritual for me. If I skip a sitting or two, it feels as if something is missing. It is the “nothingness” of space that sustains me for the rest of the day. It helps me to being conscious to the tempos of life. It helps me bring the dimension of Presence to what is happening around me.

In the darkness of the night, while I sit, all is quiet around me. It feels as if I am alone. But I hardly ever feel lonely. I have the company of my guides.

Sometimes a book and pen in hand is what I have next to me, when I travel inside. Invariably, I will always need to ditch any “heavy luggage” that I have been lugging around the whole day first; so that I can travel light. At the customs, before take-off to inner space, I am intuitively guided on what to do. A whisper creeps in: Leave Luggage Behind. Just Let It Go.

Moment to moment, I go deeper and deeper.

Space.

Inner space.

Share Your Space Stories

How is your meditation practice so far? Are you less attached to your ego-identity because of your raised consciousness? Do share your stories from your quiet sittings.

(Photo by alicepopkorn)

Who doesn’t want to get enlightened? Surely, advice given by a highly practiced monk on “Stages to Enlightenment” would get me there, I thought. So it was with much anticipation that I attended the talk (during which was shared the story of Play The Wishing Game – more discussion to follow down this article) by Ajahn Brahm last Saturday. I was all ready with my notepad.

Mentally, I was prepared to take down notes for difficult-to-grasp steps in an ancient religious language that I could barely pronounce. Well, the content of what was shared was not quite what I was expecting. Essentially, Ajahn Brahm gave the topic on getting to Enlightenment a practical and easy-to-understand spin. Here were his tips:

Opening The Door Of Our Hearts. To be enlightened requires us to open the door of our hearts. We give others the sense of being cared for. We do not make our love conditional on them performing a certain act or achieving a specific goal. We are genuinely concerned for others.

Act of Self Forgiveness. Often enough, enlightenment is a personal journey. It is not just about loving others but also about opening the door of our hearts to ourselves. When we open the door of our hearts to ourselves, we are really referring to the act of self forgiveness. No matter what mistakes we have made in the past, we give ourselves grace. We make peace with ourselves.

Freedom From Desire. Ajahn Brahm had used the story Play The Wishing Game (published in my last post) for illustration. In the story, chid#4 wished for the infinity of wishes while child #5 wished that he was so contented that he would never need another wish. The difference lies between freedom of desire (depicted by child #4) and freedom from desire (depicted by child #5).

The freedom of desire is really about how our society is like. Many of us go after material pursuits in the external search for freedom. Having lots of money, in our mind, translates to the freedom to do what, when we and where we want. There is no doubt that the idea of financial freedom appeals. However, it is to be noted that the too much wanting of material desires, if left unchecked, creates dukkha or suffering. Here is a fallacy in thought that many of us have: I will only be happy and free the day I have passive income working for me.

Freedom from desire is symbolized by contentment. The ending of all wishes. Nibbana, as explained in Buddhist text, refers to this state. It is the complete ending of all sensory desire, ill will and delusion. It is the stop to craving. It is when pure peace ensues. It is at the point when Enlightenment is reached.

Freedom from desire does not mean that we become lazy either. Take monks or any spiritual teacher for instance. They are contented beings but at the same time, work hard to spread messages of love, hope and inspiration. Hence, freedom from desire just means that we become free from craving. We are contented when no matter what happens to us externally, we are not emotionally affected. “It is wanting more that stops us from enjoying what we already have”.

(My thoughts on Play The Wishing Game story: I would like to think that it is possible to be contented and yet have wishes. What we have to be aware of is that the intending of wishes does not become an attachment or craving. We are already happy in the here and now. Even if our wishes are not fulfilled, we do not skip a beat. For more insights, read also Deepak Chopra’s classic bestseller The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success).

Making Peace. Enlightenment is about making peace. It is about making peace with everything and everyone around us. Remember this quote “You cannot change life but you can change your relationship with life”? We make peace with our poor state of health, our work and life. Peace is gained when we understand life through insight.

Ajahn “Everything”. To be enlightened is to make peace with everything, even with mosquitoes. As a monk who had stayed in the deep forests in Thailand for several years, Ajahn Brahm had often encountered mosquitoes. They were his constant companions while meditating. If you don’t already know this, the practice of loving kindness applies to all beings (even mosquitoes). So even while he was meditating, he was not allowed to kill any mosquito. He would call the mosquito “ajahn” because it taught him life lessons.

Applying the same principle, we take each little irritation, frustration or trouble we experience as our “teachers”. “Ajahn” in Thai means teacher. Difficulties in life are not viewed as periods of misery but rather as opportunities for learning and growth.

The Speck Of Wisdom That Lies Within. Enlightenment is not found in a religious text. Sutras are merely tools. The way to becoming enlightened is to meditate. “Meditation is the holy book of Buddhism”. Meditation allows for insight to arise from within.

Ajahn Brahm recounted the story of Koran flush story in 2005. Newsweek had reported in its issue dated May 9 that U.S. military investigators found evidence that interrogators placed copies of Islam’s holy book in washrooms. One interrogator apparently flushed the koran down the toilet to get inmates to talk. When the Newsweek report got published, there were ugly protests, triggering days of rioting in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries in which at least 16 people were killed.

A reporter for an Australian paper called the perth-based Ajahn Brahm to ask for his views. What would the Ajahn do if it were the sutras (Buddhist religious text) that had been flushed down the toilet?

Ajahn Brahm’s response?

Call the plumber.

His answer was pointed. He said that he could not imagine how he was going to be able to use a choked toilet thereafter. With the story, he cleverly illustrated that no one could flush down truths which lived inside each of us. There was no need to get upset, therefore, if anyone should threaten to do any act that appeared to mock our religion.

As I write this article, I am also reminded by a saying

“The finger pointing to the moon is not the moon”.

Likewise, any religious text is merely a guide. Our spirituality, that comes from an inner connection to the Divine, can never be destroyed.

How Do We Know that We are Getting There?

With what can be distilled from Ajahn Brahm’s talk, enlightenment in simple terms does not appear to be all that elusive. It is a journey no doubt. But one that we can gradually work towards.

Next question is how do we know if we are in the right direction? By recognizing that we are increasingly happy, loving and more compassionate. Ajahn Brahm suggested setting aside regular time for the practice of contentment – essentially meditation – to help us gain enlightenment.

Share Your Thoughts On Enlightenment

I have been reading an increasingly number of articles on Enlightenment on the web. So my questions are: What do you understand by “Enlightenment”? How do you tell if a spiritual teacher or person is truly enlightened or not? Can the state of enlightenment be something that can be easily attained in a physical lifetime and in the third-dimensional Earth plane?

(Mouths flapping during my kids’ Buddhist Class last Sunday; limevelyn)

Four monks were meditating in a monastery. All of a sudden, the prayer flag on the roof started flapping.

The youngest monk came out of his meditation and said: “Flag is flapping.”

A more experienced monk said: “Wind is flapping.”

A third monk who had been there for more than 20 years said: “Mind is flapping.”

The fourth monk who was the eldest said, visibly annoyed: “Mouths are flapping!”

Your Interpretation Please
Apparently, the above is a classic Buddhist story. I found myself laughing when I first read it some days ago.

And then I stopped.

I started to wonder if there is a lesson or lessons around it. What do you think?

Link Love
On the topic of monks, a site known as UrbanMonk has been creating waves on the web for its deeply insightful articles into human behavior, emotions and blocks. Albert, the site owner, is not a real monk by the way but writes with much wisdom. I highly recommend checking out his blog if you haven’t already done so!!!

In my last post, some of you mentioned Egypt as a place high on your list of travel dreams. Reading about Egypt in your comments made me recall about an experience I had regarding this place. No…I have not been there physically. Rather, I traveled there in my mind. It was a “travel” that took place last year. If anything, the journey also got me to truly understand what abundance was.

The event happened during a period when I was contemplating if I should go back to the banking profession. The job market was booming. Salary prospects looked promising. “Would I sell my time once again to doing something that I am not inwardly passionate about,” I asked myself. “The money sure looks attractive,” I reasoned.

My then 6-year old elder daughter, Hui, came to me for a school project that she needed help in. Everyone in class was to present the country they would like to visit most.

“Now which country would you like to visit?” I asked.

“Egypt”, she replied matter-of-factly.

Egypt? I was confused. What did she know about Egypt? I have not mentioned Egypt as a place that I wanted to go nor did I recall ever having much conversations with her about pyramids, Egypt and all. Where did she get the idea from? I wondered.

“Honey, how about you present some place else?” I asked. “How about Disneyland in the States or Japan? Or how about presenting about Australia?” I wanted to change her mind, as I would rather help her with a place I knew more about or had an interest in. Talk about being such a practical mother!

No, it had to be Egypt. And neither could she explain the exact reasons why she was choosing this place.

Exasperated, I gave up persuading Hui after two days. In the end, I asked my husband to help her with the school project instead. It would not be too difficult for him as he had been to Egypt while he was a student. After viewing the completed project made in power point slides and complimenting Hui for “a great job”, I promptly forgot about her project.

One evening, some one to two months later, I was about to meditate. I decided to make an intention. A request, really. To ask to be shown what abundance was. (I was at that time still in turmoil, undecided whether or not to go back to my former profession.) I have not always gotten my prayer requests answered so quickly but strangely, my experience with this one was different.

As soon as I went into the Silence, I got a flash.

I “saw” a girl about 7-8 years old. She was dressed in white and standing next to a river. She could also be standing in a boat. I tried to get an impression of where she came from. She sure looked different. She had short hair in a bob style; and if anything, seemed to be wearing robes of a different era (definitely not modern!).

Mentally, I asked: Where is this place?

The answer was instant: Egypt.

What river is this?

Answer: River Nile.

I tried to get a sense of who she was and how she was like. She was wise beyond her years; beautiful, quiet.

I then asked: Do I know her? Who is she?

Inner knowing arose swiftly.

I was her.

The flash was gone.

I came out of meditation, filled with questions. What was it that I have just experienced? Was I really her? Was there a message for me? I could not wait for morning to come.

I called my friend the next day. She was an advanced meditator. Being intuitively attuned, she did a quick reading for me. Yes! I was the girl in Egypt. She warned me not to seek for answers. The answers will come naturally in a meditation, if they were meant to.

Was I going to listen to my friend? No. I was too anxious for a message. I needed to know. I needed to find out.

The next evening, I went into meditation, intending to find answers to my questions. Almost immediately, I was transported back to the same era. I saw the same girl this time, lying on a concrete slab.

Wait! Hold on a minute! She was terminally ill. She was incredibly sad. I felt her immense grief. Her emotional pain was more than the physical pain.

Was she leaving someone behind?

The answer was yes – she was.

If you use the camera, you’d know what I would be talking about here. It is like unzooming to get a wider perspective and you begin to see this other person in the same image. A little girl was standing next to her.

Tears started to roll down my cheeks.

I asked mentally, Who is this little sister?

The word “Egypt” popped into my mind.

Instinctively, I asked: Is she Hui?

Answer: Yes.

The dying girl did not want to leave behind the little sister she had. She found it hard to let go of her attachment to her sister. She loved her and knew that her little sister looked up to her. Her lifetime was just too short to experience all there was, with her sister.

Her grief consumed me. Like a floodgate, tears started to pour.

I could bear it no longer. I was sobbing at this point. I wanted to come out of my meditation. The last flash of insight came, just before I opened my eyes: Before passing on, the dying girl intended to meet her baby sister once again.

It was already 3 a.m. I sat on my bed in darkness, awakened. After all these years, I finally understood what abundance was. The chance to experience love again with Hui (and most likely, with each of my family members too). Love was the answer I was seeking for. Not money, not material wealth or a career with prospects.

I felt the raw emotion of pain and suffering. At the same time, I was grateful for the insight that came to me at such a deep level. Any knowing that my life was blessed was purely superficial up to this night. I had previously taken far too many things for granted. From the looks of things externally, I was abundant. But I had always focused on my lack; lamenting about the places I have not been and the things I did not have. What an idiot I was!

There and then, I made up my mind. I decided not to go back to a banking job; so that I would always be available to walk my daughter to and from school. I’d cherish the chance to hold her hands as we take the walk together every day. I’d be there if she needed me.

Overnight, I experienced a shift. I started appreciating all the little things in life; being joyful in each moment of Now. I swore that I would not waste my life or ever to walk in unawareness of the beauty around again. I began to embrace whole-heartedly and deeply a wider definition of what abundance is: Peace, Love, Light, Joy, Beauty and Wisdom.

My “travel” to Egypt was the start of more revelations to come. By now, I already have a record of a number of “travels” in handwritten notes; enough to fill a book. Each time, my soul intended to come back to complete unresolved issues, to experience love again, to finish off lessons that I have yet learned. In a sense, I have never really “died”; merely transformed.

Lastly, I also decided to stay true to my meditative experiences. Still, it has taken me about a year before I am finally sharing more about them on my site.

Strangely, I felt a jolt while scouring through pictures of Egypt to go with this post. Will I want to visit Egypt physically? I don’t know. I really don’t. Perhaps, if I do ever make it there, I will have another tale to tell on this blog.

Now, over to you. Do you have any similar experiences to share? Do you often feel inclined to dressing up as someone from a different culture? Or have you ever gotten a deja vu feeling about a place you thought you have never visited before? Please write your story below.

In the most popular sense of the word, Gap is the label of an all American clothes brand with stores worldwide. Over in London, the term “Mind the Gap” is an announcement often heard at its Underground railway system when a train arrives at a station. Passengers are told to look out for and to avoid the significant gap between the train door and the station platform. In economics, “Gap analysis” refers to a business resource assessment tool.

(Photo credit: Alicepopkorn on Flickr)

Of lesser known, is the concept of Gap from a meditative perspective. Spiritual teachers and meditation masters tell us to not only recognise the Gap but Be in It. They recommended that much benefits can be derived when we do this. Admittedly, the Gap is a profound concept, which in its simplicity, not quite as easy to grasp especially if we have not been conscious about it. Yes, it is possible that you have experienced it at one time or another, as you go about your hectic life.

What is The Gap?

The Gap is the silent space between thoughts. It is the space where the mind stands still. No thoughts exist in this space. Hence, it is in the Gap that you can experience present moment awareness. From cultivating present moment awareness, inner wisdom and joy arises.

Can a Gap truly exist?

I had my doubts initially: How can a space be possible if the mind is caught in a constant stream of inner chatter? Thoughts fill your head. They come one after another. Sometimes, they come all at once. Before you have ceased in one thought, another one has already risen. It is a busy mind that all of us have.

Recognizing The Gap: The New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

In the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, he says that the space between thoughts probably arise sporadicially. Why we have not been aware about these spaces is because our consciousness had been so mersmerized by experienced and conditioned to identify with form that it does not become aware of inner space. You may be tempted to look for the Gap. However, you will not be able to seek for space; it just arises.

“Discover inner space by creating gaps in the stream of thinking. Without those gaps, your thinking becomes repetitive, uninspired, devoid of any creative spark, which is how it still is for most people on the planet.” — A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle suggests breath meditation to help bring space into our lives. When we become conscious of our own breath, we are absolutely present. Conscious breathing stops the process of thinking. But we are not asleep in this state. We are fully awake. Meditation offers the arising of space consciousness.

Silent Present Moment Awareness by Ajahn Brahm

Ajahn Brahm shared about the Gap during the Happiness Retreat that I attended in Khao Lak, Thailand. He suggested that we develop inner silence, because we can give up the burden of our thoughts. There is much power to Being in the Silence. Only in Silence, can wisdom arise.

“Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity in thinking.” — Quote by Ajahn Brahm in Happiness Through Meditation.

To develop silence is to not have an inner commentary. It is to make observations without judgement. Sometimes, we think we know the world through the inner commentary that goes on in our heads.

“However, it is the inner speech that spins the delusions that cause suffering. Inner speech causes us to be angry with our enemies and to form dangerous attachments to our loved ones. Inner speech causes all of life’s problems. It constructs fear and guilt, anxiety and depression.”
— Ajahn Brahm in Happiness Through Meditation

Thoughts of worry and fear add unnecessary burden to our minds. When we cultivate present moment awareness, there is no space for inner speech. We are completely taken by the Presence of the moment. One way of developing inner silence is to recognise the space between thoughts.

“Attend closely with sharp mindfulness when one thought ends and before another thought begins there! That is silent awareness! It may be momentary at first, but as you recognise the fleeting silence you become accustomed to it. And as you become accustomed to it, the silenced lasts longer. You begin to enjoy the silence, once you found it at last and that is why it grows. But remember, silence is shy. If silence hears you talking about her, she vanishes immediately.”

The Gap For Putting In Your Intention By Deepak Chopra

My first encounter with The Gap was when I read Deepak Chopra’s book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. He talked about the Gap under the Law of Intention and Desire. Deepak shared that intention has an infinite organizing power. “Intention lays the groundwork for the effortless, spontaneous, frictionless flow of pure potentiality seeking expression from the unmanifest to the manifest.”

He then went on to outline the steps for manifesting our desires and getting them fulfilled in 5 steps. Here is the exact excerpt, making up the steps for 1 & 2:

(1) Slip into the gap. This means to center yourself in that silent space between thoughts, to go into the silence – that level of Being which is your essential state.

(2) Establish in that state of Being, release your intentions and desires. When you are actually in the gap, there’s no thought, there’s no intention, but as you come out of the gap at the junction between the gap and a thought, you introduce intention. If you have a series of goals, you can write them down and have your intention focused on them before you go into the gap. If you want a successful career, for example, you go into the gap with that intention, and the intention will already be there as a faint flicker in your awareness. Releasing your intentions and desires in the gap means planting them in the fertile ground of pure potentiality, and expecting them to bloom when the season is right. You do not want to dig up the seeds of your desires to see if they are growing, or get rigidly attached to the way in which they unfold. You simply want to release them.

When I first read Deepak’s book, I had no understanding of the paragraphs mentioned above in getting to the gap. I felt that it was important to learn about The Gap; how else could I place my intention to the Universe?

I set about to investigate for myself if a Gap really existed. Surely, the spiritual teachers knew what they were talking about. Gradually, with an increased awareness while I meditate, I experienced the Gap every now and then. I now realise that there is no way for deeper understanding other than through experiential learning. You need to be watchful when you meditate. When you notice the thought-between-thought space, you follow the steps outlined above by Deepak, to place your intentions. Of course, you also need to have an understanding of his 6 other Spiritual Laws of Success for your manifestations to become a reality.

Growing The Gap

“You don’t need to be concerned with the duration of those gaps. A few seconds is good enough. Gradually, they will lengthen themselves, without any effort on your part. More importantly than their length is to bring them in frequently so that your daily activities and your stream of thinking become interspersed with space.”
— Quote taken from A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

I don’t experience a Gap every time I meditate. I also observed that there are times I have been able to experience longer Gaps than others. My practice now is to be more aware when one should arise and Be in It as long as possible.

I also wouldn’t declare that I’ve gotten wiser from having experienced a space between thoughts. I still consider myself a beginner meditator; having only tasted the beginning fruits of inner bliss from a few of my sessions.

What I can vouch, at least for now, is this: The peace arising from inner space is delightful. There is perfect stillness. I am clear of all thoughts whatsoever. I am free!

I had not thought about writing on this topic but an experience with the Gap came up last week while I was in Thailand. Fresh from listening to Ajahn Brahm’s talks during the retreat, I was aware of one when it happened.

The Gap Experienced

I wanted to be alone. I decided to meditate on the beach on the last afternoon of my meditation retreat in Khao Lak, Thailand. I chose a deck chair, with no one near and under the shade of a huge umbrella. The day was cool; the weather perfect.

It was quiet all around. Except for the sounds of the waves washing the ocean shore. I watched as the waves gave way to white foam, before rippling off and disappearing into the sands. The beach was beautiful and pristine.

I closed my eyes. My mind quietened. Soon I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness. I was aware of the occasional thought that came in. But recalling what I was taught, I simply brought my mind back to the present moment.

In meditation, I watched my breath. In and out. In and out. In and out.

I began to tune into the sounds with the ebb and flow of the tidal waves on the shore. It is almost like having a sense surround system. The sounds echoed loudly in my ears; I experienced the vastness of the ocean with them.

For a while, I became One with the Waves.

And then, it happened.

I had tuned into the sound of a tide that was receding and had expected another sound to overlap or follow suit almost immediately.

Instead, there was a momentary silence.

I held my breath.

Time stood still.

No thoughts – I just waited.

Not for long.

The sound of the next tide came. And it was over.

Inner knowing arose. I had just experienced Space.