Opening the curtains of the mind.

Over the past few months I have been sleeping in a bedroom with no curtains or blinds thus waking naturally as the sun rises. On my trip to Rome the hotel room has very thick curtains making it difficult to decipher without looking at the trusty clock what time of the night it is. This has led to the first few mornings here lying in way past the respectable tourist sightseeing rising time! Not sure whether it is day or night.

I had a similar experience last year when I was dropped off at a remote retreat house in the Sierra Nevada by a man who assured me there would be no problem with snow. That night I tucked myself up into bed and closed the shutters of my stoney, cold room.  The following day I woke at midday - the room still pitch black opened the shutters to behold two feet of fresh snow had quietly landed during the night. The light streamed in!!

This recent trip however has made me think of how the mind is sometimes blocked by distractions and confusion leading to very little light coming in - if we know how to open the curtains of our mind then we can start to witness a change of internal atmosphere. When you open the curtains in the morning it doesn’t take much to illuminate the room, in the same way if we can start to experience the pure nature of the mind then we can start to experience peace and light within.

What do I mean by light within? Simply a mental environment that is conducive for peace and happiness - this is a peaceful one. Our minds natural state is one of peace and stillness. We can access this experience through meditation and then enjoy the effects in our life.