Perception

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.41: “When the mind is like a crystal, it has no coloring of its own…It reflects equally whatever is before it.”

One favorite story is of the Buddha- after he achieved enlightenment; the armies of Fear, the Daughters of Desire and the Lord of Duty each came at him. They all failed to tempt him because he saw no “I”, he saw no “They”.

Oh, how I wish my mind was not colored by “I” and “They”. It seems much of the noise in my head is the constant differentiating myself from my husband, my stepson, and my coworkers. It is natural, as my perceptions are colored by the impressions and troubles of living.

In 2001, in a very quiet canyon of Natural Bridges National Park, I sat alone and for a moment my surroundings absorbed me. For just that moment, “I” ceased to exist separate from the rock, the sun, the insects, the ravens. My breath merged with the wind. I felt no “I”, no “They”, no “It”. Perhaps one day I will bring that into my home and work, too.