The empty space in your mind

What’s better than an empty mind? An empty mind brings peacefulness, satisfaction and also joy that an overloaded mind cannot understand.

The human brain cannot understand an empty mind. An empty mind can only be felt and be aware of.

When your brain starts to interpret the empty space, thoughts will conquer your mind.

If your mind is empty, you are being awakened out of your thoughts into the present. In short, you are no longer being pulled into the drama of your thoughts.

Now, close your eyes and repeat the exercise of asking what your next thought is.

Notice the silence around you while you wait for the arrival of your next thought.

During that moment, that in you, which notices the silence, is not thought. It is not thinking. It is stillness in the empty space. It is the present.

If or when thoughts still come, you will be able to recognise it as movement of thoughts without completely being drawn into it.

Allowing this moment to be as it is takes you out of thoughts. Noticing the silence takes you out of thoughts. Feeling the aliveness of your body takes you out of thoughts.

And even noticing a simple thing like your breath takes you out of thought.

All these ‘noticing’ will bring you to discover your empty space where you find peace.

This doesn’t mean that your thoughts will cease to bother you. But once you can access your empty space, the thinking that is still taking place is just like a surface phenomenon for you. It is akin to wave movement. Only a little sense of perception will be still there. For example, the voices you hear – be it some noises in the room or some noises from your neighbour – or the images or conscious objects that are in the foreground which occupy most people’s attention - will come and go.

But we are only interested in the background. The space of awareness itself – which is the empty space.

You can’t know it. You can only be it and feel you are part of it because your mind will never understand it.

Your mind is still active? So what. Let it be active as what is. That’s ok if you know how to get out of your thoughts and into the empty space, again and again, until you learn to let your thoughts fly over without being drawn into its dramatic drama.

Watch your feelings. It is your compass whether you are in empty space or you are being caught in your thoughts. When your empty space is huge enough, it will hard for thoughts to grab your attention completely again to the extent of affecting your emotions.

Remember, whatever you accept, you go beyond, and that’s a miracle. If you fight it, you are stuck with it and drive you further from your invaluable empty space. That’s what ‘Redha kepada ketentuan-Nya’(accept His Decree) means, in my own interpretation.-ES