We now begin the practice of inner silence.
Take a comfortable seat.
Bring your spine tall.
Close or lower your eyes.
Move your awareness to the outer environment.
Be aware of nearby sounds.
Of far away sounds.
Do not consider the sound to be a disturbance.
But let it be the object of your meditation.
Your ears are receiving the sounds as they arise.
Without anticipating any sounds.
If it helps to label a sound,
Such as clicking,
Knocking,
Use labels to draw your focus inward.
If you find yourself thinking about sound,
Or you become distracted,
Notice that.
Now let's move from the outer environment to the inner environment.
The inner workings of the mind.
Allow your thoughts to arise spontaneously.
Allow the thoughts that are involuntary to come forth from your mind.
Be aware that you are thinking.
Be aware of what you are thinking.
Remain aware.
Notice that some of your thoughts might be good.
Others might be bad.
Some thoughts might go round and round.
Others might bring you down.
Be aware that these are expressions of your inner personality.
Look at all of your thoughts indifferently,
With detachment.
As a neutral observer.
If your mind becomes free of thought,
Be aware of that state also.
Very good.
Let's move into creating thoughts and images at will.
Let's bring about the creation of an object in your mind.
Create any object you wish to create.
Don't allow any spontaneous thoughts to enter your mind.
It might be an object for home,
Office,
Transport,
An object in nature,
Or it might be a color,
A shape,
Or a design.
There are no limits to your imagination.
Create the object of your liking now.
Now dash this image from your mind.
Remove it with your will.
Now bring forth specific thoughts,
Which you want to put in your mind.
Maybe they're thoughts on compassion,
Or curiosity,
Or adventure.
Deliberately create these thoughts in your mind.
If a spontaneous thought wants to express itself,
No matter how interesting,
Provocative,
Or inspiring it may be,
Don't allow it to manifest.
Be a deliberate creator of your thoughts.
Be a creator of your thinking now.
Now dash these thoughts from your mind.
Remove them with your will.
Let's create an image or thoughts around peace,
Such as a white dove,
Or a tranquil lake,
A subdued sunset,
Or words of tranquility and ease.
It's a deliberate creation,
So no spontaneous involuntary thoughts are allowed to enter your mind.
Be a deliberate creator of peace now.
Now dash these images or thoughts from your mind.
Now let's go back to inviting in spontaneous thoughts,
The thoughts that arrived without your will.
Allow yourself to think these thoughts for a while,
Then dispose of the thought at your will.
The arrival of these thoughts are spontaneous,
But their departure is willful.
Practice removing spontaneous thoughts at will.
If you find between thoughts there are periods of inner silence,
Dwell on the silence within.
Now become aware of the inner space,
The colorless,
Formless space of the mind.
Now gaze into your mind.
If any thoughts or images arise,
Dispose of them immediately.
Remove them with your will.
Try to maintain a sense of thoughtlessness.
Eventually,
Thoughts slowly cease to manifest.
Creating inner silence.
If you find periods of inner silence,
Honor that space.
Dwell in that space.
Very good.
Externalize your mind to the outer environment.
Bring your awareness back to the sounds you hear around you.
Breathe in fully.
Exhale completely.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
