Today we explore the rain on the window metaphor.
This is part of a body of work called Never Mind Your Mind which reveals how our thoughts,
Like raindrops on a window,
Only become a problem if we focus on them.
By shifting our attention to the world beyond,
We can connect more fully with life as it unfolds.
Rain on the window You stand at the window and look out at what you can see.
You're inside and it's warm and cosy.
It's raining outside.
That always helps.
You watch the people outside getting wet and turn towards thoughts of thankfulness that it's not you.
Then,
After a few seconds,
You return your focus to the world outside.
Seemingly out of the blue,
Upon the window pane,
A large drop of rain begins to form.
Look at that,
Says your mind,
Wanting you to be out of the present moment.
It's so big,
Yet it hasn't begun to trickle yet,
And now this is distracting you.
It continued.
Your mind is right.
The large drop of rain has distracted you by pulling you away from what you were experiencing outside.
Now,
Your attention is drawn to all the little raindrops on the window,
So much so that the world outside is no longer in your awareness.
The rain on the window is the new focus.
Hmm,
I can't see a thing.
Go and wipe it off.
That would be much better,
Says your mind,
Trying to make a problem out of the present moment.
Yeah,
But you don't want to get wet.
Looks like you'll just have to accept it,
Continues its dialogue.
You decide not to buy into these thoughts,
Letting them come and go,
Just like the cars going by outside in the street.
You then make a conscious effort to look through the rain on the window and focus on life unfolding outside again.
And in that moment,
The rain on the window becomes a tiny fraction of the scope of what you are aware of in your body,
Mind and the world outside.
It's then that you notice Nellie,
The black cat from number 11.
Nellie walks briskly from her driveway at number 11 and over the road into the driveway of number 22 for yet another supply of milk.
Nellie always brings you good luck.
It's then that you notice the lush green leaves on the trees that you only get in springtime.
As you do this,
You become aware that you are noticing this.
You know that the rain doesn't bother you when you focus upon some of these things in the outside world.
And then you recognize something.
The raindrops on the window only become a problem if you focus upon them.
The rain on the window is not a problem,
Unless it is made into a problem.
Your relationship to the raindrop was the problem,
Not the raindrop itself.
Our thoughts are not a problem unless we make them into a problem.
If you don't treat them as a problem,
They can do what they will,
Trickling away as they do.
Whilst you continue to look through the rain on the window and connect to the world outside as it unfolds around you.
Dear Mind,
As I sit in this cafe,
I am writing this letter to you and for me.
Thank you for being there,
Always trying to protect me and guide me in your own way,
Even when your efforts have felt overwhelming or unhelpful.
Through this course,
I am gaining new insights that are deepening my understanding and deepening my compassion for you.
This helps me not mind you as much.
It helps me not mind my mind.
And obviously,
This is making life easier.
Thank you for helping me recognise that I am so much more than the automatic thinking patterns that pop into my head.
These thinking patterns that you give me.
You are there to help me realise that I am not my thoughts unless I choose them.
You are there to help me come to know that I am the awareness behind the thinking patterns that you give me.
And so,
My dear Mind,
I am grateful for these lessons because they are showing me that you are not my enemy.
You're simply doing your job.
With these insights,
I can hold you with more compassion,
Appreciating your presence while also knowing that the thoughts you give me are a tiny fraction of my reality.
I am bigger than them.
Yes,
I am.
Yours sincerely,
With compassion and gratitude,
From me.
My consciousness is evolving every single time I notice an unhelpful thought and hold it lightly.
May my consciousness continue to evolve.
This appreciation helps me and heals me.
The rain is no problem,
It's there to observe,
Just like my thoughts,
Which I don't have to serve.
The rain is no problem,
It's there to observe,
Just like my thoughts,
Which I don't have to serve.
The rain is no problem,
It's there to observe,
Just like my thoughts,
Which I don't have to serve.
