There is a music store in nearby Cotati, California, named "Loud and Clear." As I drove by yesterday and saw their sign, what came out loud and clear for me was, it is in quiet that I am most clear. "Loud and clear" is a very familiar phrase. It communicates a definitive, I got it. But what about quiet and clear? How might we really get it without pumping up the volume?
For the past few weeks I have received numerous posts and newsletters inviting us to honor the autumnal season by slowing down, turning within, resting more, and reflecting. My friend Lauren Walker, founder of Energy Medicine Yoga, stated it beautifully: "Can we embrace the rhythm of winter with its long and languorous pace?" Another friend, Tracee Stanley, reminds: "a time of dreaming and imagination." For me, their reflections exemplify the state of quiet and clear. It is a state of grace.
If you know me, you are probably not at all surprised to hear that I gravitate toward this way of being in the world. Truth be told, I tend toward this realm for the better part of the year. It may not the rhythm of "nature," but it is the rhythm of my own drum. I realize that long nights and dark mornings are not favored by all, but I find them soothing, comforting, and delicious. I love languorous.
Autumn fits me like a woolen glove. I adore waking long before dawn and taking a seat at my altar for my pranayama, chanting, and meditation practice. It is a sweet and precious practice, all the more dear by candlelight, and perhaps a cat on my lap. There, it is ... loud and clear that I am quiet and clear.
Is your interest piqued?
A Meditation Toward the Grace of Quiet and Clear:
If you've been wanting to start, or resurrect, a sitting practice, I invite you to keep it simple. Short and sweet, so it allures you to its presence rather than daunts you away. By the way, that sweet state of quiet and clear you is already present. Yours for the noticing. Need another carrot? How's this--Think of your meditation practice as answering the call of your heart to see, and be seen.
