Sometimes I'm amazed at the ways in which our own personal psychological conditioning distorts our perception of the true nature of people and situations. In my own case, if I think I'm being given "the silent treatment" by people, my mind begins to impute all sorts of attitudes and motivations to them that simply are not true. It's no wonder that some meditation teachers call this a case of "monkey-mind" (kapicitta). A mind in this state really IS like a monkey that moves ceaselessly from branch to branch, never able to remain still and centered. Like a pond agitated by continual breezes, we find ourselves hindered from seeing reflections of the REAL - the pure snowy mountain peaks that represent the true divinity of the person or situation. I ask this day for the grace to let go of these sorts of perceptual pond-ripples and instead learn to train my mind to mirror the situation as it actually is. In my own case, this means simply saying "I don't really know HOW to interpret a person's silence," and then leaving it at that.
Photo: Spirea bush, Picture Lake, and a reflection of Mount Rainier; Mount Rainier National Park, WA; July 30, 2013
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