Look! This little finger covers the eye and prevents the whole world from being seen. In the same way, this small mind covers the whole universe and prevents Reality from being seen.
—Ramana Maharishi
The mind is a lot less important than we think it is. In our Western rationalistic cultures, we have given pre-eminence to the operations of the cognitive processes. Of course, the rational mind has its place and value in the scheme of things. But it is not meant to be the primary way we experience reality. Feeling or sensing is the primary way to know anything.
The mind judges, analyzes, measures, and compartmentalizes and thus creates a sense of separation and duality. The heart or the intuitive faculty embraces or becomes one with its object of attention. It knows it from the inside out and not from surface outside appearances and measurements.
So, to really get to know someone or something beyond the narrow confines of your mind’s myopic judgments, learn to quiet your mind and become one with that which you are focused on and then you will know.
“Open for me slightly your heart and I will open the world for you.”
—The Zohar
“There is a voice that does not use words—Listen!
—Rumi
To find the way, close your eyes, listen closely and attend with your heart.
Be present in your own presence and then you can be present for others.
