Analogy of the Sky
There is a vastness within you. It is an infinite space of awareness of being this very moment. It is always here, always free and always tranquil. This is the core of your own being, which is really the core of Being itself. By stopping everything this moment you can come across this miracle. This shift of perception is very subtle but once noticed it changes lives and frees minds forever. The secret is that You must notice it for yourself; no one can do it for you: not me, not Buddha, not Jesus, no one but you yourself. What you must notice is the unchanging reality within you which has always been and will forever be. It is rather like the sky above.
The sky appears above us and yet there is really no above at all, no, it is all around us. It appears blue sometimes; unless it is crowded with clouds and rain. It is simply clear atmosphere. Yet we know it is always there. It really has no color or shape and yet all shapes are visible when silhouetted against it. All colors are compared to it as its unmistakable blueness outshines all else and yet we can live an entire day and not see the sky at all. Instead, we can be distracted by everything else, by all the things in front of us, passing by. Those things around us are often so beautiful, so enchanting, we can miss the sky itself. Those things around us can be so ugly and so outright disturbing, the sky is not even noticed. How then do we see this sky? By merely turning our attention ever so slightly from the particular subjects themselves, the circumstances, and instead allow our gaze to gently move beyond to the sky-the background of all. This is the analogy of realizing or attending to pure silence within.
Again, this is so simple it can appear disturbing, even ridiculous. In this moment, right now, right here, relax into the ever-present state of gentle peace and openness within. Simply allow the thoughts to subside and notice from where they have come and to where they go and very gradually you will come to rest in that space, that silence within. Now simply return to this as often as you can or wish.
The sky appears blue and vast and infinite, and so it is with this pure silence. Once discovered, life begins anew.
"Look for the vastness within and do not be afraid of what you find for you will find that which you already are."