Sit by a stream and listen

Every now and then everyone must try to sit by a stream and listen. We all feel a disorientation after a life changing event, the loss of a loved one or a personal crisis. Experts suggest that in order to recover, one can practice deep listening, an ancient healing art. The Water element easily facilitates deep listening. Try sitting beside a stream or river and watch the river flow by. Listen to the gurgling and bubbling sound of water flowing over the pebbles. Observe the waves and ripples - how they rise and fall. Observe the colours of the sky in the water. As you reflect, your fears will weaken, your pain will dissolve and your inherent wisdom will rise forth to make you feel strong again. Buddha explains this act of sitting by a river bank even better. He says when your mind is disturbed, sit by the side of your mind. Watch it with all its muddiness, old wounds, hurts, unfinished things. Slowly, ever so slowly, things will clear up and the muddy stream of your mind will become clear. By sitting on side of your mind you become the observer. You are not involved in the act of flowing and that helps you become calm.