Inner Work

For the week of: July 8, 2002

Direct Perception

Direct, unmediated perception revitalizes us. The simplest objects vividly express the beauty inherent in our surroundings, ordinary or not. We hear the clanking of silverware as the notes of a symphony. Every morsel of food comes alive with taste, texture, and aroma. We find once more the simple pleasures of living in our body. This may sound appealing, but how can we live like that?

Distractions prevent us from living in this natural, open perceptivity. Our attention wanders far afield from our immediate perceptions, leaving little energy behind to recognize the small miracles of daily living. Returning to our center, here in this moment, escaping the thrall of our associative trains of thought, daydreams, and emotional reactions, we can once again see and hear with the wonder of a child. Removing our attention from our mental apparatus that categorizes, comments, and reacts to perception, we enter the vivid, the true world. As the Buddha put it: “In the seen, there is just what is seen. In the heard, there is just what is heard…”

            For this week, work at allowing your attention to rest in direct perception, in non-distraction.

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