When the Song Is Over
How thought continues while the mind rests in silence
When did I realize the music had stopped?
Silence had already been there for a while.
Thought was still happening, but the mind was empty of holding. Thoughts were passing through without attachment, the way an old 45 record would keep turning after the song had ended. The needle would reach the center groove and circle again and again, almost quiet now, just that faint fuzzy hum.
Something was still moving, but the music was over.
The mind can be like that.
Thoughts continue to pass through. They come and go on their own. Some are noticed, some are not. Some are caught and held. Others pass by like fish moving along a stream.
The mind is not full because thoughts exist. It becomes full when it catches them.
It becomes heavy when it keeps catching them.
Boredom may be another kind of catching. Refusing what is there. Wanting something else. Standing at the stream and rejecting every fish that passes.
But before anything fresh can be received, the net must be lifted.
The stream must be allowed to move.
Sometimes this begins simply by noticing the next thought and not following it.
The mind empties not by pushing thoughts away, but by no longer grabbing at each one as it passes.
Then thought may still happen.
But the song is over.
And silence is already there.
Spiritual Gravity 