observe

Sit and observe everything around you. The environment you are in, the people, the sounds, the smells, everything. While you are doing this, try to just observe it. Don’t classify, categorize or judge any of it.

When the mind tries to judge the clothes people are wearing, hairstyles, or what you think of people, let it pass. When the mind tries to judge the buildings around as something you like or don’t like, let it pass. Even go beyond the name of something you are looking at. ex. a tree, a car, or a building.

As you see the tree and say “OK there is a tree and it has leaves on it. It’s brown and green and tilts slightly to the side. Oh there’s a squirrel on the tree! He just jumped from one branch to the other! Oh geez the squirrel almost just fell, crazy squirrel.” Instead, just look at the tree and see it as simply something that is there.

What this allows us to do is pay attention to the moment. It reveals all the stories, the mind chatter and the effect the ego has on every moment we are awake.  This can be a very relaxing and profound experience to play with as it’s something we generally don’t do often in our every day lives.. simply observe.

We are usually always going somewhere or waiting for what’s next or watching something intently. We don’t take the time to just sit and observe, feel and not judge. My most creative an profound moments have come from doing stuff like this. And peace and freedom all lie within this state of being. Beyond all anxieties, fears, emotions etc.