empty your mind..

Before we start the quest for truth, I ask you to empty your mind. Let me break that down...

For you to listen rather than hear, you need to suspend your judgement. First hear me out and then judge what I said based on your knowledge base, beliefs, experience and any other filters you may use. If you agree then chew it on some more and if you feel good about it then go ahead and swallow it and digest it.

Allow me to further illustrate why you need to empty your mind with the following parable or anecdote:

2 men travelled a long way from their homes across continents, sailed across oceans, evaded robbers and con men and persevered through border checks and finally climbed a mountain in search of the ultimate wisdom. Finally they arrived at the mountain resort of a revered monk or holy man. The dwelling was carved into a mountain and seemed to almost blend in with it surroundings except for the wooden door. A young student who opened the door explained that the door was built to ward off the cold winds.

The student invited the men in and acknowledged that his master was the one they were in search of and asked them to wait when he got word to his master. The men sat on the bare rock floor and shuddered at the cold inside. The waiting room was threadbare - no furniture, paintings or any indication of human habitation.

After what seemed like an eternity the wise, old man finally entered and greeted them warmly . He sat down before them and waited for them to speak. The first one said to him" I don't see any furniture in your home?" The master shot back with a smile"Where is your furniture?" "But we are travellers and it would be inconvenient and almost impossible to carry our furniture with us on our travels. It would slows us down and deters us from achieving our objectives." explained the second man. The wise one replied "We are all travellers and we can all benefit by travelling light and by not hoarding possessions. In any case these possessions we cannot carry all the way to our destination and such they have limited uses. The wise one is he who can do with less than what he possesses." The 2 travellers nodded in silence already warming to the simple but profound truth that they were being served with.

"Wise master, please teach us the secret of life" said the first one. The master said"Let us start with some tea. I see that you are tired from your travels, the mind cannot be attentive when the body is tired." He nodded to his student who went away to get the tea. He came back with a small table put it in front of the guests and covered it with a table cloth that was white as snow. He neatly laid down a couple of bamboo cups and looked towards his master who motioned for him to pour the tea into the cup. The student began pouring the black tea into the cup dutifully and continued pouring waiting for his master 's next command. His master seemed totally oblivious to the fact that the tea had reached the brim of the cup. Meanwhile the 2 travellers were getting nervous, but the student continued pouring until the tea began to overflow and stain the white tablecloth. The second one was beside himself now"Please stop!" he blurted out. The master finally asked him to stop and told his guests"So you see when the cup is full, anything you add to it will overflow and not be retained by it. The mind is similar to the cup, if it is full of thoughts and ideas and biases and judgements and fears and apprehensions, then whatever I am going to teach you will have no impact and will overflow. So please start by emptying your mind."

This in essence is the secret of emptying the mind and is the first step to learning and evaluating something new that could prove to be profound. So I invite you to empty your mind and silence your inner critical voice. You can switch that back on after you are done reading.

Are you ready to embark on your journey? Stay tuned! I will talk to you soon through these pages on the worldwide web. If you have any comments and feedback, please let me know..

Greetings from
Your fellow traveller to infinity.