The mind needs direction. There are times when the mind needs no direction but they come from an initial direction or guidance. The mind left to its own devices is a negligent mind, unconscious and chaotic. No matter how much realization one has had, an unkept mind is a clouded lens through which to see reality. Ramana worshiped Arunachala, Nisargadatta continued to pay homage to his Guru, Ramakrishna sang songs, and danced wildly in devotion to Kali… the mind needs direction. What changes is how subtle, transparent and unseen what we direct the mind towards becomes.
Reality is the finest substance, that’s why it’s pointed to as nothingness or even non existence. Yet the direction, the focus, the continuous abidance in what we love is key. Once our direction and abidance touches the delicacy of reality, this direction becomes reality itself - where there’s a sense of no direction needed. This is a place of true rest. Yet rest assured, there’s a good chance direction will be needed once again.
Think of direction not simply as the movement of attention or the active impulse towards something but rather as an expression of your deepest orientation. Direction can be an extension of your inner compass facing what you love most - your true North, your North Star. In this way direction is less about efforting, pushing or using false will towards a idealized goal but rather it’s your inmost facing & moving Godward.
When you’re facing Godward miracles, flow, beauty, knowing, confidence, are effortless and commonplace. Here you are truly aligned with what you are and what you love. This is what inquiry, meditation and contemplation can do; even within dance, song, devotion, poetry, and the many human arts. It has our mind move along certain lines, which directs us in a penetrating way all the way into the fabric of reality.
