The Power of Now

We have been listening to the Power of Now during our meditations this past week, and it has created a great sense of stillness in the practice.  Probably, Eckhart Tolle's voice has something to do with it, but the reminder of the power of presence and stillness awakens that state within.

I encourage you to listen and begin your own practice.  Or come and join us Monday, Tuesday or Thursday at 11:11 AM.  
youtu.be/LfoLGwMhg4Q

It particularly interested me the section he shared about creativity, as it aligns with my own views and personal experience.  

45:00 - starts this thread of thought...

"Thinking and consciousness are not synonymous. Thinking is only a small aspect of consciousness.  Thought cannot exist without consciousness, but consciousness does not need thought. "
46:00
"Enlightenment means rising above thought, not dropping below thought at the level of an animal or plant.  In the enlightened state you still use your thinking mind when needed, but in a more focused form..."

" When you do use your mind, particularly when a creative solution is needed, you oscillate every few moments between thought and stillness, between mind and no mind."

"No mind is consciousness without thought.  Only in that way is it possible to think creatively, because only in that way does thought have any real power."

"Thought alone, when it is no longer connected with the vast realm of consciousness, becomes barren, insane, destructive..."

"The mind is not at all creative.  All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from the place of No Mind, from inner stillness."

"The mind gives form to the creative impulse or insight."

"Even the great scientists have reported that their creative break-throughs came at a time of mental quietude.  A surprising result of a nationwide enquiry among America's most imminent mathematicians,  including Einstein, to find out their working methods, was that thinking only plays subordinate part in the brief decisive phase of the creative act itself.  So I would say that the simple reason that the majority of scientists aren't creative is not because they don't know how to think, but that they don't know how to stop thinking."

If you enjoy creating, or want to engage in creative play, please join us as we create music together the Second Saturday's 1:00 to 3:00PM.