Do you know how deep you are?
Have you ever considered that you might be unaware of the deep peace that resides within you?
In times of turbulence, it can be a challenge to connect with that place. One way that I have found to shift my thinking inward is to remember what I have in common with the ocean.
What first comes to mind are the waves; how they rise and fall in endless variations, never stopping. The ocean has an endless supply of waves, sometimes cresting as dramatic whitecaps, other times gathering the force of a tidal wave. The ocean will never stop making waves. In this way, it is like your mind.
Your mind will never stop producing thoughts.
But those waves are on the surface. Beneath the waves is just water. The same water that makes up the waves is deep and still when you travel miles below the surface.
Beneath the surface of your mind, is a similarly deep, impenetrable silence.
This ocean of calm is always there deep inside of you. Part of you is already aware of this place – you visit it, just as you are falling asleep. It’s the source of your healing. It is the source of your peace.
This silence is the constant, the substrate of your existence. Thoughts are noise, emerging from this silence and dissipating back into the silence, like waves, dissolving back into the ocean.
There is nothing odd or hurried about the movement of waves. The same can be true of your thoughts, once you learn to see them for what they are: just waves in your mind.
See if you can become aware of your thoughts and imagine them as waves; as having risen from the quiet depths only to merge into the next swell. Notice how another one comes along, let it ride the current, then watch it move away. See how long you can keep this going. Think of it as a graceful, playful dance with your thoughts.
Let the movement of your thought waves anchor your awareness of your thoughts. Feel each upswell as a wave of peace, washing away your tensions, bringing a fresh new swell of healing and peace. Just noticing how your thoughts come and go………aware that, like the waves, they won’t stop coming…….your awareness grows, developing an ever higher wisdom that draws you closer to your self.
Wisdom documented in the Upanishads of ancient India:
Systems becoming aware of themselves is at the root of change; wisdom says I’m nothing awareness says I’m everything.
Be aware of the deep silence within you. And remember – thoughts are just waves. Learn to watch your thoughts and you will know how deep you are. You are as deep as the ocean.
*If you would like to experience this blog post as a guided meditation, you can do your ocean gazing here: