Because we have a quiet space that can handle thirty people, our local Advaita teacher, Tom Kurzka, holds satsang here at our home twice a week.

We sit. We sit a lot: sitting and noticing the thoughts, sensations, and perceptions in the present moment.

I have experienced the value of sitting over the past years, learning to be at ease doing nothing for extended periods of time. The silence is of great value in allowing that-which-doesn’t-change to move from the background to the foreground.

Now I am called to exercise noticing that-which-is-not-a-thing while in motion–while cooking, walking the dogs, driving the car, or writing. I use the word “exercise,” but it does not require effort. Noticing is not application or discipline, it is our natural state of awareness.

This week, Tom is having a four-day retreat here with morning and evening gatherings. The retreatants are sitting downstairs in the first, longer meditation period. I am also a retreatant, retreating this morning in a different way–by going inward and writing about my experience.

© Skye Blaine, 2011