be quiet

I just caught the tail end of Eat, Pray, Love on t.v.  Just as I tuned in, Julia Roberts was cycling through the rice paddies of Bali.  It brought me back to my time in Ubud during my yoga teacher training.  Mike and I rented a house in the paddies.  There was no t.v, no internet, no music, just us and the symphony of birds that shared our space.  It was peaceful, and quiet.  Every morning at 5:30am, Mike would get up with me and scoot me to the training.  The sun would just be coming up and the birds would just be starting their song and we would be sleepy and all seemed just as it should. 

In this quiet, I had moments of clarity.  Through stillness I started to get the teeniest glimpse of my true self.

On the last day of training, while in savasana our instructor Vidya placed a card next to each of our mats.  Mine was 'Be Quiet'.  Here's what it says.

Be Quiet

The mind's engagement with activity is noise.
Which prevents us from being at peace and knowing the truth.
The easiest and most direct way to know truth is simply to be quiet, not engage the mind and remain in present awareness.
When the mind wanders to the past or future, gently refocus back to the present moment.
This card is a call to change your focus beyond this noise of mind.
It is a quest to simply be in consciousness.
In peace, finding truth and beauty, the answer to your questions lies in Being Quiet.

I'm going through a slight period of transition right now, and a serious period of frustration as I'm pretty much back to the drawing board as far as building up my teaching hours again.  I'm feeling lost.  I have so many questions.  "Am I on the right path?" And, "should I get a new job?", seem to be at the top of the list.  As I go through the day trying to figure it all out, there is a lot of noise that is filling my space.  And I can't hear the answers. 

I need to remind myself to slow down, to be still and be quiet.