One day, my freshman class, at a Catholic University, was blessed by the presence of Father Novak, a Jesuit substitute instructor.
After introducing himself, he informed us to take a second to acknowledge all of the vagrant ideas that have been passing via our minds. It didn’t matter, he stated, whether or not the chains of fragmentary ideas have been bidden or unbidden. Once they have been acknowledged, we should always strive to cease these interior dialogues and ceaseless flows of photographs.
Now, he stated, if you concentrate on what you simply did, you need to understand that you’re neither your minds nor the jabberwocky that continuously fills them. Have you not simply exercised a aware presence which could have the ability to management the thoughts, which is however an instrument?
But there’s something else we should do, he added, earlier than you may make house in your minds for learning. Because of your excessive social conscience and consciousness, you’re continuously fascinated by your emotions. These ideas create feelings. These are very private ideas that one tends to dwell on. These too should be eliminated or indifferent out of your consideration.
Only then did we awaken to the second and ourselves; solely then did we start to establish with the thinker inside us. Only then did we apply directing and focusing consideration. And solely then did we start to learn the nature of unforgettable learning.
Raphael O’Suna
Haiku