Hi Rob,

Yea! I am pleased that you liked the piece. Regarding your question...In the West, where we invest so much energy into developing the left-brain and mastery of analytical thinking we tend to think the ultimate goal of meditation is a silent mind and stillness. However, the point of that endeavor is to tame the runaway dominance of the left brain so that you can attain higher states of awareness and to develop non-attachment. In that state of consciousness, as you so smartly allude to above, a paradox occurs: awareness without thinking. Until a practitioner has achieved this state it seems an absurdity. But yes, that is what lies on the other side of stillness and quiet. By the way, stillness of the body can occur while the body is in motion, too (another paradox). Athletes refer to this as "being in the zone." Perfected movement without thought. Moving while standing still. Sometimes people experience this state of consciousness in a car accident or other life threatening situation, too. Lieutennant Colonel David Grossman's "On Combat" has many such descriptions of hyper-awareness/mental stillness achieved while there is much activity around you.

Thanks, as always, for your comments and contributions to the dialogue, Rob!

With smiles,

Jason