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Mercury and The Skilled Mind

meditation and words on silence

Yolanda McAdam

Sep 10, 2023

I’ve been immersed in the works of Tibetan Buddhists like Lama Thubten Yeshe and Tsultrim Allione lately and focused on stillness (book recommendations below).

This is as it should be because a total of 8 celestial beings are retrograde (this includes the cosmic healer, Chiron).

One of the primary reasons I walk in the forest on most days is because the forest is a buffer against the sounds of busy work and the hum of cars. It’s in the forest where I empty my mind of the distractions and demons that block or interrupt my connection to Source.

No meditation better clears the mind than to listen to the shape of the silence that surrounds us. It focuses us on the thin line between what is there and what is not there. It opens our heart to the unseen, and reminds us that the world is larger than the events that fill our days. - Kent Nerburn

Silence is how you and I connect to Source or the eternal Dreamer that dreams. When you fill your mind with everyday worries and perturbations you block your ability to join the Dreamer in dreaming your best life into being. And in turn, you hinder the manifestation of a better world.

Embracing silence is a magical imperative.

Yet, I’ve noticed in years of teaching that many people associate silence with sluggishness and lack of intelligence. But silence doesn’t mean you are closed off or intellectually unavailable. Meditation likewise should not be confused with “sitting and doing nothing”. Meditation is the practice of awakening to what is going on in your mind.

Meditation leads to the realization that your mind is schizophrenic in the sense that it is disorganized and delusional. It grasps at things. A concept, a conversation, a text message, an image…and then jumps to a series of conclusions entirely based on your sense of perception.

Was her tone off? Did I really see that? Did I sense hesitation?...

Mercury is the planet that rules our thought processes and therefore the mind. In Virgo, Mercury extols the virtues of skill-development for the purposes of becoming excellent at whatever you do.

Yet, what is the point in being excellent at anything if you have failed to train your mind to live in the present without worry or fear?

It is impossible to manifest anything worthwhile or lasting for yourself when your mind resembles that kitchen drawer where you dump all the things that have nowhere else to go.

“ The silent mind is the awakened mind.” - Lama Thubten Yeshe

Mercury in Virgo is the clutter-free mind.

Since we’re talking about Mercury, I decided to ask the cards the following question:

How do we develop a skilled mind?

Regulate (Temperance) your nervous system (Magician) by focusing on your breath (Justice). Watch how your breath flows into your nervous system on inhalation and out on exhalation....

The cards do not lie.

Jupiter, like Mercury, is also retrograde. The planet of expansion, spirituality and wisdom asks us to turn inward. Rely on your own inner knowledge-wisdom.

Meditation:

Close your eyes for ten minutes. Take a close look at what you consider to be your biggest problem.

Where are you holding your problem?

In your stomach? Your lower back? Your heart?

Don’t react to your problem emotionally.

If thoughts arise while you sit in silence, watch them come and go like will-o-wisps.

Watch your “problem” diminish in size and shape. Watch your problem flee your body like a ghost.

When you shut down your senses, your mind becomes more conscious and functions better.