Everything that arises is a bleep in silence

Everything that arises is a small bleep in the all-encompassing space and silence that’s always present. A thought is a bleep in the surrounding silence, a short change in frequency within the space, while the space itself remains intact and ever-present even in the midst of the bleep. So is a sound, a sight, a sensation, an emotion, and everything else.

This is a small realization in meditation practices, for example, as posited by teachers such as Adyashanti, Joseph Goldstein, and many others. While formally meditating, you may place your attention on an object of focus so that it becomes easier to experience the aforementioned realization. The object of focus is not the point but a vessel to experience reality as it is—a trick to momentarily diminish your identification with thoughts.

A good meditation practice is one where you bring your attention back to the task at hand hundreds of times, recognizing that you’re doing so. Instead, it is often thought that a good meditation session is one where you need to bring your attention back to the task at hand only a few times. In most cases, this is an illusion, and it reflects a complete lack of recognition that you were distracted and all over the place throughout the session.