An example of an alert mind

Everyone has experienced an alert mind at some point in one's life. It happens suddenly.

Here is an example: you are walking down the beach in the morning and suddenly you become aware of the beautiful sunrise. The beauty strikes you - you get this amazing feeling and experience great joy. Then the normal mind takes over and starts chattering,"Wow! what a great sunrise, so beautiful. I wish my wife was here - she would have enjoyed it too. I am going to tell her and she will be jealous. Maybe we will come back tomorrow. I will tell her how wonderful the experience was - the colors, the reflection in the water. This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.. etc."

The sunrise is still happening but as soon as the mind starts chattering, you are not alive to the sunrise any more! The awareness has gone and what is going on in the mind are just words. You are already dead to the sunrise at that moment. That initial experience which happened suddenly, when you were not anticipating anything, when you happened to be open - it just happened. But as soon as the thoughts took over, the experience was dead. You might go back the next day and try to experience it again but it might not happen because now you are trying to experience something old. If you want to feel the way you felt the day before, you already have an idea of what you want and you won't be open anymore to what is. You might still see a sunrise and call it beautiful but you will not be alive to it any more.

The awareness is possible only when there are no preconceived notions, no prejudices, no expectations blocking the reality of what is. Then you really experience the beautiful sunrise - in fact the experience just is, there is no you to experience at that point. Only the experience exists in that moment of awareness. And then unfortunately, the chattering mind takes over....

The awareness of the sunrise when you are open and alert is a wonderful experience. Now imagine if every moment in your life was alive with that kind of awareness!