In point of fact, the mindful life is nothing special. It is “a selfless awareness, a spiritual liberty and lightness and freedom which transcends all special psychological states and is ‘no-state’ at all.

The life of contemplation in action and purity of heart is, then, a life of great simplicity and inner liberty. One is not seeking anything special or demanding any particular satisfaction. One is content with what is. One does what is to be done, and the more concrete it is, the better. One is not worried about the results of what is done. One is content to have good motives and not be too anxious about making mistakes. In this way one can swim with the living stream of life and remain at every moment in contact with God, in the hiddenness and ordinariness of the present moment with its obvious task.” ~from The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation by Thomas Merton

Below is a remarkable video… It isn’t very stimulating, but it is an incredible story that points toward the basic experience of meditation—the experience which precedes all belief or explanations, including Christian and Buddhist doctrine.

Christian and Buddhist Mysticism: Thomas Merton and Chatrul Rinpoche

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHJ08hYYog&playnext=1&list=PL98C602CA4C8D11BD

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