Many years ago, my mentor told me that a bird flying into the sun becomes invisible to its predators. She was reminding me to hide in the light while pursuing freedom, creativity, and enlightenment.
Now I get it. And it’s all because I have learned that to have really clean floors, I need to sweep them in the dark.
I’ve tried it both ways. Lights on. Lights off. Hands down, lights off works best.
Why? Because of the focused light on the front of my vacuum cleaner. With the lights off, it sees everything as I move it across the floor.
When the lights are on, the glare of the light hides the dirt.
— Focused light reveals hidden truths —
Of course, I had to turn this into a learning about life. So every morning, as I sweep the floors, I think about what my sweeper is telling me.
— The power of focused perception —
Do I really need to vacuum the floors every day? I didn’t use to think so until I started vacuuming in the dark. It’s amazing what accumulates in twenty-four hours.
In the same way—since this is a metaphor for life—sweeping our mental house every day is essential. Only then do we see the thoughts that have arrived that don’t belong.
Because although hiding in the light works for us to escape our “predators,” it also works for what we don’t need or want.
Darkness is a symbol for removing all distractions as we do this focused light removal of what is not only unwanted but can be destructive.
— The secret to a peaceful mind —
Meditation, quiet times, walks in nature, all turn off the broad light that hides things and turns on a focused light that reveals what needs to be seen.
We have all experienced this. We’ve had flashes of insight when we stop trying to figure something out and let the focused light of inspiration reveal a solution.
Sometimes, shining this focused light on a situation can reveal things we would rather not see. It can bring to light uncomfortable truths and expose flaws in our thinking or behavior.
But if we want to grow and learn, we must be willing to face what claims to be true and get rid of it. We have to be obsessively vigilant about a clean mental home.
— Hide in the light. See in the dark.—
Using the focused light of this directive, “*Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things,” we can see what isn’t any of these things and remove them from our thinking. *Philippians 4:8
Since what we perceive to be reality magnifies, we can’t let unnoticed perceptions program our lives. Our point of view perception may be that all is well, but those hidden perceptions can derail our state of mind perception.
Bringing these two modes of perceptions into harmony is much easier when we daily vacuum our mental home.
When I vacuum my floors every day, I don’t just wonder how it’s possible that the floor can get that dirty in one day. I aim that magic sweeper at the mess, and poof, it’s gone.
Vacuuming our mental home with a focused light is a habit worth cultivating because once we notice what’s lurking within, it turns out it’s quite easy to remove them.
Maybe not the first time. Accumulated habits and thoughts can take time to remove, but once done, daily noticing of their reentry can quickly remove them.
How long does it take to vacuum the main floor of my house? Ten minutes.
Do you have ten minutes to use your focused light? To turn off all those distractions and discover what is driving decisions and habits without your permission?
Of course, you do! Remember, you are the light. All you have to do is use it.
“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.” – Zen Proverb
Happy cleaning!
Chapter Nine of Blooming In Life – All about the two modes of perception.
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BECA LEWIS coaches, teaches, writes blogs and books, plays with art, and is addicted to reading. She lives in Ohio with her husband and has kids and grandkids scattered across the country.
