All of us have a part of ourselves known as the Inner Witness. Developing this neutral aspect of ourselves, that can watch our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and experiences without judging, is essential to releasing stress, finding inner peace, and spiritual awakening.
The Inner Witness is like still water. It reflects the trees or sky above it like a mirror. You can see clearly through to the bottom of the pond. It doesn’t distort, tell stories, analyze or evaluate. It simply reveals what is.
But if it is rippled, even just a bit, the image is distorted. That’s when we get caught up in thoughts that are telling stories about our experiences – or about ourselves.
Those thoughts are like stones, thrown into the water. They disturb the mud at the bottom and cause the water to become murky. They also cause ripples; ripples of mental agitation, rumination, and emotions that can throw us into reactivity and restlessness.
The Inner Witness will help you to return to that placid, smooth surface of the pond in your mind. Notice that, no matter what you are thinking, there is always some part of you that can observe the thoughts. That, of course, is your Inner Witness. It is neutral; it does not judge, compare, or have expectations of you. It simply observes whatever is.
When you consciously access this witness part of you (which is your Divine Self), you can step back a bit from those thoughts. This allows you to see with more clarity and to have choice over what thoughts you want to believe and follow, and what thoughts seem to be big, chunky rocks that only serve to disturb you. The smooth and reflective surface of your Inner Witness pond will show you what lies beneath the surface and what is accurately mirrored to you.
Ask Spirit to help you cultivate your neutral Inner Witness. The more you ask, the more you open yourself to seeing and being in this new way. You will develop a little distance from your thoughts and emotions and find a bit of inner peace, like a still, quiet pond.
