Our Natural Tendency Is to Awaken

When we meditate in the way I am describing—when we let go of control and allow everything to be as it is—our natural tendency is to awaken. We are biologically and psychologically wired to move toward awakening. A lot of people don't know that. But when we let go of the control that the ego has, the nature of our being is to awaken.

Now, of course, people come to me from their own traditions of meditation, and when I suggest that they let go of their technique they often find that initially mind wanders a bit. This is natural. When we let go of something we've been holding very tightly, it tends to want to escape. It's like keeping your dog on a leash; when you take the leash off, the tendency of the dog is to run. It's the same for our minds. If we have leashed our minds tightly, when we let go of that leash the tendency of the mind is to run around. But just like letting a dog off leash, we can simply allow it to happen. Your dog may run away from you quickly, but if you hang out for a while, eventually your dog will usually decide it wants to wander back to your feet. In a similar way, when you let go of controlling your mind, it may be a little noisy for a while. But if you really let it be as it is, its tendency will be to return to a state of harmony, a state of quietness.