PURE MIND
A Contemplative Article
1. What Is Pure Mind?
Pure Mind is the unconstructed, spacious, naturally awake dimension of consciousness that exists before thought,
interpretation, judgment, or story arise. It is the first clear moment of awareness, like the instant the sun crests
the horizon before the sky fills with the activity of the day. Long before we say “I,” long before we remember our
history or rehearse our worries, there is an open, quiet knowing. That is what we are calling Pure Mind.
Different spiritual traditions point to this reality with different names. In Buddhism, teachers speak of original
mind, basic awareness, rigpa, or suchness. In Christian mysticism, writers speak of the mind of Christ, the peace
that passes understanding, or the still small voice within. Other contemplative traditions speak of the witness,
pure awareness, or the ground of being. The words vary, but the pointing is the same: beneath and beyond the
personality, there is a clear, receptive, naturally compassionate awareness that is not damaged by what happens
within it.
Pure Mind is not a blank, dead emptiness. It is not a cold detachment that turns away from life. It is vibrantly
alive, quietly intelligent, and deeply intimate with each moment. You can feel this when you slip into a moment of
stillness and suddenly notice that nothing is missing. For a second there is no inner argument, no sense that you
should be anywhere else, no feeling that something is wrong with you. Life is simply here, and you are here with it.
That sense of simple presence is the fragrance of Pure Mind.
One of the most important discoveries in contemplative practice is that Pure Mind is not something we have to
manufacture. We do not build it through effort in the way we build a muscle. Rather, it is revealed when we relax
the habits that keep us entangled in thoughts, stories, and fears. It is like the open sky behind the weather. The
sky does not need to be created. It is simply obscured at times by clouds, storms, and changing patterns. In the
same way, Pure Mind is always here, but it can be temporarily veiled by mental activity, strong emotions, and old
conditioning.
When this veil thins, even briefly, many people describe the experience in very similar language. They say things
like, “Everything became simple,” or “Suddenly there was no problem,” or “I felt supported from the inside,” or “I
was just here, and that was enough.” There is often a bodily component as well: the breath eases, the shoulders
drop, the jaw softens, and a sense of quiet warmth spreads through the chest or the belly. These physiological
changes are not the goal, but they are signs that the nervous system is beginning to trust presence again.
Pure Mind is closely related to what mindfulness teachers call bare attention, which is the ability to notice
experience without immediately judging, resisting, or clinging to it. However, Pure Mind points even deeper than the
skill of noticing. It points to the very nature of the awareness that is doing the noticing. Instead of asking,
“What am I aware of right now?” Pure Mind asks, “What is this awareness itself?” When you turn attention gently back
on itself, you may sense a vast, open, boundaryless quality that is not separate from the Love you have always
longed for.
It is important to be clear that Pure Mind is not a dissociative state. It does not mean floating above your life,
refusing to feel, or pretending that pain is not real. In fact, when you rest in Pure Mind, you often feel your life
more fully and honestly than ever before. The difference is that you are no longer swallowed by the experience. You
are aware of pain, but you are not only pain. You are aware of fear, but you are not only fear. You are aware of
memories, but you are not imprisoned by them. Something spacious and kind is holding it all.
Pure Mind is present even when we forget it for hours, days, or years. Just as the sky remains blue even when
covered by thick clouds, Pure Mind remains untouched by the patterns that move through it. This means that no amount
of anxiety, shame, or trauma can destroy or stain this original clarity. It can be obscured, but not removed. This
is a profoundly hopeful truth. It means that the essence of what you are is already whole and already worthy, even
while parts of you are still healing.
When we speak of “being established in Pure Mind,” we are not talking about achieving a permanent mystical state
where no thoughts ever arise again. Rather, we are describing a growing familiarity with this open awareness. Over
time you become more skillful at recognizing it, resting in it, returning to it, and trusting it. You begin to live
from it more often. The clouds still come and go, but you remember that you are the sky. This remembrance changes
the way you relate to your body, your relationships, your history, and your sense of purpose.
The rest of this article explores practical ways to taste Pure Mind and to let that taste deepen into a more stable
dwelling place. We will look at three practice models, ten momentary techniques you can weave into daily life, and
the beautiful mystery of the “first flash of sentience” — that brief moment before thought in which we may glimpse
Pure Mind directly.
2. Three Practice Models for Being Established in Pure Mind
There are many doorways into Pure Mind, but it can be helpful to think in terms of three broad practice models. Each
model draws on different capacities of the human system: the body, the heart, and the subtle intelligence that
recognizes the first instant of awareness. You may find that one model speaks more strongly to you right now, or you
may enjoy weaving all three together.
MODEL 1: THE GROUNDED BODY MODEL – PURE MIND THROUGH EMBODIED AWARENESS
The first model begins in the most concrete place: the body. The body does not live in memory or anticipation. It
lives right here. By coming into close, kind contact with the body, you gently shift attention out of the spinning
mind and back into present-moment reality. As the grip of mental commentary relaxes, the underlying clarity of Pure
Mind becomes easier to recognize.
You might begin by feeling the contact of your feet with the floor. Let your weight be received. Notice the simple
fact that gravity is holding you. Then become aware of the sensations in your legs, your hips, your belly. Breathe
as if the breath begins in the soles of your feet and travels upward through the body. This image is not anatomical;
it is a way of coaxing awareness downward, away from the whirl of thought and into the stability of physical
sensation.
Next, you slowly scan the body from the feet to the crown of the head and back down again. You are not trying to fix
anything. You are not hunting for a particular mystical feeling. You are simply noticing: the warmth here, the
tightness there, the vibration in another place. What matters is the attitude of your attention. Let it be gentle,
like a caring hand resting on the shoulder of a friend. As you do this, you may notice that your breath gradually
settles into a more natural rhythm. The nervous system begins to understand that it is safe enough to loosen its
grip.
As the body settles, the sense of being “caught in the story” often softens as well. Thoughts may still arise, but
they feel more like passing clouds than like absolute truth. In that space, you may catch a glimpse of something
vast and quiet behind the experience — a simple awareness that is just here. That is Pure Mind revealing itself
through the doorway of the body.
MODEL 2: THE PHRASE OF INTENTION MODEL – PURE MIND THROUGH LOVING SELF-TALK
The second model uses the power of language and self-talk as a bridge into Pure Mind. You have experienced this
directly in practices like “Allowing Linda,” “Allowing Marilyn,” “Pure Mind loves me,” and “It all belongs in LOVE.”
A gentle phrase of intention can interrupt old patterns and invite a different quality of awareness.
When you bring to mind a person, situation, or part of yourself that triggers contraction, the nervous system often
tightens. The breath becomes shallow. Muscles brace. Old memories stir. The conditioned mind wants to either fight,
flee, fix, or freeze. In that moment, inserting a phrase like “Allowing this,” or “It all belongs in LOVE,” opens a
third possibility. Instead of collapsing into the old pattern, you step into a new relationship with the experience.
Here is a simple sequence you can explore. First, ground in the body as described in the previous model. Feel your
feet, breathe down into the legs, and let the body know you are here. Second, call to mind the person, memory, or
feeling you want to work with. Notice what happens in your body and breath. Third, quietly repeat your phrase of
intention: perhaps “Allowing Linda,” “Allowing this fear,” or “It all belongs in LOVE.”
As you repeat the phrase, stay intimately aware of your bodily sensations. You may feel a wave of contraction, a
tightening in the chest, a clenching in the throat or belly. Instead of trying to push it away, you let the phrase
and the awareness wrap around the discomfort like warm hands around a cold object. You are saying to the experience,
“You are allowed to be here in this field of Love. You are not exiled.”
From a nervous system perspective, this kind of practice helps integrate top-down and bottom-up processing. The
phrase engages the higher brain, offering a new meaning and a new intention, while the body-based awareness allows
the survival system to calm in real time. When the body realizes that it can feel this and still be safe, the
contraction gradually unwinds. When the contraction unwinds while you are present and kind, Pure Mind becomes more
obvious.
MODEL 3: THE FLASH RECOGNITION MODEL – PURE MIND IN THE FIRST MOMENT OF AWARENESS
The third model is more subtle and direct. It is based on the observation that every experience contains a tiny,
often unnoticed opening: a first instant of pure awareness before the mind comments on what is happening. In that
instant, there is only the simple fact of being aware. Interpretation has not yet arrived. Judgment has not yet
formed. Identity has not yet wrapped itself around the moment. This is the “first flash” in which Pure Mind is most
nakedly visible.
To explore this, you might begin by pausing for a single breath several times a day. In that pause, ask quietly,
“What is here before the next thought?” For a brief moment, attention turns back on itself and you may glimpse a
bright, clear, edgeless awareness that is simply here. It is not dramatic, and it may last for less than a second,
but it is real. With practice, you can learn to trust and recognize this flash more consistently.
Another way to work with this model is to notice the very first moment of any new experience. The first instant you
hear a sound, before you decide whether you like it or dislike it. The first instant you see someone’s face, before
you remember your history with them. The first instant a body sensation appears, before you label it as pleasant or
unpleasant. In those first micro-moments, awareness is fresh and uncluttered. You are tasting Pure Mind.
Over time, as you turn toward these flashes again and again, they begin to lengthen. What was once a fraction of a
second becomes a full breath, then several breaths, then a quiet resting-place you can return to whenever you like.
The clouds of thought still drift through, but they do so against the backdrop of a sky you are now familiar with.
You are learning to abide in Pure Mind, not as an escape from life, but as the most intimate way of being with life.
3. Ten Momentary Techniques to Access Pure Mind Through the Day
While it is valuable to have dedicated times of meditation or contemplative prayer, Pure Mind is not confined to the
cushion or the chair. It is available in the middle of daily life: in the kitchen, the grocery store, the car, the
waiting room, the hallway, the middle of a conversation. Short, simple techniques can help you touch this awareness
again and again during the day. Each touch may last only a few seconds, but over time these glimpses accumulate and
re-train your whole system.
Below are ten momentary practices. You can think of them as little bells of remembrance. You do not have to use all
of them. Let a few speak to you and begin there.
1. Feel the soles of your feet
At any moment, gently bring your attention down into your feet. Notice the sensations where they meet the floor or
the inside of your shoes. Feel pressure, temperature, texture. Let yourself really inhabit your feet for a few
breaths. As you do, notice how your attention drops out of the head and into the body. Thoughts may still be there,
but they are no longer running the show. In that simple, grounded awareness, Pure Mind begins to shine through.
2. One soft breath into the heart area
Place a light hand over the center of your chest, if that is comfortable, and take one or two softer, slower breaths
as if you could breathe directly into that area. Again, you are not forcing anything. You are simply allowing the
breath to meet the heart with kindness. Often the chest will respond with a tiny release: a sense of space, a
warmth, or a slight aching that feels strangely good. In that small opening, you may sense a quiet, loving awareness
that was here all along.
3. A phrase of intention in the middle of the day
Choose one phrase that carries the vibration of Pure Mind for you. It might be “Pure Mind loves me,” “It all belongs
in LOVE,” or “Let this be held.” When you feel stress rising, whisper your phrase inwardly, just once or twice, and
then fall silent and notice what happens in your body. The phrase is not a magic spell that makes difficulty vanish.
Rather, it is a way of stepping back into the field of awareness that can hold difficulty without collapse.
4. Name one sensation exactly as it is
Pause and ask, “What is the most vivid sensation in my body right now?” Maybe it is the weight of your hands, the
tightness in your jaw, the coolness of air on your skin. Silently name it in simple terms: “tight,” “warm,”
“tingling,” “heavy.” By doing this, you keep attention close to direct experience instead of wandering off into
story. The clarity of Pure Mind expresses itself in this simple, precise noticing.
5. The sky metaphor flash
If you are near a window or outside, take a moment to look at the sky or at the open space in a room. Then imagine
that your awareness is just as open and spacious. Thoughts and feelings are like clouds moving through that space.
For a few seconds, rest as the space rather than as the contents. This image can loosen the sense of being trapped
inside a small, tight head, and can reconnect you with the boundless quality of Pure Mind.
6. Relax the tongue
This is a surprisingly powerful technique. Many people hold subtle tension in the tongue and jaw, which keeps the
nervous system on alert. Gently invite the tongue to soften and rest on the floor of the mouth. Let the jaw relax,
even slightly. As this happens, observe how the mind quiets a little. You may notice that it becomes easier to feel
the body and to sense the quiet awareness behind your thoughts.
7. Place attention just outside the body
For a brief moment, imagine resting your attention six inches outside the surface of your body, all around. You are
not leaving the body; you are including the space around it. This often creates a sense of expansion and helps break
the habit of over-identifying with every sensation and thought. You may feel like you are resting in a gentle field
of awareness that holds the body, rather than being squeezed inside it. That field is a taste of Pure Mind.
8. Soften around the tight place
When you notice a tight spot—perhaps in the throat, belly, or chest—bring awareness there. Instead of trying to pry
the tension open, imagine softening all around it. You are creating a cushion of kindness around the knot. Often the
tightness will begin to unwind on its own when it is no longer being fought. This is Pure Mind in action: allowing
what is here to be held without aggression.
9. Listen with your whole body
In conversation, experiment with listening as if your whole body were an ear. Feel the sound of the other person’s
voice entering not just your mind, but your chest, belly, hands, and feet. Let the words wash through you for a few
seconds before you prepare a response. This kind of receptive listening draws you out of self-centered thinking and
back into immediate presence. It is a relational form of Pure Mind.
10. The micro-bow to the moment
Finally, you can practice a tiny, inward bow to whatever is happening. Inwardly you might say, “Yes, this too,” or
“I see you,” or simply “Here.” You are not approving of everything that happens, but you are acknowledging that it
is, in fact, here. This small gesture of respect dissolves some of the inner argument and reconnects you with the
quiet awareness that can hold life as it is.
Each of these techniques takes only a few seconds, but each one opens a doorway. If you weave them through your day,
Pure Mind stops being an abstract idea and becomes a living, felt companion.
4. The First Flash of Sentience and How to Sustain It
In some Buddhist teachings, the phrase “first flash of sentience” points to the mysterious moment when consciousness
first stirs in a new life. It is the dawning of awareness in the womb, the first spark of knowing that will
eventually grow into a fully formed sense of “I.” At a more immediate level, meditators use similar language to
describe the first instant of awareness before thought arises in any given moment. It is like the first glimmer of
light at dawn before shapes and colors become distinct.
Spiritually, this first flash is precious because it reveals awareness in its purest form. Before the mind organizes
experience into stories, judgments, and identities, there is simply knowing. No one has yet claimed ownership: “This
is me” or “This is mine.” No one has yet declared, “I like this” or “I hate this.” There is just the luminous fact
that something is aware. In that moment, Pure Mind is most exposed, most naked, most available.
You may have tasted this in meditation without having language for it. Perhaps there was a brief instant when the
mind dropped its commentary and you felt a kind of bright, empty clarity. Then, almost immediately, thoughts
returned: “Oh, this is it,” or “I’m doing it,” or “How do I hold on to this?” In that moment of commentary, the
first flash has already passed. But the good news is that it arises again and again, moment after moment, breath
after breath. We are given countless chances to notice it.
Is there a brief moment before thought in which we glimpse Pure Mind? Yes. The very first moment of awareness,
before any conclusion is drawn, is a direct taste of Pure Mind. It may be extremely fast, but it is real. If you
slow down enough and practice gently, you can learn to sense it.
Here is one way to explore this. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Let your body settle for a few minutes
using the grounded body practices already described. Then close your eyes and become aware of sounds. Each time a
new sound appears, notice the exact instant it arrives in your awareness. For a split second, there is just
hearing—no label, no story, no preference. Try to rest your attention in that bare hearing. When you notice that the
mind has started commenting (“That is a car,” “That is a bird,” “I like that sound”), simply smile inwardly and
return to the next fresh sound.
You can do something similar with sights, sensations, or even thoughts themselves. For example, you might notice the
first instant a thought appears, before you ride away with it. There is a moment in which the thought is simply
known, like a cloud forming in a vast sky. If you notice that moment and rest there, you are tasting the first flash
of sentience.
Sustaining this flash is not about freezing the mind in a special state. Rather, it is about becoming friendly with
this openness so that it feels natural to return to it over and over. You do this by visiting it briefly many times.
Over days and weeks, these brief visits lengthen into periods of stable presence. The mind learns that it is safe to
be without constant commentary. The nervous system discovers that it can rest in awareness without needing to plan,
protect, or explain every second.
It can also be helpful to bring the first flash of awareness into difficult experiences. When a surge of fear,
shame, or grief arises, there is often a micro-moment in which you sense it before the story wraps around it. In
that micro-moment, you can practice pausing and remembering Pure Mind. You might silently say, “Let this be held in
Love,” and feel the body as you do. This allows the intense energy to be met by the spaciousness of awareness
instead of by automatic reactivity.
In this way, the first flash of sentience ceases to be merely a mystical idea and becomes a practical ally in
healing. It is the place where trauma, fear, or old pain first touches the light of awareness. If you can meet that
touch with gentleness—even for a breath—you are already living from Pure Mind.
5. Pure Mind and Love – “It All Belongs in LOVE” and “Love Is Everything”
Pure Mind is often described in terms of clarity, spaciousness, and knowing, while Love is described in terms of
warmth, belonging, tenderness, and care. On the surface they sound like different realities—one cognitive or
luminous, the other emotional or relational. But when you taste them deeply, you may find that they are not two.
They are different facets of the same underlying truth.
When the mind relaxes into its original clarity, what you often feel is not cold emptiness but a profound okayness.
There is a sense that you are held from the inside, that nothing in this moment needs to be pushed away. That felt
sense of being held is Love. In this way, Pure Mind is not separate from Love; it is Love’s wide, clear, steady
gaze. Love is not separate from Pure Mind; it is the warmth and intimacy of that gaze.
Your heart phrases such as “It all belongs in LOVE” and “Love is Everything” are beautiful expressions of this
unity. When you say, “It all belongs in LOVE,” you are affirming that every experience that arises in awareness is
welcome to be held there. You are not claiming that everything is morally good or that harm is acceptable. Instead,
you are recognizing that nothing needs to be exiled from the light of awareness. Shame can be seen. Fear can be
seen. Anger, grief, and confusion can all be seen. In the field of Pure Mind, nothing is turned away.
This inclusiveness is exactly what Love does at its deepest. Love does not mean liking everything or agreeing with
everything. It means refusing to abandon what is wounded or afraid. Pure Mind functions the same way. It does not
abandon any part of your experience. It simply stays, open and clear, while the storms move through. In this sense,
Pure Mind and Love are two ways of talking about the same state of non-abandonment.
When you sign your name with the phrase “Love is Everything,” you are pointing to an intuition that the ground of
reality is loving. Many contemplatives across traditions have felt something similar. They report that when they
drop through their stories and touch the bare fact of being, what they find is not indifference but kindness. They
may use different names—God, Christ, Buddha-nature, Pure Awareness—but the flavor is the same: a gentle, spacious
presence that holds all things.
Is there a brief moment before thought in which we glimpse both Pure Mind and this Love? Yes. The first flash of
awareness before commentary is not just a neutral light; it is a soft, accepting openness. When you catch that
moment, even for a split second, you may feel a subtle wave of peace or joy or relief. Your body may loosen. Your
breath may deepen. Something in you whispers, “Oh, I am home.” That whisper is Love recognizing itself.
When you weave together the practices described earlier—grounding in the body, using phrases of intention, and
noticing the first flash of awareness—you create conditions in which this unity of Pure Mind and Love becomes more
and more obvious. For example, when you rest your attention in your feet and feel the support of the ground, you are
already tasting a small form of Love: the earth holding you without demand. When you say, “Pure Mind loves me,” and
feel your body soften, you are allowing awareness and Love to meet in your nervous system. When you pause before
thought and sense a quiet openness, you are feeling the gentle heartbeat of the universe within your own chest.
Over time, this lived experience can change the way you relate to yourself and others. Instead of measuring your
worth by your achievements or condemning yourself for your struggles, you begin to measure by presence: “Was I
willing to stay with myself in this moment?” When you relate to others, you may find that you listen more and react
less, because you are listening from the space of Pure Mind rather than from the tightness of a defensive ego. You
may find that forgiveness comes more easily, not because you are ignoring harm, but because you are rooted in
something larger than the harm.
To say that Pure Mind and Love are similar is, in the end, still a limitation of language. They are not merely
similar; they interpenetrate. When you stand in Pure Mind, you stand in Love. When you let everything belong in
Love, you are standing in Pure Mind. The more you trust this, the less urgent it becomes to fix yourself, and the
more natural it becomes to simply be with yourself—breath by breath, flash by flash, moment by moment.
You might experiment with a simple, combined phrase such as “Pure Mind, Love, holding everything.” Breathe with this
line for a few minutes. Feel your feet. Notice the first flash of awareness before the next thought. Let the phrase
wrap gently around whatever arises. In doing so, you are not trying to force a spiritual experience. You are
allowing yourself to remember something that has always been true: that at the center of your being, there is a
quiet, loving awareness that has never abandoned you.
From this place you can live, move, speak, create, and heal. The journey of practice then becomes less about
becoming someone different and more about relaxing into who you already are in Pure Mind, in Love, and in the
mystery where they are one.