Butterfly mind knows where to find the sweetest nectar

As a meditator, teacher and poet, I often come up with metaphors that help to cultivate ways to enhance meditation practice for myself and my students.

Most recently I came up with the metaphor of a butterfly in the garden, and how our mind’s attention flits around in just that way. This metaphor is particularly helpful if we are prone to scolding ourselves for thinking. We don’t scold a butterfly for flitting around, do we? So it’s a good way to remember to soften any harsh judgments of the wandering mind.

One bloom in the mind’s garden is particularly nourishing, and that’s the focus on the breath, rising and falling. As I’ve practiced with this metaphor, I’ve found myself better able to feel the difference between the flitting attention and the focused attention on the breath. When my attention rests there, I can feel the deepening and enriching of meditative experience like nourishing nectar, so my attention lingers longer.

Because this metaphor has helped me, I have put together this image in the hopes that it will help you, too.

Please share freely! – Stephanie