Compass: Focus | Holding a Quiet Inner Image

Welcome to The Inner–Outer Compass™, a weekly practice series built around two essential modes of meditation: Focus and Open. Each week highlights one mode, one theme, and one simple cue you can carry into your day.

🧭 Mode: Focus

Scene

A moment of stillness settles between tasks. You close your eyes and picture something simple — the outline of a leaf, a small stone, a soft circle of light. The image doesn’t need to be perfect. It just sits there quietly, steady and unchanged, giving your mind something calm to rest on.

Core Teaching

Holding a quiet inner image is a classic Focus Mode technique. The mind naturally wants to wander, but a soft internal picture gives it a stable place to return to. Whether the image is visual, felt, or simply imagined, its purpose is the same: to gather attention, soothe mental noise, and create a gentle center point inside.

Practice Prompt

Choose a simple inner image — a candle flame, a smooth stone, a small circle. Hold it lightly for one breath. If it fades or shifts, let it re-form without force. The goal isn’t sharp visualization; it’s steadiness.

Integration

When the mind can rest on an inner image, it becomes easier to open into sensation and emotion without drifting. Focus Mode gives structure to openness; openness gives softness to your focus. The two support each other moment by moment.

Reflection

A quiet image can hold the mind when words fall away.