This is a rant by SI Dawson about seperating ourselves from transient things such as thoughts, emotions or bodies. It’s an important place to start if we are to begin to take a step away from, the often tyrannical and critical, thoughts we have. By OBSERVING thought, rather than gripping, rejecting or believing our thoughts, we can reach a place of greater awareness and peace. When we do not engage with unuseful thoughts we are less likely to feel distressed or overwhelmed by those thoughts. Consciousness is useful but, after the decisions and plans are made, our minds do not need to keep chatting away at us which they are inclined to do in an unuseful and critical way. Step away from your thoughts, sit back in the spacious awareness that is you….Enjoy the article – Leigh Matthews
Here’s an old, but useful exercise:
Pay attention to your thoughts. What are you thinking right now?
Ok. Good.
Here’s another one:
What are you feeling right now? What is your primary emotion?
Ok, excellent. Bear with me.
If you lost your little finger in an accident, would you still be you? Or, put another way, since every cell in your body replaces itself every 7-10 years, or sooner, at any point do you stop being you?
See, it breaks down like this. If you can be aware of your thoughts, then you are not your thoughts. We have thoughts, but we are not our thoughts.
With emotions, it’s even more obvious. Unfortunately in English we say things like “I am angry.” In French or German things are more instructive. They say “I have anger.” We have emotions, but we are not our emotions.
We are obviously not our physical body either. We have a body, but there’s something more going on.
If you’ve read a little bit, I’m sure none of this is a surprise. Eckhart Tolle talks about these realisations as part of his enlightenment experience. Oh, & if you get the chance to see him live, I thoroughly recommend it, he’s a superbly entertaining speaker.
Of course, this is the point where I could totally understand you saying “Well, ok, so what?” & fair enough too.
This is one of those understandings that it’s easy to have intellectually, but might take years before it’s really cemented into your being. Really knowing something in your heart can be funny like that.
If we’re not our thoughts, emotions or bodies, then what are we? Well, that’s another good question. I don’t have any easy answers to that, except to say that we’re what’s left when thoughts & emotions are taken away. We’re the space in which they form.
I’m not generally a huge fan of philosophical posturing. You can sit around & talk nonsense for years, but how does it help unless you actually apply it, or do something, or change something?
So, here’s something useful you can do with this information.
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