Who has ever tried to take a break from thinking? Certainly anyone who attempts to meditate is trying to stop the thoughts or at least notice the gaps between thoughts.
Are you the voice in your head? Or are you beyond the voice in your head? I’m sure you’ve noticed that there can be one or more voices inside offering different or even conflicting view points. I’m sure you have attempted to shut off the voices that cause you disturbance. Like the one that admonishes you for eating that piece of cake or critiques your behavior at a party. Or how about the one who reviews how you handled a challenging situation? These are just some of the voices that can show up regularly. These are the voices that cause us suffering especially when we believe what is being said.
Then there are other ones that make us feel good about ourselves. Like, “hey, you resisted the urge to have that cake; way to go!” Or the one who pats you on the back for saying just the right thing to a friend in need. I’m sure without even asking, that the voices are constant, all day long, and don’t stop until you are unconscious when you sleep. It is considered normal to live this way but it is exhausting!! It’s like living on a rollercoaster, one moment feeling like the dregs of the earth and the next feeling elated. I’m feeling tired just writing about it!!
Michael Singer in his book The Unteathered Soul says; “if you’re saying, what voice? I don’t have a voice in my head. That’s the voice! “ You may ask why am I making you aware of this. Isn’t it normal? It is normal for us to think and to be aware of our thoughts. In fact we do this all the time without effort. Problems arise when we get overly identified with negative, self critical or habitual thinking that keeps us caught in an unending loop of suffering. It is this very suffering that causes us to seek and find relief from our own mind. As a result we grow in ways that we would never consciously choose.
The major point I want to make here is that you have a choice. You can choose to pay attention to the thoughts or you can choose to allow them to pass. It may take some practice to be able to watch a strong habitual thought and not go with it but I recommend giving this a try. Your freedom lies on the other side of these thoughts that are designed to keep you in suffering. This does not mean that feelings will not arise. Strong thoughts generate strong feelings in our bodies and that can make it more challenging. Can you allow the feelings state to be there but not indulge the negative thinking that accompanies it? If you can practice this and not believe the thinking pretty soon the feeling state will also dissipate. Eckhart Tolle’ says, “take one conscious breath.” Remember you are not your thoughts and you are not your feelings. You are the one who sees both therefore they cannot be who you are.
Why is this helpful? When you remember that you are the one watching than a tremendous unburdening can occur. You recognize your true position and you don’t have to identify with the unending thoughts and emotions. You are greater than all this. It is difficult to explain how this has an effect on your being. You have to practice and have an experience in order to understand its true power.
If this is of interest to you and would like to explore this topic in more depth please check out Mooji at mooji.org or Eckhart Tolle’ at eckharttolle.com or contact me and I will help point you in the right direction lmalfaoneheart@gmail.com.