How to deal with thoughts? In general, thoughts are restless, repetitive, continuous, and out of control, and we want to learn to deal with them. But, after all, what is thought? How to deal with these thoughts?
It’s very common for people to want the freedom of being free from this process, which is the process of thought. When it repeats and shows itself, it’s distressing. So, negative thoughts or unwanted thoughts – these thoughts that are repeated – have this profile, and people want to get rid of them, but when you look inside you realize that it’s not so simple to deal with thoughts. Notice, for example, at bedtime, when an insistent, persistent thought is present and not allowing you to sleep. After all, what to do with a thought, what to do with these thoughts? What is actually “dealing with thoughts"?
First of all, you need to understand how this movement of thought takes place in us. I’ve been calling this “the egoic movement,” since this thought, in general, in most people, is the thought of a present identity – here I mean the illusion of “someone” thinking, “someone” producing those thoughts, “someone” trying to get rid of those thoughts, “someone” looking for stillness or peace and getting rid of that thought pattern. Then, this is the egoic movement, the movement of the mind. Thus, what is thought?
Life shows itself at this moment to all of us and it requires a response, this response, in general, is born in us from thought. Life shows itself this way to all of us, here and now. So, what actually is thought? An answer that is given to this moment. This is something that happens automatically and mechanically.
We believe we are the ones who are determining these thoughts and the response we are giving. There’s no truth in it. What we have as an answer, which is based on thought, is an automatic, mechanical response that is born from a background of memory and remembrances. So, our answers are always based on what thought has to say. It’s not us who are saying it, it’s thought saying it. However, thought pretends to be us when it creates in us the illusion that we are responsible for that thought, that is, “we are the thinkers of those thoughts.” Then, life is shown as a challenge and the response we give to that challenge is a reaction that is born from this background of thoughts, remembrances, and memories. As this is something automatic and unconscious, it is born of conditioning. Becoming aware of the truth of this movement of thought in us is being able to eliminate this condition of a reactive response based on this conditioning. This is something that becomes important because all the responses we are giving to life at this moment are not complete.
Life is a new, unprecedented movement, always present here and now, while the answer we give, the answer we bring, as it is born from this background, it is being born from the past, then it is the attempt to adjust to this challenge of the present moment a response that comes from the past, which represents an inadequate response. Thus, we don't know what a free action from that model is, which is the model of thought. And to make matters worse – in an unnecessary, disturbing, conflicted way – we have this incessant thing going on inside us, this pattern of ideas, beliefs, images, memories, and remembrances going on inside of us all the time. Then, not only when action is needed do we have an inadequate response based on this background of conditioning – which is a thought that comes from the past and doesn’t represent what is needed here and now – but also we have this internal chatter, this unnecessary inward movement of thought when thought is not needed.
If you are sitting busy with some intellectual task, that is exactly what your occupation is, and yet you are constantly being bombarded with thoughts that have absolutely nothing to do with that action, with that task. This happens all the time. So, thought is appearing all the time, it’s restless, it repeats itself, it’s intrusive, it represents images from the past, it brings feelings along with it, while you are busy doing something. It’s there intervening, interfering, producing internal states of conflict, annoyance, discomfort, some level of suffering, thus, there’s no Peace, no Stillness. This happens during your day, and at night, when you go to bed, thoughts come back and then they delay the arrival of sleep. They also occupy a place, once again, unnecessary, because the objective is to lie down and sleep and, however, thought is there popping up, repeating itself, bringing images of the day, that day, the day before. Some of these images create an internal state of emotional discomfort, of feeling, of agitation, the body doesn’t quiet down and sleep doesn’t come.
So, the fact is that we live, psychologically, in an internal disorder. This restlessness, this psychological disorder moves you away from Peace, Silence, Freedom, Stillness, our own Being – here I mean our Essential Nature, the Truth about who we Are. That is, we are living a life molded, grounded in thought, based on this egoic movement – which is the movement of the “I.” It’s this feeling of “I” with the thinker thinking, with “the one” who feels, feeling. Then, the inner states bring reactions every moment. Thus, the answer for this moment is based on those reactions. Hence, there’s no Truth of your Being revealing Itself.
What we are saying here is that restlessness, dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, anguish, fear, and loneliness – I mean the pain of loneliness – the sense of dissatisfaction of present existence, all of this is arising, appearing as an internal reaction showing itself in your life, in your living, and this is something completely outside the Reality of your Essential Nature, of your Divine Nature.
So, why is unhappiness present? Why all these frames or representations of internal states of anguish and unhappiness, why is this present? Because thought has taken over, it takes over in the name of an identity, which is the “I.” Yes, that’s what we are saying: there is no “I” present, except the egoic movement itself, which is the movement of thought. Therefore, the movement of thought, which is basically the reaction of memory, the afflictions, the concerns, the frustrations, the images of rejection, the thoughts of pessimism, of defeat, all of this, is assuming a present identity which is the “I.” Actually, all of this – these thought patterns – is creating an identity that is the “I” assuming this identity, which is an illusion: “this ‘I’ is afflicted.” So, the feeling you have of being “someone” in this disorder, this confusion, this suffering, unhappiness, produced by thought and feeling, is not real.
There is no “you” in this experience, what we have is this experience passing as you. You identify with it. Our work is to perceive the “truth” of what we are, here and now, of what we assume to be, here and now, of what we mistake ourselves for being, here and now. The vision of This undoes all that, destroys this illusion, vanishes this sense of identity present in this experience. And when the sense of this identity present in this experience dissolves, vanishes, disappears, the experience itself, which is grounded or supported by this belief, this illusion, disappears.
There is no afflicted thought without “someone” afflicted. There is no thought of anxiety without “someone” anxious. There are no thought representations of frames of fear without “someone” in it. So, it’s always the “I” that sustains the experience. Therefore, it is about looking at what we are, here and now, without rejecting, without fighting, without trying to change it, but looking, just looking, looking at this restlessness, at this chatter, this model of repetition of thoughts.
What I’ve been saying is that we are responsible for this, we want to get rid of it and this “wanting to get rid of it” is sustaining the situation itself, the unhappiness itself. What “I want to get rid of,” this “I” sustains. Understanding the movement of the “I” is the understanding of the movement of the ego, then, to bring Consciousness, Real Consciousness, is to bring Presence – Consciousness is Real Presence – and when this is present, all illusion vanishes.
You don't bring awareness and add it to what is here. You become aware of what is here. To become aware of what is here is to open the door to this Real Consciousness, this Real Presence. Then, the investigation of the false reveals the Truth. It’s not effort that makes you free, it’s not discipline that makes you free, it’s not a practice – an esoteric practice, a practice that we hear so much about out there – that will make you free, but it’s becoming aware of what is here and now. What makes you free is the Truth. Truth and not effort. Truth and not some technique, or practice, or spiritualistic, esoteric, mystical, or meditation discipline – this so-called “meditation practice” doesn’t work.
You may have some temporary relief from frames and representations of internal suffering when for a few minutes you dedicate yourself to a certain technique, then the mind is forced into silence; but when the mind is forced into silence and apparently thought is no longer present, you have temporary relief, but you are still present being the thinker, only the thought and the thinker are quiet, but soon, a few minutes later – ten or fifteen minutes, or an hour later – everything is still there.
You don't get rid of this sense of a present “I” – which is the sense of the thinker – by using some practice or technique, some mystical, esoteric, or meditative system. An understanding of this movement is needed, an approach to the movement of the ego, of the “I.” Self-inquiry, Self-investigation, True Self-awareness, and the True Meditation in Practice, is what we have that really works to end this model of restlessness, struggle, suffering, and unhappiness, due to the presence of thoughts.
Understanding thought, perceiving this instant here and now, free from this reaction of memory, this reaction of the past, absolutely free from this movement of the ego. Then, the Truth of your Being shows itself, which is Consciousness, Presence, your Natural State of Consciousness, of Being, of Presence, of Consciousness, your Natural State of Being.
So, the understanding of the movement of the ego, of the “I,” of the “me,” the understanding of the movement of memory, of psychological conditioning, is the end of the thinker, the end of the “I.” Then, this condition of separateness from that “I” and the experience dissolves, because now What is present is the Reality of your Being, Consciousness, Bliss. This is Presence Consciousness or the Presence of Consciousness.
So, this is the subject we work on with you. Some people have called it Spiritual Enlightenment or the Awakening of Consciousness. Here the Truth of your Being reveals itself; this is the end of thought and naturally the end of that reactive response of thought, regarding life going on, here and now, at this moment. This action is the action of Love, of Freedom, of Intelligence. It’s the action born of Silence, the action born of Peace and Freedom. It is the action of this Consciousness, which is God’s Consciousness.
If this is something that makes sense to you, leave your “like” and subscribe to the channel. I want to remind you: we have face-to-face meetings, and also retreats, where we are working on this with those who are approaching – in addition, we have online meetings.
So, if that’s something that makes sense to you, we can work it out together, ok?
Here is the invitation and see you next meeting!
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