GC: Hello everyone! We are here for another videocast. Once again, Master Gualberto is with us. Thank you very much, Master, for your presence.
Master, today I'm going to read an excerpt from Joel Goldsmith's book called “Living Now.” In this excerpt from the book, Master, Joel Goldsmith says the following: “There is neither good nor evil. Thought is what makes them.” Regarding thoughts, could the Master answer us how we can deal with thoughts or how we can observe thoughts?
MG: Here, this question of thought is a fundamental issue, because the entire structure of this sense of “someone” present, which is the structure of the person, notice, it is based exactly on thought. Thought, Gilson, is in everything. Thought is the most intimate thing we have. We have had contact with thought since we understood ourselves, that is, since that moment we began to become aware of the world, from a perceiver perceiving. From that moment on, thought began to assume a position in our mind that, in fact, was a position of excessive value.
The point is that we have reached this point where we find ourselves today. We don't know how to deal with thoughts. Even worse: we believe we can deal with thoughts. We must first, for this answer, have an understanding of what thought is. We don't know, first, what thought is, and we already want to deal with thought. An understanding of what thought is will show you that thought is a reaction of memory, of the brain that carries a memory, to a stimulus, to a challenge, in this moment.
So, first we have to find out how thought is formed, what is the structure, what is the nature of thought. I'll try to simplify here. This is a very vast subject, but we have always tried to put it in a very simple and direct way. Every experience, Gilson, that we go through... the mechanics of the brain are such that this is recorded, and when it is recorded, this becomes part of the brain's collection, so this becomes part of memory. This memory is at the service of new experiences, so when new experiences arise, they are recognized based on these memories, these past experiences. Thought works exactly like this: you go through an experience, this experience is stored, recorded, and we have the presence of the experiencer, who appears after this experience, recognizing it.
The point here is this, see: this experiencer has not been understood by us, that is the problem. Every problem that thought causes us is because that experiencer is completely unaware of this movement, which is the movement of thought. So, one gets confused with this movement, which is the movement of thought, and one gets confused because there is an illusion that one is present. What is present is just a memory reaction, it's just thought, but we bring, Gilson, an illusion: the illusion of this experiencer.
When thought arises, this experiencer immediately appears. For example, when a thought arises, the idea you have is that you are thinking. If you look closely at this, you will discover that, in fact, that thought arose due to a stimulus. It appears, it just appears, it is not you who brings thought, but our belief is that you are the thinker, you are the experiencer, who produces thoughts. So, we don't know how to deal with thoughts. They are restless, they are chatty, they are negative, they are bad thoughts. The good thoughts, this thinker, this experiencer, wants to keep, but the bad ones, it wants to get rid of them. And it can't do one thing or the other, because thought, notice, in one’s head, stays for as long as it wants to stay and then it leaves. If you try to fight with thought, you end up strengthening its movement within you.
Understand what the truth is here, implicated in this situation. The implicit truth in this situation is that whatever movement you make from a present thought, this one doing is the “I” itself, the ego itself, the experiencer itself, the thinker itself, resisting that thought or clinging to it. When we do this, we strengthen this experience even more. So, if you have a thought that is disturbing you and you want to get it away from you, you can't.
What people have done is run away from that thought, clinging to other experiences that produce thoughts so that the first one moves away. In reality, everything we overcome, we have to overcome again, and again, and again, and this escape movement does not solve this psychological condition.
So, we live, in an internal state, Gilson, of psychological restlessness, without understanding what thought is. We believe that first comes the thinker and then thought, first comes the experiencer and then experience, which, in fact, is not true. Thought is what shows itself, and when it shows itself, the sense of someone resisting or fighting only strengthens this psychological condition even further. And this psychological condition, Gilson, is complete insanity. Human beings live in a state of neurosis, of psychological restlessness. Thoughts in our heads are dysfunctional.
There are some thoughts that are practical, objective, but there is a very small percentage of practical and objective thinking for this dream of life. Most of the thoughts within us are useless, unnecessary and dysfunctional, and this is present because the sense of “I,” of the ego, which is this experiencer, which is this thinker, is present. Until we get rid of this condition – which is the presence of this “me,” this “I,” this ego, this thinker, this experiencer – this psychological restlessness will be present. So, before we become aware of what this observation of thought is, we have to discover who this observer is, become aware of the illusion of the one who separates himself to do something with thought – this is what constitutes, Gilson, the work we do for this Awakening.
Then, the mind approaches and begins to become aware of itself, becoming aware of its own movement, due to the Power of Grace, the Power of a Real Presence that arises. Then, a work begins to occur, and the Divine purpose of this work is the end of this condition, which is the condition of thought. Here, I refer to this model of thinking that supports the ego. Here, at the moment, we are using speech in a direct, objective and practical way, but other than that, a good part of a person's psychological time is occupied with their self-interest, with the movement of psychological restlessness itself, creating and sustaining precisely internal patterns of confusion and disorder that the ego actually enjoys.
It's strange to say this: the ego appreciates this entire condition of continuity within itself, even if it is producing suffering for itself, in this internal chatter, in this imagination, in this movement of restlessness, and it does this by sustaining this separation: thinker and thought, experiencer and experience, “someone” remembering… So, in this psychological fluctuation, we are in the ego, always living in this model of the past; the past projecting itself into the future, creating fear, unnecessary worries, negative imaginations, producing suffering for that false, illusory center, which is the “I,” the ego; thought dwelling on the past, bringing guilt, remorse, regret, all kinds of things. We need to approach the consciousness of Self-awareness, the recognition of this movement of psychological restlessness, in which thought is moving within an illusion: the illusion of an identity that believes it is in control of it.
That's why we need, Gilson, the Awakening, the Awareness of the Truth of What we are, for the end of this psychological condition, which is the condition of the ego. So, a new mind... I would say that a state free from the old mind arises, and when that is present, there is no more this chatter, there is no more this restlessness, there is no more this restless thinking, there is no more any form of suffering, neurosis or psychological complication. That´s it.
GC: Master, within the studies I did, spiritual practices, within self-awareness, as is commented out there, a lot is said about canceling negative thoughts. Then, a negative thought appears… cancel a negative thought and nourish positive thoughts. Can the Master talk a little more about this?
MG: The question for you is: who is responsible for managing this? Who is this thought manager? We have to investigate the nature of those who believe they can do such a thing. Here, Gilson, we are faced with an illusion. What this manager, this ego, this “I,” can do is temporarily escape bad thoughts. The ways in which it will escape this are diverse – one of them could be by introducing good thoughts to try to cancel out bad thoughts –, but this psychological agitation is sustained, and as long as this psychological agitation is sustained by this manager, which is the movement of volition, of the desire and wanting of this “me,” this “I,” you opened a door here for good thoughts, but there is another door, in the back, open, wide open, for bad thoughts. So, the movement of neurosis, of psychological restlessness continues.
We need to be aware of who the manager is. What is the truth of this thinker who we believe is producing thoughts, who we believe is in control of opening doors to good thoughts and closing doors to bad thoughts? Look, this is what human beings have been trying for millennia and it hasn't worked. We try to drive out evil by bringing in good, but what is this “good”? What is this “evil”? What are good thoughts? What are bad thoughts? What is this element present that knows how to differentiate one thing from another? See, Gilson, we are still within a model, in which the sense of “I,” of the ego, is disciplining itself, ordering itself to improve as a person. In this sense, there may even be an improvement, but it is just an improvement. An enhanced person is still a person, and being a person, one sees oneself as an entity separate from life, from God, from existence. One has problems!
That's not what we talk about here. If a person takes a course and learns how to deal with people on that course, they become a better person to do so. To deal with oneself, one has to learn to deal with one’s self-image. So, it is possible for people to improve in this sense, taking some type of course or improvement, but this is an improvement of the “I,” of the ego itself. The Reality of What we are is beyond this “I,” this ego. What we are saying here is of a different order. We are talking about the end for thought, and this so-called “good thought” or “bad thought” is an imagination, it is a choice of a model of psychological conditioning. The end to all this is the beginning of a new mind, a new brain, free from psychological restlessness, free from bad thoughts and good thoughts, if indeed there is such a thing as we believe.
The Reality of What we are is outside the egoic mind, it is outside this model of thought. The awareness of this Being is Silence. Thought has a place, but it is a very simple, direct, objective place. It is not this place of good thinking and bad thinking; it is the space of practical thinking. If I ask your name, you tell me your name; if I ask you for the address, you give me your address; If I show you a professional activity, you use thought to learn. This is something practical! But this notion of good thinking, bad thinking, this is within the model of the duality of this “me,” this “I,” this ego. OK? I don't know if what we're saying here makes sense.
GC: It makes sense, Master, it makes a lot of sense. And, mainly, this becomes even more evident when, in Satsang, which are these meetings that the Master proposes for an entire weekend, it takes place. Because, intellectually, it may even make some sense, but it doesn’t come close to being in Satsang, when we can, in a certain way, immerse ourselves in this sharing of Presence that the Master is. The Master remains in this Silence and, in Satsang, there are moments when we enter this Master's energy field and perceive this Silence that really is beyond concepts, beyond thoughts, and it is Grace.
Master, we have a question, also on this topic, from Miguel. He asks the following question: “Does thought have a real value for Being, like the value of creating something in the mind and manifesting it on the material plane? Or does the real power come from Consciousness, and thought, in fact, is an entanglement with the ego, which also serves as a learning experience for the Being?”
MG: Your question is very long, but let's put it here. Thought is a matter within a model of the known, for the known. Thought only deals with the dream, it has no reality outside of that dream. What, basically, is thought? To understand this, we just need to have an answer to it: thought is memory. What is memory for? It is the practical and objective function for very direct purposes, dealing with this dream. So, the function of thought is just this function. There is nothing extraordinary about thought, thought is just an existential phenomenon, like any other apparition. Like any other apparition, it is a phenomenon that appears and disappears, it has no real value for That which is outside the known, which is the Divine Reality, which is the Reality of this nameless and indescribable “Thing.”
When we use the expression “Being” here, when thought takes this expression and places it within the known, we are already imagining things. And who is imagining? It's thought! So, it is important that we also approach these words with some caution. The word “Being” is not Being, the word “Being” is just a word. The word “Consciousness” is not Consciousness. So, do we have to use words? Yes, as long as we understand their meaning very well. I will repeat: when we deal with thought, we are dealing with the known. This has no value or importance in the face of this Reality that is beyond the known, which is the Divine Reality.
The good news for you is that thought is part of the dream, of this dream of the world, where this body appears and this so-called “mind” appears. Only that! There is nothing remarkable or extraordinary in thought; it deals with the known. Right here and now, everything you see around you, inside your house, thought has designed, and it went there and executed it. That's what thinking is for: to make drawings, projects, and construct these projects and drawings within the dream. It doesn't deal with anything other than the dream, so each and every experience you might have, write about it, describe it, tell about it, is still within thought, so it's still part of the known. So, from the point of view of Reality, it has no value! It's just part of the dream.
As long as you stay in the dream, you are dealing with thoughts. When there is this Awakening, it is when Comprehension occurs that there is something beyond and outside the known and, therefore, outside of thought. The Awareness of this is Liberation. It is not Liberation for someone, it is Liberation. It is the end of this illusion of someone, it is the end of this illusion of someone enlightened, of someone awake, of someone who knows God or has entered into communion with God. It's the end of this dream, it's something new, indescribable, unnamable. OK?
GC: Master, we have another question on the topic too. The question is as follows: “Master, could you, on another occasion, talk about the difference between useful thinking and useless thinking?”
MG: Here's an example. Right now, we are making use of speech. What is speech? It is the expression of thought. Is there a problem with speech as an expression of thought? However, when there is the illusion of a present identity, finding in this speech a certain position, a certain status, a certain egocentric value, then we have useless thinking. Useful thinking is thinking that we use in a technological, practical, objective, professional way. You make use of thought and knowledge, which is the result of past experiences, which are thoughts. So, these past experiences gave us know-how, knowledge, which is thought. From a technical, scientific point of view, in science, in short, everywhere, we see the presence of practical thinking. Cooking rice requires knowledge, which is thinking. So, this is practical thinking.
Now, there is a quality of useless thinking, which is the thinking that makes you like someone and dislike someone else. It is a thought that is based on a concept, a preconception, a feeling of specialness of this “me,” this ego. Some people are special to you and others are despicable in your eyes. The quality of thought you have at this level is an example of egoic thought, the thought that discriminates, that judges, that compares, that evaluates, that separates, that feels superior or that feels inferior. We know many thoughts like this! The condition of the ego, in its psychological insanity, lives in this, lives in this: envy, jealousy, anger, ambition, fear, desires, “I like,” “I don't like,” “the images I make about who I believe I am, about who I believe you are” … So, there are countless examples of useless thoughts, which are these dysfunctional thoughts of the ego in its insanity. That's simple. OK?
GC: It is interesting that the Master brings these lines and something that is beyond speech is shared in this Presence of the Master. And, especially in Satsang, which are these intensive weekend meetings, this something beyond words is perceived, so to speak. I remember in a Satsang, one of the first online Satsangs I participated in, where it became very clear how much this insistent thought is the ego itself, it is the “I” itself. And I had already read a lot of theories about what the ego is, what thought is, but, in the experience, in this sharing of the Master's Presence, in this weekend meeting, I was able to have very clear clarity, an understanding of how much the “I,” the ego, is a thought. So, it's Grace.
MG: It’s just that the Reality of That which is You is not within the known. An encounter at this level here, due to this work of investigation, brings you face to face with the Reality of That which you are, when thought, which is the model of egoic thought, is not present. So, it becomes clear that something is present that is no longer Gilson. It's just like that.
GC: Master, our time is over. Thank you for this videocast.
For those of you who are watching the video, leave a comment, leave a “like” and, above all, if you want to get closer to this work, if you have a real interest, burning in your heart, to live, to understand this Truth that the Master shares, you are invited to participate in these weekend meetings, these intensive meetings, where in the entire Saturday and the entire Sunday, the Master provides us with this investigation, this deep investigation of what thought is, what the ego is. So, here's the invitation. In the first comment, pinned, there will be the link to the WhatsApp group for these meetings.
Master, gratitude for this videocast. See you soon!
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