I was watching a video, it was Moojiji answering a womans question. She asked something about the pain you feel yourself when you watch someone else's pain, the stress of feeling bad for them. Its easier to see someone elses pain than your own, but when i thought about my current pain, whatever my mind was telling me over and over again keeping my anxious, was i needed to go soke a ciggerette. My body was telling my mind persistantly that i needed to stop watching this video and go smoke. It went on a little longer until i gave in to my mind's constant reminder. I went to go smoke and i felt relief.. and i noticed that this relief came from the silence of my mind, it stopped telling me to go smoke and it was quiet. It shocked me how easily i could see my pain fade away, i gave into my mind and gave it what it demanded. But then i realized i could start to see every demand my mind was asking for, and I knew it was never going to be satisfied. So I am observant of my demanding thoughts, but need to know how to deal with them instead of giving in to their demands. I need to understand how to silence my mind without falling victim to it.
-
P&S Moderators: JackARoe | Cheshire_Kat
I finally witnessed my own thoughts, now what?
- Thread starter bunbin
- Start date
Foreigner
Bluelighter
It's not possible to silence the mind all the time. It's like a ticker tape that goes and goes and goes. Sometimes it's comparatively quieter and other times it's off the wall.
What you have control over is whether or not you identify with mind. You can observe the content stream without taking it on. Suffering comes from believing everything in mind and following its content while relying on it to provide contentment.
You can also learn to love mind because a great deal of its rationality is why humans are able to problem solve and navigate the material world. You can silence mind with meditation techniques, but the purpose of that is to show you the inner peace and contentment that is always there despite mind, and not to eliminate mind (which for all intents and purposes cannot be done).
Mind is challenging for all humans, but I believe that the modern world poses particular problems because mental abilities are disproportionately favoured, combined with a culture that does not teach people how to unattach from it.
What you have control over is whether or not you identify with mind. You can observe the content stream without taking it on. Suffering comes from believing everything in mind and following its content while relying on it to provide contentment.
You can also learn to love mind because a great deal of its rationality is why humans are able to problem solve and navigate the material world. You can silence mind with meditation techniques, but the purpose of that is to show you the inner peace and contentment that is always there despite mind, and not to eliminate mind (which for all intents and purposes cannot be done).
Mind is challenging for all humans, but I believe that the modern world poses particular problems because mental abilities are disproportionately favoured, combined with a culture that does not teach people how to unattach from it.
herbavore
Bluelight Crew
I think that this is where acceptance comes in. I accept a lot of the ego chatter I generate about the same way I accept sneezing--it's going to happen. I've learned that I can accept so much of my negative thinking (guilt, conceit, vanity, shame) the same way I used to let my kids tantrum. Eventually, negative thoughts, like screaming kids, will wear themselves out and it happens a lot faster when you don't get overly involved.
I talk to a lot of parents that have lost their children to accidental overdose and suicide. Guilt is a fact of life for us. I have long since stopped expecting to be done with it but my relationship to it has changed. One mother describes it as getting up every morning, dressing for court, going to court, facing her accusers (herself), getting convicted and standing before the firing squad. That was a reality I also lived with but now I am more able to calmly wait out the voices or even to let my mind wander and only listen with half an ear, knowing they need to be heard, that's all. Once I changed my relationship to the thoughts, they lost so much of their power.
I had a teacher that told me to listen to the thoughts and then to gently set them aside and focus on identifying the feeling underneath the thoughts. This is an image that helps me.
I talk to a lot of parents that have lost their children to accidental overdose and suicide. Guilt is a fact of life for us. I have long since stopped expecting to be done with it but my relationship to it has changed. One mother describes it as getting up every morning, dressing for court, going to court, facing her accusers (herself), getting convicted and standing before the firing squad. That was a reality I also lived with but now I am more able to calmly wait out the voices or even to let my mind wander and only listen with half an ear, knowing they need to be heard, that's all. Once I changed my relationship to the thoughts, they lost so much of their power.
I had a teacher that told me to listen to the thoughts and then to gently set them aside and focus on identifying the feeling underneath the thoughts. This is an image that helps me.
Furanku_
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2013
- Messages
- 48
Thoughts will always happen, there is no silencing them. You can however choose to observe them for exactly what they are: thoughts.
At that moment, if you just observe the wave streams of your thoughts you'll notice they come and go and only you can choose whether you want to follow and feed them, or let them be. Many forms of meditation tell us to focus on our breathing for this exact reason, so as to not feed our thoughts when we should be present and still.
You ask now what but that's a thought coming up saying now what?!. Observe it all and rest in the silence that is you. Deep peace is always present, you just need to slow down for a second.
At that moment, if you just observe the wave streams of your thoughts you'll notice they come and go and only you can choose whether you want to follow and feed them, or let them be. Many forms of meditation tell us to focus on our breathing for this exact reason, so as to not feed our thoughts when we should be present and still.
You ask now what but that's a thought coming up saying now what?!. Observe it all and rest in the silence that is you. Deep peace is always present, you just need to slow down for a second.
Last edited:
badfish45
Bluelight Crew
Self awareness is a wonderful thing. Our minds function in a very convincing way, and makes us believe that many of our deep seeded psychological needs/emotions/wants are consciously felt. Its true we consciously experience them, but we dont control them occurring, which I believe to be a primary source of our personal suffering.
What Ive learned is to let yourswlf flow through the stream of consciousness. Emotions/thoughts are like storms, they come and go and before we know it our minds are focused on whats coming next.
If you enjoy smoking, then allow yourself to enjoy it and give into that unconscious need (though I do not recommend you smoke AT ALL!). If the addiction torments you, you can alter your reality through hard work. Our minds aways figure out ways to adapt to discomfort and mental suffering. Now that you are aware of your thought pattern, you can practice manipulating reality, mainly your attitude towards it and your functionality within it.
What Ive learned is to let yourswlf flow through the stream of consciousness. Emotions/thoughts are like storms, they come and go and before we know it our minds are focused on whats coming next.
If you enjoy smoking, then allow yourself to enjoy it and give into that unconscious need (though I do not recommend you smoke AT ALL!). If the addiction torments you, you can alter your reality through hard work. Our minds aways figure out ways to adapt to discomfort and mental suffering. Now that you are aware of your thought pattern, you can practice manipulating reality, mainly your attitude towards it and your functionality within it.