As one of my teachers told me, “Leave the mind alone. An Insight From Bio-Feedback Brain Training. I’m happy it helped Isobel. Most conversations hold a lot of meaning or emotions. It is well worth checking out. If all of those things go away, who are you? And, you are right. It asks you to have another look at the way you’ve got things set up in your mind. "Eat and drink!" Love is a beautiful emotion to experience but can you truthfully say that it is always present. Your thoughts appear only to you, and are not being heard by anyone else whatsoever. I realize this probably means that we’re not our bodies either. It can be alluded to or pointed at but not expressed. Viktor Frankl said: Between stimulus and response there is a space. It must be said you are the witnesser of your thoughts. But focusing too much on your thoughts, especially dark ones, can often end up reinforcing them, and giving them more solidity than they actually have. Realising this was the biggest relief I ever experienced! It offers an interesting perspective on our relationship with thoughts (you’ll find an audio version below). If it lands on 2, then you are angry. Conscious? Since you are now divested of your thoughts by not identifying with them. If you focus your mind on the wrong things, then you’ll have a harder time achieving anything in life. It’s freeing. They may be a part of who you are. They are known only to you. Your thoughts appear in your head. That’s great Jonathan. This is the disease. The first is the non-judgemental acceptance of whatever arises in your experience. We are either conscious of our thoughts and emotions… or not. The “self-created” theory argues that you arethe voice behind your thoughts. I will not sell or distribute your email address to a third party at any time. Knowing exactly what you are doing at all moments. 4 - you are jealous. Awesome Jonny, glad you’re getting something from it . There is a remedy. Sitting or lying down are both fine. The moment we try to define it, it is not IT any more. Everything in your experience would suggest otherwise. I will continue to keep meditating and staying present because the present moment is all there ever is. It’s that idea, or concept of self, that ego that we make up, that gets in the way of experiencing life/reality directly. I have been on this journey for some time now and I still feel a bit lost. It is the idea of Unity that will help everyone break free of their limitations and feel a breath of fresh air, maybe for the first time in their lives. When you transcend the experience of duality — of dividing the universe up into separate “things” — you experience the reality of bliss, love, peace — and oneness. We affirm that since we are the experiencer of the thought, they must be true. Until now! How does it feel? Hi I do get what you are saying but without connecting to the thoughts and emotions as an idea of who you are. You wouldn’t be free of them even for a single moment. You are not your thoughts because thoughts come and go and you should allow them to do so with little attachment. In my opinion, it is good to work with healing the negative patterns inside ourselves whilst at the same time maintaining the overview that the mind is only part of who we are. It is great to know that it is inevitable that there is some sweet connection between us all. In truth, who you are today is not the same person you were yesterday, or even 5 minutes ago. Leave the mind in peace to do it’s dance and it will leave you in peace to do yours. This is spiritual bypassing. Tracing the roots of your thoughts to the deepest layers of your psyche can help you deal with anxieties, phobias and neuroses. Can you speak to that please? Realising you are not your thoughts is a life-changing discovery, a pivotal moment in each person’s spiritual journey. You say “I am angry” rather than, “anger is there just now”. So much life is dictated by emotions so are we only observing and acting on ones we label as good or useful? Your thoughts, feelings and emotions are not who you really are. BE LOVE.” Love is the ground of who you are beyond thoughts, feelings and emotions. Now empty yourself of any concepts, beliefs or knowledge you have about the world. That speaks of the flower. Our spoken human languages necessitates the division into objects. I am working on a project called How to Love Your Little Monster that refers to the child that accepted judgement, labels, and programming as personal truth when the fact is that in this current system of things, meaning the world and its worldly ways, we are subdued. More importantly, you’re not your mistakes. Just like that flower. You do not have to go along with every thought that comes and let it take centre stage. Positive or negative emotions both? To put it more accurately, it is not so much that you use your mind wrongly — you usually don’t use it at all. For me, mindfulness has made me a more compassionate and loving person. Here’s another. I really liked this article however I feel that there is still some resistance in me, maybe because of my mind. I just can’t grasp it. Why not? It can be applied anywhere. I go into this topic in more detail in my book “Awaken The Happy You.”. That’s all the ego is. There are two types of happiness Santosh. Present? When you meditate, who are you? It just goes on and on. OR it could simply be a statement of truth… that we are in fact, way more than our thoughts and our feelings. Life changing moment. Thoughts changes frequently. We need to realize that “The Essence of Life is … Life Itself” and Life Is “Now” The Moment. Your thoughts and feelings do not make you weird or broken. You are not ‘you being present’ or ‘not being present’ . You can always take a moment to be mindful and become aware of what you are playing on the stage of your mind. It shifts your perspective from BEING the thoughts to being able to choose how you engage with them. Two very different answers, right? Most of which you did not design consciously. Your email address will not be published. now turn your hand to face the floor, unclench your fist, and allow the pen to fall. It’s the same with your emotions. The Sedona Method is a powerful technique for letting go of troublesome thoughts, feelings and emotions. Is being thankful also emotion? But when I speak out words of hatred toward someone else, I am pointing them directly to myself. Because it’s even confusing to me typing it out. You observe and choose to act or not act upon the ideas, even the happy ones. This is PROOF that the thoughts are not ‘who you are’. The birth of the father? Good question Triselle. The mother? I used to like to think myself in others’ shoes when I watch movie, anime, or in real life because I loved getting emotional and feel for the individuals, but after practicing mindfulness, I lose interest and find it pointless to make emotional rollercoaster. When you transcend the experience of duality — of dividing the universe up into separate “things” — you experience the reality of bliss, love, peace — and oneness. He has two great qualities that will see him go far: His question today is an important one, because if you’ve ever wondered who you really are, then this will help shed some light. There was no self-image (illusion). It is one. Put aside all thoughts of the future. But this mental division, creates the illusion that the world contains separate things, when it does not. They are known only to you. You are not the thinker of your thoughts (that would be the lizard brain), you're the one who hears them. Hi Helena, Yes, it really does change everything when you see you are not your thoughts and that engaging with them is optional. Like someone mentioned above it seems very robotic or zombie-like being present without thought. Yes, the mind can’t get ii. It struck me for the first time in 1997, after reading “The Power Of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. Or would it begin with the creation of the egg? Set aside all memories of the past — as if you had just arrived on earth in this moment. There were no thoughts (mind chatter). “It’s that idea, or concept of self, that ego that we make up, that gets in the way of experiencing life/reality directly.” — very profound. To see if the conclusions that it’s so easy to jump to in the heat of the moment are actually even real or right. How to Love Your Little Monster and Virginia Faye my aspiring artist page. "The first thought that goes through your mind is what you have been conditioned to think. But the reality is, the question doesn’t really have a satisfactory answer. You are grown now. The Bible offers good news! There is more to the picture. And some say, that you are not even the observer. The person only APPEARS solid because there seems to be continuity. We do what needs to be done without being pulled in a hundred directions at once. Your thoughts appear in your head. Your hand represents YOU, awareness. There is one physical world here on earth, but billions of different internal worlds. I tend to think mindfulness makes you emotionless and lack of empathy for others for how quickly you drop your feelings. Feeling dissociated with thoughts needs to be stressed when you are sad, angry, and other negative emotions. Hi, The more you identify yourself with the Inner Witness, the freer you are and the more potential you have to control your body, mind, and emotions. Soil and nutrients, water, bees to pollinate it, sunlight, a planet with our exact atmosphere of air, etc. What a relief! If you start thinking something that takes you out of your place of joy (or just generally makes you feel bad), then realise they’re just thoughts, spontaneously arising. You don’t even need to be indifferent to them for that, in itself, would be an action you are taking. Because the pen is not part of the hand, you can choose to drop it in any moment. I invite you to try the following guided meditation, one of my favourites. I’m really pleased that you got something out of this , Next post: An Insight From Bio-Feedback Brain Training. In his introduction to the method, the founder, Hale Dwoskin, uses a great analogy to illustrate our true relationship with the mind. If you look closely at everything that makes up what you call ‘me, the person’ — body, mind, thoughts, feeling and emotions — you will see that none of it is constant or solid. Except those who aren’t. Thank you for this beautiful article. When you learn to meditate, the first thing you learn is to take a step back and watch the mind objectively—with an attitude of curiosity. Instead of Fighting Your Thoughts, Learn to Observe Them. A powerful adult. It involves body chemistry, hormones, neurons, the gut etc. Be peace,” this what he was referring to. As we’ve just seen, negative thinking isn’t the problem: the real problem is identifying with your thoughts. Thank You. I am very much stuck in my head. Or you could choose to measure it by how far its light beams travel. You are not your thoughts, ideas, beliefs, concepts and models. A process. My confusion comes from the fact we use language to communicate to each other all day everyday. Very profound wisdom has been shared here. Well, you could measure the diameter by it’s visible fire. One is constantly changing , the other one is timeless and ever the same. You become aware that, “there is the mind doing it’s thing and here am I, watching.”. 6 - stressed out. Now, what did that flower need to grow? We can either build a better one, consciously. I understood the concept before, but I really experienced it now. When does life begin for a person? Fantastic post. You will receive periodic updates and special offers from me via email. Key Bible Verse: Proverbs 23:7. It has no beginning or end. I was in a spiritual organisation many years ago who taught that all you have to do to be spiritually awake is to never entertain your thoughts, feelings etc. Rather than restructuring or challenging thoughts, as with CBT, cognitive defusion practices aim to help patients distance themselves from their thoughts when the thoughts are not … To realise that you are not your thoughts is when you begin to awaken spiritually —Eckhart Tolle. Please repeat that to yourself three more times, as it can be an important realization on your path to emotional peace. I got an email today from one of my best students. Richard, Great article, I recently REALISED that I am not my thoughts. If you really were your anger, your sadness or the broken person your mind would have you believe you are, it would be your continuous experience. Stripped of all these concepts, ideas and beliefs, is there still a ‘you’ present? When I realised a couple years ago that I was not my thoughts I felt liberated from my mind. Say, your GF who you love so much is screaming at you, you notice the anger and sadness in you arising, so you observe it, don’t name them. It is not a thing, but a doing. Really good article. If you struggle in your thought-life, then you probably already know that immoral thinking is leading you straight into sin. You may say it is problem because you percieve it as problem, but she won’t stop. It really is a life changing realisation! Interesting read. It goes against everything we have been conditioned to believe all our lives. You are awesome. Emotional love comes and goes within a greater you. They appear by themselves, apparently out of nowhere, linger in your awareness for a moment or two and then disappear again— like clouds passing across the sky. It is all ONE. I understand this practice when done in stillness but not as you go through you day in between stillness with self and interacting with other people. Simply be present here and now, just as you are—breathing in, breathing out. If it lands on 3, then you are bored. Our Magick is restrained, we become rats in a race. Everyone, regardless of how troubled they are, experiences moments of joy, of laughter, of OK-ness. This is clearly not the case. How does that work for relationships? Trapped in my thoughts. You are not your thoughts, ideas, beliefs, concepts and models. The passing traffic (ie the thoughts, feelings, emotions that come and go) or the awareness that is aware of it. Also as I am sure you know, we are bio-chemical beings. Experienced through your physical being. Now, temporarily put aside all thoughts of who you are, any image you have of yourself, any ideas associated with a personal identity—all notions such as male or female, rich or poor, young or old.