Who Are We in Between our Thinking?
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The question is: "Who are we in between our thinking?" Mindfulness draws awareness to the fact that we spend much of our time caught up in various thinking processes, for example, planning for the future. During Mindfulness meditation, we seek to recognize this process for what it is, and in turn provide ourselves with a sense of freedom and liberation. Fronsdal points out that as humans, there is an epidemic of the following process:
- Something happening to us, or a thought arises
- This thought or eventleads us down a path of: if I do this, then this will happen, then this will happen, then this will happens and therefore this will happen ... etc.
- We then walk around in these thinking processes, not living in the moment for minutes, hours, days ....
- Then we run into other humans who are engaging in similar webs of thought and not living in the present
- So here are two humans down two wholly independent "rat holes" trying to have a meaningful interaction in the present moment
While Mindfulness Practice does not judge thinking as bad, it teaches us to recognize thinking for what it is, and look at it as somewhat of of an outsider. We then come back to the breath as the center of our attention, trying to "live in the breath" in the present moment.
There are also some further investigations which might be made during the meditation, such as recognizing that the thinking is only a flag for some underlying emotion. For example, fear might bring one to an intensive planning process. That thinking tries to bring us to a point of safety psychologically. In that case, with Vispanan practice, you gently recognize the emotion, don't judge it as good or bad, simply put it aside, and then come back to the breath.
So the question again: "Who are we in between our thinking?" I would be curious to hear some answers to that. This Holiday Season, if you turn off that voice in your head that's planning the presents, the tree, the time off from work at the office; then who are we in those independent moments without thinking? Some people are afraid of it. I can say that personally I have been able to catch glimpses of this and I think it is a very beautiful thing that can bring a greater sense of pleasure to the things that are going on around us in the present.
See if you can for just a few moments sit quietly, close your eyes, and turn off the voice inside your head, and only observe your breathing. See if during the day you can recognize when you are going through elaborate (and perhaps somewhat unnecessary) webs of planning, or lament about past mistakes or missed opportunities (for example). How does this thinking prevent you from fully engaging in the present and experience life to the fullest?
5 Comments:
Grasshopper: great post. I think you have raised the $64,000 question for all those who meditate, and those who seek to transcend the ego.
I don't pretend to have such answers, though do hope to have that insight someday myself, as it must be experienced first hand for true appreciation, I suspect.
I also hear it can be a frightening journey, looking into the abyss as it were. Once you no longer identify with your ego, just who do you identify with? As Ken Wilber put it in an article that I posted to the first entry at my Just Un-Do It blog:
"For authentic transformation is not a matter of belief but of the death of the believer; not a matter of translating the world but of transforming the world; not a matter of finding solace but of finding infinity on the other side of death. The self is not made content; the self is made toast."
I hope you get some other responses that take a crack at answering your question. I'm all ears.
S-
Here's one more way to look at your post/question. A little parable:
God has not created anything. This world is its own creation. To illustrate this point, Mother will tell you a story about a man who was entrusted to keep watch over the storeroom of a house in which there were many gold ornaments and jewels. In the night, instead of keeping vigil, he fell asleep. At that time, some thieves broke in and stole all the valuables.
When the watchman awoke and saw what had happened, he became very frightened. He began to cry, "Oh, the police will catch me and my children will become destitute." But when he was asleep, he had none of these worries; he slept soundly. The problem of thieves, police and children all came into being when he awoke.
If the problems were real, they would have been there during sleep also. Therefore, the problems were the creation of his waking state. They were born of the ignorance which manifests when one awakens.
This world is similarly the product of our ignorance, ignorance of our Real Self.
-- Mata Amritanandamayi
Well I am not an expert on Vispana. But I am getting the idea. They call it a "practice" and I am beginning to see why. It's something you do with an end in mind. One of those ends might be greater peace and groundedness in your life. If the practice is not useful to you, then don't do it, I think is something that Fronsdal would say.
So I am following his instructions and I begin to look at the space between my thoughts. I catch it for a brief secound and it is a warm peaceful darkness. But he minute I begin to comprehend it, I am thinking again and it vanishes. I do find it a useful thing to try and practice, because I think I am learning that I am not my thoughts. I am something in between my thoughts. It's sort of like saying: I am not my hair.
It also is teaching me to be present in the moment during the day. Don't spend hours running dwn various rat holes of thinking to no avail. Do an analysis and be done with it. Otherwise life is going to pass you by.
One other final point. Steve you and Mike came to the same conclusion today: don't fall into the abyss looking over the edge. Mike's equivalent to that was: You want to be the guy coming to the edge of the bridge and looking over the side, not the guy living under it!
Dan
Oh heck, I just couldn't resist the connection ... great song:
Dave Matthews Band
The Space Between Lyrics
You cannot quit me so quickly
There's no hope in you for me
No corner you could squeeze me
But I got all the time for you, love
The Space Between
The tears we cry
Is the laughter keeps us coming back for more
The Space Between
The wicked lies we tell
And hope to keep safe from the pain
But will I hold you again?
These fickle, fuddled words confuse me
Like 'Will it rain today?'
Waste the hours with talking, talking
These twisted games we're playing
We're strange allies
With warring hearts
What wild-eyed beast you be
The Space Between
The wicked lies we tell
And hope to keep safe from the pain
Will I hold you again?
Will I hold...
Look at us spinning out in
The madness of a roller coaster
You know you went off like a devil
In a church in the middle of a crowded room
All we can do, my love
Is hope we don't take this ship down
The Space Between
Where you're smiling high
Is where you'll find me if I get to go
The Space Between
The bullets in our firefight
Is where I'll be hiding, waiting for you
The rain that falls
Splash in your heart
Ran like sadness down the window into...
The Space Between
Our wicked lies
Is where we hope to keep safe from pain
Take my hand
'Cause we're walking out of here
Oh, right out of here
Love is all we need here
The Space Between
What's wrong and right
Is where you'll find me hiding, waiting for you
The Space Between
Your heart and mine
Is the space we'll fill with time
The Space Between...
In the space between our thoughts, we are our true selves, not our ego. We are one with God, Being, All That Is, Oneness, whatever you wish to call it.
See my post on just this subject over at my sister blog: http://justun-doit.blogspot.com , entitled "The Epiphany". And let me know what you think.
S-
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