Monday, January 18, 2016

Thinking Consciously, Consciously Thinking


“Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadful affliction, but we don't realize this because almost everyone is suffering from it, so it is considered normal. This incessant mental noise prevents you from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from Being”  - Eckhart Tolle

The Secret, Deepak Chopra, and many other self-help experts are growing in popularity based on the premise of “Awareness”.   These books have become THE answer to our inability to achieve happiness and peace in our lives. 
People use the words “Awareness” and “Mindfulness” much like the way we through around the word “Love”.  Unfortunately, from this perspective, an immature understanding is developed that clearly trivializes and undervalues what it truly means to become “Aware”.

Awareness is a real technique used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for making fundamental discoveries about “who we are”, and “why we do what we do”.  It’s a great tool in understanding the true nature of the programed mind.
There is a thought pattern that creates the way we understand “our world” and everyone in it.  We perceive… we attach… an emotion arises… a behavior is evoked… followed by a (good/bad) consequence.

We take our “subjective view” (projection) as the “objective view” about the nature of reality.  We’re not aware of the fact that our “truths” are based on our “subjective experiences”.
As Cuban author Anais Nin once said, “We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are”.

This sense of self is an illusion. Breaking through this illusion of self is more important than stress reduction of the other traditionally viewed benefits talked about by the authors above.
The enemy of mindfulness is being lost in thought. To be thinking without knowing you’re thinking. The problems are not the thoughts themselves, but the actual lack of intentional conscious thought that occurs.

(Most of us spend our entire lives thinking without knowing what we are thinking)

This autonomic thought process places a darkly colored veil over the present moment and distorts our lives with anxiety filled emotions which engineers our unhappiness and discontent. 

Think about it…most of what we think is quite unpleasant.  We’re judging ourselves, judging others… We create anticipatory anxiety from future thought, and have depression from regrets of the past.
Awareness of these unhealthy thoughts is a valuable tool for breaking through the deafening sounds of society.  It allows us to rise above the illusionary sense of self by observing the repetitive internal dialogue within ourselves. This, in and of itself, is extremely beneficial.

This type of awareness brings forth a whole new understanding to our experiences that we didn’t notice in the past.
Take anger for instance.  Instead of thinking about our emotion anger, we spend most of our time thinking about why we should be angry (he cut me off in traffic, I held the door open and she didn’t say a word, he didn’t return my call). 

We fail to question our beliefs regarding our behavior, so the internal conversation keeps this emotion in place much longer than needed.  If you’re mindful enough to interpret this conversation (he might be late for work, she's late for an important meeting, his phone isn’t charged), and simply witness the feeling of anger as it arises, you’ll find that you can’t be mad for more than a few moments at a time.
This is a matter of turning consciousness on itself. 

Eckhart Tolle had an interesting thought regarding this phenomenon…
"It is liberating to realize that the 'voice in my head' is not who I am.’  “Who am I, then?  The one who sees that.”

If you are sick and tired of your life…If you are at a point of readiness to change…If you are seeking the type of enlightenment that comes from the awareness of “who we are”, and “why we do what we do”….remember…it’s not about the trivial “doing a plan” or “doing meditation”.  It’s much, much more than that. It’s about USING these tools to quiet the noise long enough to hear the internal dialogue of doubt, negativity, and frustration that has clearly defined and created the person we’ve become to be… and the reasons we do what we do. 

 
“Know thy self; the unexamined life is not worth living”

                                                                         ~ Socrates

 

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Perhaps



                        “I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man with no feet”

                                                                                                           Buddha

 She doesn’t like me, Everyone looks at me when I walk in the gym, I’m never going to lose weight, what if I embarrass myself, What if he has a wreck, the weather is going to get really bad, this is the best I’ve ever had, this is the worst I’ve ever had, I’m always awkward, I’m a good person… bad things shouldn’t happen to me,  I “always’, “never”, or “ever”,  do a good enough job.
Statements like these are call cognitive distortions.  These distortions are based on flawed irrational thoughts which influence our emotions, leading to low self-esteem, depression, and extreme anxiety.
Sometimes, learning to consider alternative ways of viewing the events in our lives can be beneficial by reducing negative feelings and thoughts and learning to see the potential good, as well as the potential for a seemingly bad situation to not be all bad. This, of course, takes much practice, but is within everyone's reach.  (We perceive…believe…emotions…behavior…consequences)

                      “Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them”

                                                                                        ~ Epictetus

 Perhaps (Buddhist parable)

Long ago in China there was an old farmer. With the same horse this old farmer had plowed and worked his land for many years when one day his horse suddenly ran away. As news of this reached his neighbors, the old farmer was met with sympathy. Neighbors visited throughout the day saying, "Wow, what bad luck to have your horse run away!"
The old farmer would think for a moment then say softly, "Perhaps..."

The next morning the old farmer awoke to find his horse had returned. With the horse were several wild horses who had apparently followed the horse home. Neighbors rejoiced, visiting the old farmer to express how happy they were for his sudden good fortune.
The old farmer would think for a moment then say softly, "Perhaps..."

Shortly after, the old farmer's son decided to try to ride one of the wild horses. Climbing on the horses back, the boy knocked the animal hard with his leg shouting for the horse to go. Startled, and probably a little annoyed, the horse flung the boy off its back. The old farmer's son broke his leg in the fall. Again, neighbors came to offer their sympathies for the misfortune, "What a horrible string of bad luck you're having!"
The old farmer would think for a moment then say softly, "Perhaps..."

The very next day, military officials came into the village with orders to draft young men into military service. As they went from home to home, rounding up young men, they made their way to the old farmer's house. Upon seeing the farmer's son with his broken leg they decided to move on, leaving the boy alone. Once again, neighbors came to share words of congratulations to the old farmer for the good fortune to have his son passed by.

And again, the old farmer would think for a moment then say softly, "Perhaps..."

 When the soul cries out, it is a sign that we have arrived at a necessary, mature stage of self-reflection. The secret is not to get stuck there dithering or wringing your hands, but to move forward by resolving to heal yourself. Philosophy asks us to move into courage. Its remedy is the unblinking excavation of the faulty and specious premises on which we base our lives and our personal identity.

                                                                                                                             ~ Epictetus