edward. . .Being effortlessly Now

THOUGHTS ARE IN SOMETHING

Thoughts by themselves are not independent. They are dependent on something, as they are ‘things’. 

Where they appear is in the phenomenal mind. And where they stay and hang out, is in the personal created self. This ‘self’ is artificial as well, in that it too has dependence on something to exist.

This ‘self’ is propped up by iteration, perseveration, and belief. The critical element that attaches thought to this ‘self’ is ‘my’ and/or ‘mine’. Without these seemingly magic words of ‘my’ and ‘mine’, thoughts would be allowed to naturally flounder and dismiss themselves due to disinterest.

The problem of losing the ‘my’ which attaches thoughts to ‘us’, cannot be a thought-based solution. More thoughts actually deepen the conditioning/investment of thoughts in a continuous creating/recreating of false self or in other words, a  false ‘me’.

Having a thought that provides a solution of losing the ‘my’ of attachment, is just another thought that also attaches itself to the illusory self because it is being done for the ‘me’, a close relative to the ‘my’.  This prevents the new ‘thought’, that tries to dislodge the ‘my’ in thoughts, to be trapped in the same trick bag. The ‘me’ can’t get rid of the ‘me’ because it is all within the ‘me’. Just by using another thought, to not use ‘my’ and ‘mine’, does not solve the problem of having thoughts attach themselves to the illusory self, which is apparently doing all the presumed problem-solving.

Do we see the futility of false self trying to get out of false self (or ‘me’)? 

The issue that needs to be underscored is that thought-based missions are futile when relying on thoughts alone and an artificial self. These ‘things’ have limitations that preclude going past them-selves (things) when relying solely on them-selves (things).

The neocortex is a thought-based relatively recent biological improvement in personal management. However, it too has the same limitations as artificial self  i.e. dependence on the thing called thoughts. As far as going past thoughts into pure existence (which precedes all thoughts), the neocortex fails, despite its development, because it has the same limitations of topping out at the level of thought.

What ‘sees the thought’ is what is prior to the thought. What sees the thought cannot be thought about because it is not a thing that can be seen or cognized like a thing.

Only the perceiving sees the perceived. What is perceived (things) cannot be perceiving.

This brings us to perceiving, knowing, seeing and the other verb-like aliveness that never stops moving while still being the ’Stillness’ that is distinct and prior to thoughts and thinking. This ‘Stillness’ is the Everything where thoughts and everything else arise from.  

The afflictions that thoughts may cause us, can also be reduced significantly when we see that thoughts are contained in this ‘Everything’. The Everything/Nothingness is the container of all things phenomenal and non-phenomenal.

Thoughts, whether they are presumably ours or someone else’s, are occurring in some kind of space. Because thoughts are the presumed staple of how we can operate in this world, we focus soley on them and our presumed needs (more thoughts). This attachment to thoughts is a slavery to thinking. Thinking that we need 70,000 thoughts per day is clearly dysfunctional. We are stuck in thinking.

When we have these daily rounds of 70,000 thoughts, do we ever look at the the backdrop of where these thoughts arise? They arise from Everything/Nothingness. If the mind misses the backdrop because of addictive and titillating thoughts in the foreground, the access to qualities of Peace and contentment will be obscured, as they reside in the permanence of Being. 

Our innate awareness that perceives perceiving and perception, is the ‘Us’ that sees everything and Everything, which includes the essential metaphorical container where thoughts are contained.

Thoughts are the everything in Everything. See the Everything first leaves thoughts like passing clouds. See the thoughts first then Everything is overlooked like yesterday’s garbage.

The position of Everything and everything is important because what appears predominant is what is seen as foreground first versus background. The greater view is Everything. Everything-ness should be in the foreground in order to See ‘everything’ clearly.

Thoughts, no matter how virile and troublesome, are still passing but not staying. They repeat themselves when the emphasis is not on the Everything where thoughts come from. Shifting to Everything relieves the stress of thoughts owning Us. Shifting to Seeing Everything first (foreground) does not give space to the perseveration of creating a delusional created self with endless supporting thoughts.

The number of thoughts are reduced as their unnecessariness is exposed from this perspective of Everything first in foreground. Be in Everything first, then thoughts if necessary.

Lastly, sticky thoughts that have a habit of gluing themselves to us, but can be distanced and minimized with the spaciousness of Everything. Know that thoughts are arising in Everything and that seeming space has no boundaries, edges or limits. See the significance of this boundlessness as vastness that dwarfs any ‘thing’, especially thought, in it. Staying with the vastness of this space (Everything) by experiencing the vastness first, reduces the significance of problematic and dominating thoughts, to puniness.

The background of groundless Being is everpresent and available at all times. Therefore there is never any real reason to leave this spaciousness for transitory thoughts and over-thinking.

Love Loves Everything.                                                        Daddy’O