DRAFT
I keep adding and subtracting - it has content but it lacks continuity maybe..
Maybe just read each bit as it comes for now.
#19 - What's Your Mind Telling You?
.Defintions.
Definitions I am a big fan of using the ones already in the dictionary -having said that existing defintions for 'mind' are very varied.
Mind
...I suppose I mean #3 below - rather than #2 which I would label as mind+consciousness.
Mind:- per dictionary.com
noun
1.
(in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.: the processes of the human mind.
2.
Psychology . the totality of conscious and unconscious mental processes and activities.
3.
intellect or understanding, as distinguished from the faculties of feeling and willing; intelligence.
4.
a particular instance of the intellect or intelligence, as in a person.
5.
a person considered with reference to intellectual power: the greatest minds of the twentieth century.
I am defining 'thought' here as the judgements and opinions we have in our minds.
I do not include perceptions (the 5 senses) here as thoughts in our mind.
This is the framework of definitions I am using.
So I see the 'mind' as that bit of me that has opinions and judgements and puts labels on the world. ..and by a 'label' I am talking about attributes we add to things in our minds which are not physically present - Like a wonderful movie - when it's just a movie.
I am not really redefining the word 'mind' but rather putting it into my belief system - a belief system that you do not have to agree with.
You may not have judgements popping into your head and neither need they be 'negative' or 'self -sabotaging'' or anything like some of the self help books might have us believe!
But I would say that we are in control of our minds because we created them!
(see earlier stuff I wrote here)
Creative thought - a different type of thought - they can be spotted as they arrive as the Imperative or Command Line. I am this -I am that - I am lonely - I am happy today - Let's build a huge sandcastle!
I have put it to you in earlier articles that these are the fabric of creation - they make your world.
.Western Society lives in the mind.
You have seen this idea before -but it's worth repeating here.
What do you think? What do I think? What are they thinking?
I have even found myself analysing why I was having such a great time -eek.
In American slang "You think?" can sometimes mean a comedic or sarcastic sort of "You agree?" - it's cool sounding actually -and I love using it. ..but you get the point.
Society seems to give us the idea that to resolve problems one must think them through and that depends on how clever you are.
And children 'must think' also...
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a common disorder in adolescent children, with symptoms of inattention, and/or impulsiveness and hyperactivity. These symptoms should have been present before the age of seven, must be present in two or more different settings (school and home, for example), and should be causing some impairment in the child's functioning, including causing difficulty in school, or in social situations. If your child has the symptoms of attention deficit disorder, but it isn't causing any impairment in his functioning, then he doesn't have ADHD.
...I am thinking you are thinking maybe children don't want to think as much as we think they should think?
All this focus on thinking means that whenever something happens we often tend to think about it.
Many of us "spiritual types" are beginning to wonder if this is mankind's greatest folly -over thinking.
What is your mind telling you?
A lot of people might automatically see this question as the same as:
What am I telling myself?
But I wish to separate those people from their minds! ...muhahahaha!
.Separating you from your mind and emotions.
This is something some of the Great Philosophers seemed unable to do. In my humble opinion.
Bertrand Russell himself in his famous essay -Why I Am Not A Christian(1927) - waffles on and on analysing the existence of God and so forth (bouncing around in his mind) when all one has to do is perceive God (be himself and simply look) - I've said this idea before... [it's a free pdf and there's a wikipedia article on it].
I do however subscribe to Russell's anti-biblical sentiments, my position being that anyone who actually read the bible would find the "sins" against man in the name of "Almighty God", ironically for Christians make the bible one of the greatest works of "blasphemy" ever written. But this is only to counter Christian judgement of me (it happens) with a judgement of my own.
[As a reincarnated Witch once said to me "Fuck Christianity -The longest conversation I ever had with a Christian was with the fellow who was lighting a fire at my feet."]
But my main thrust - is to question the Bertrand Russell essay's "devastating in its use of cold logic"[from the Wiki] - because logic resides in the mind. The world just is - and to judge it or Christianity or Bertrand Russell is just an added mental thing we do.
You will note that the mental processes continue for ever - Russell's essay is probably answered by a Christian text somewhere and my comments can be easily refuted.
The mind and thoughts and the conclusions of deductive reasoning go round and round and round and round and round. More likely - these conclusions dont mean anything for certain.
eg : You are tired and deduce you should sit and rest. You sit and the door bell rings. So much for logic -you should have saved energy and remained standing - there is not the certainty of data in deduction, in thought. in the mind.
eg : I was exhausted at work and deduced I needed sleep. I got home and felt wide awake and alert!
- Ironically you could argue that this is wrong and there is cetainty -haha - see? It just all goes round and round?
Thus I will ask you to perceive here the physical nature of thought and thus the limits of the mind.
I hope you see thoughts as things and the mind as a thing.
To look at thoughts in the mind for 'The Truth' might be as effective as rummaging in your handbag!
Once we view the mind and thoughts as things -in the same manner we view the physical - revelations abound!
The belief I am pushing on you here is:-
Whatever you are (maybe you're not sure) - you are not your thoughts.
So there is You and Your Mind -
a. Can you see your mind and all thoughts as things,mere objects like you perceive objects in the physical realm?
b. Can you imagine all emotions also -as NOT YOU ?
You feel content, sad, angry, bored - Is that you? Are the joys or tears actually you ? Or are all emotions things you have made?
Find out who you really are - and if you get lots of confusing thoughts realise that these are things ,your mind is a thing - this may help...and emotions are not you either!
.One entrance point to this is to look at the physical world and our 'Labels'.
There are physical objects (a table) and the mental labels we attach to them (it needs cleaning).
Also we have judgements opinions and I am calling all of these 'labels'. -
A judgement is only my opinion -it's not true or false , it is just a label - this may not be self evident -I will address this later.
I hope to tempt you rather to see the world as just 'in existance' first without any mental modifiers.
From here mental judgements seem more visible - thoughts seem more visible as something else to look at along with the physical world.
eg "The table needs cleaning"...."oh"...."it's just a table with some dust on it...that's all it is - my thought of cleaning it is merely my mental addition."...."I can now see the idea of cleaning it separate from the table -so that's two things I am perceiving here -the table and my judgement or thoughts about it"
Do we not see the physical object (or physical event) and the Label we attach to it?
Kindly consider:-
The point is the 'you-ness' of the thinking separates out from the thinking itself when thoughts become clear as just things.
You create thoughts. Or have set up mechanisms to generate them.
The more one is immersed in thought the more it can feel like who we are
The more one is immersed in emotion the more it can feel like who we are
For someone grounded in the 'Mundane World' it may seem hard to separate the self from the mind.
..and harder to separate self from emotions.It is commonplace perhaps to fall into a thought process in the hopes of finding truth.
...eg: 'Good' people make modern medicine -but modern medicine makes more people -do we need more people on this little planet? ...Thinking just goes round and round!
Some things may seem to automatically come with a label.
'Murder is wrong'.
One must concede this is just our judgement. We are not suddenly in favour of murder -one can have values -but these values are just our opinion on how we wish to live. To allow 'Murder is wrong' is to entertain 'Cats are cruel to mice' and all sorts of human nonsense.
Step into our spiritual world and let go of the human side! Humanity's goal seems to be to survive no matter what the cost to nature and to concrete the world!!!
- What is so specially absolutely correct about the human viewpoint on anything?
Suddenly it can seem that truth is to be found not by thinking but by perception!!!
I highly recommend that you look at life without thinking about it - you have tried thinking! and some of you have 40,50,60 adult years of thinking!
If you are looking for "The Truth" then consider there's plenty of new exciting data to find - by not thinking and just perceiving.
There are ways to stop thinking. You may know of some. It's quite a rush!!
Meanwhile read on !
I suppose I would say one uses the mind to think and one uses 'oneself' - the bit that doesn't think - to perceive and create.
For those folks that consider perception and thinking as the same - I would say -you haven't lived until you stopped thinking! Normally mental overwhelm stops thinking like a sudden stunning view or suddenly facing great danger. ...Some people don't think at all or rarely.
It would be soooo easy for me to carry on the much spread idea that the mind chatters uncontrollably all the time - and indeed that meditation can address this.
I consider this to be crap.
Stated repeatedly in earlier articles -I think the mind is ours to control as we made it.
Perhaps the premise of NLP which contrasts psychology in that it actually cures people of unwanted issues(!) - the NLP premise is perhaps that we are in control of our minds.
.Controlling the mind ...changing our minds...
.A lesson from hypnosis.
I've watching youtube again!
The command "Sleep!" is well known but there also is
"Blank!"
The hypnotists explains that with the command "Blank!" the person's mind will go blank and thus they might experience no thoughts -especially no current worries.
"Blank!"
- it's a cool idea isn't it? Automatic relaxation I suppose.
The hypnotist then would introduce the person to the matter at hand, be it stopping smoking cigarettes or jumping around like a puppy!!!
I don't want to swallow all the explanations (accept all the belief systems) offered for hypnosis here. They vary but include 'the conscious mind programming the subconscious mind' - personally I don't have a subconscious mind -but if you want to create one -go for it! LOL (not recommended!). I might add that some people feel they use this subconscious mind to create things metaphysically using the law of attraction etc -but I just see it as creation.
[The subconscious mind - why would I want to make a part of 'myself' that I cannot control or perceive? Or, why would I want to agree to (to make) something that is "just there" and that my 'conscious mind' considers to be not of my manufacture and controls me?
In the physical world we might call an example of this type of thing "the reason for the car accident".LOL
PS: I believe that I make my Entire world - What else are you making that controls you - that you think you didn't make? If this feels true then that's groovy - but don't think about it (trust me- - see the 'spooky stuff' I write about later on here)!! ]
BUT if you want proof of what you can do with your mind (and via a hypnotist at least) and that you are in control of your mind - have a look at the various hypnotist video demonstrations!
From what I've seen and read:
Hypnotism works to the extent a person believes in it.
Often for example , those most fearful of being hypnotised 'go-under' the most quickly, the deepest and are the most suggestible.
It comes down to a belief in what is possible -(yawn) - like I've been saying for ages !!!
.Do you believe you can control your mind?
If not -why not?
You will find the answer comes back to the above line -that you just don't feel you can - all other explanations I would suggest to you are rooted here.
.What power do you feel you have over your mind - your thoughts?
Indeed ! What do you believe?
Do you feel a thousand hours of recall on childhood memories will stop a reoccurring unwanted thought pattern? Or do you believe you can just stop them? hehe.
Patient : Doctor, Doctor - It hurts when I do this!
Doctor : Stop doing that!
Kindly consider:-
I propose a thought IS NOT YOU.
I propose that one can just let old unwanted thought patterns go. You made them -you agreed to them - they're yours --- Let gooooo.
You are not your thoughts.
Your thoughts are your creation.
Find out who you really are !
The answers are within you -not me - and are not written here - follow your truth not mine.
.What is your mind telling you?
"Blank!" !!! hehe why not use that?
Then just perceive your world, your reality - without mentally adding all the judgements and opinions.
..a red chair
..a grey car
..a blue dress
..a yellow book
..a green tree
..a square mirror
..a gold ring
You may have some insights into how you make your thoughts and whether you like all of those that you have created.
You may also discover the world is a very different place than you had imagined :))
.The Spooky part - Advaita or Non-Duality.
But for myself when I do this -separate myself from more and more things; from the physical world, from my mind, from thoughts, from emotions,from judgements from ideas and concepts and everything -something strange happens.
I find my self sort of expanding.
I feel that these things are all somehow part of me and that I can find no boundary where I stop and anything else starts. Even other 'separate' people seem to be somehow included within me - spiritually I cannot find where I stop and my friend begins.
More and more I feel there is no separation.
More and more I feel like I am everything.
And the mind and thoughts get pushed aside.
Thoughts about me having limits and not being this or that suddenly are just merely thoughts and have no meaning.
The significances of thought processes that might question this are also merely included in what I am.
Which is Everything.
The moment I follow perhaps old patterns and return to the mind and rational thought for understanding - the journey just begins again! There is no understanding in a thought -it's an object, a thing - what understanding of Life is in an object?
There's nothing to think about.
Nothing to understand.
Nothing there to explain.
How can I explain all this with objects (thoughts expressed as language)?
"I am Everything" - is just an addition - an added thing!
Even "I am" is just an addition!
..and the funny thing is there is nothing I need to do to attain this or be this. I already am this. There can be thoughts that (or I can think that) it's all rubbish or there may be issues crises or drama or joy or whatever - it makes no difference.
The world is.
Thoughts are.
Emotions are.
Things are.
Life is.
Spooky :)
Do yourself a favour - have a look at it :)
It's called Advaita or Non-Duality.
(Repeated)...The answers are within you -not me - and are not written here -follow your truth not mine.
Thought are objects simply of your own manufacture -try to dig yourself out from the seductive meaning of things.!
.Labels or judgements that seem so TRUE!
This is the classic mind bender
"But it's TRUE !!!!!!"
..I discussed this a little with 'murder is wrong' above.
Look that the Judgement or thought that you consider true.
Pull back from the physical world -the possible complaint you have -eg I am poor.
A thought or judgement exists - that's all -it's neither true or false.
eg: "She should never wear blue "
But sometimes a Creative Thought - makes things true!
eg "Being poor makes me miserable". -This is true inasmuch as poverty has given you upset.
But the truth of it - it's true-ness - lies only within it ..There are some happy poor people.
So thus it doesn't really qualify as true to that extent.
More importantly -you can change your mind -
You can make a judgement that is true for you - false or just vanish.
Sometimes I feel the incredible meaning and weighty significance of a thought stream sucks me in.
Sometimes I have to step waaaaaay back from the life I have to see it all as mere thought.
Then I can just stop creating it.
As a tip I would say -trying to remedy an unwanted thought stream immediately from within it can just bounce you round and round and round within it. Pull back to some sort of detached view. See it all as just more stuff of your manufacture. Then just let it all gooooo.
Find out who you really are.
You may decide you are not your mind or your thoughts.
In which case thoughts probably will be perceived as things and as things -they can be changed.
.SO WHAT?
.How can this make me a happy bouncy bunny?
.Is there a technology that's actually useful here?
Try this:
If you get an emotion or a thought or chain of thought you don't like:
a. See it as an object of your creation
b. Recognise you can change your mind!
c. Decide that it's unwanted
d. Ask yourself questions like :-
"Why would I create this ?
"If I bought a new car (created a thought) would I try and drive it over my toes (make the whole creation unwanted)?
e. Stop doing that!
f. See any troubling thought arising as a thing, just a thing , a self created meaning... and it should evaporate.
You will be amazed what you can 'fix'.
All that "I am never really happy" bullshit will just poof.
"My life is too complicated to make better -it's probably all buried in my past"
etc
.Separating yourself from your emotions.
I have mentioned above that I consider emotions themelves NOT to be us.
But.
I think I might do a whole posting on this subject. It's a bit of a big 'ask' perhaps and would take quite a lot of really spooky spiritual stuff to download my ideas.
.An overview.
Another self-help author (is that what I am?)...might advise you to look at all of your Mind -all the thoughts you ever had or ever will have about everything -..and re-label them as total BS ..or having no meaning.
Indeed years ago a psychiatrist once advised me to imagine (label) my mind as "poisonous" and like a parrot sitting on my shoulder that wouldn't shut up - how about that for a creation? Eeeek -OMG words fail.
But I would say just look at your Mind in Total, all of it, the lot - as a thing -something you have made and thus as your creation, it is something you can change.
Hopefully by now you will agree - the mind isn't good or bad or a friend or an enemy or merit any judgement - it just is.
.Final Thought.
What do I perceive?
If one is looking for answers -that is probably the only thought that's worth anything - and that probably isn't in the mind anyway -hehe -this is just looking!
Love you,
The Blank and Thoughtful
Paloma Porta
28 March 2012.
