The thoughts moving in the space of your consciousness have a “pulling” power (because thoughts are just forms of consciousness, and everything conscious has the power of “attraction”). A thought can strengthen itself, and become dense, when you give attention to it, or when you bestow “interest” in it. Remember that who you are is “pure consciousness” and you have the power to attract your own reality. One way that reality gets created for you is by the thoughts that you give “attention” to. In this context, it becomes highly important to be free of thoughts of limitations to ensure that your reality is not grounded in “lack”.
A lack based reality is created from limitation based thoughts
People who experience a lack in their reality are creating their own lack by giving value to thoughts of limitations, within them. It’s not possible for your reality to be lack based, if you did not have a “lack based” thinking. Instead of blaming the circumstances around you, take a look within and see how many thoughts of limitation have found their home in your mind.
If you want to live a reality that is based on abundance, you will have to let go of giving value to thoughts of limitation. Its incredible how many people feel bad about who they are.
A few thoughts of limitation that are very common go like this
– I am not as good as “so and so” (or I am not good enough period)
– Life does not value me (or life is unfair to me)
– I don’t have any talent, I am dumb
– I am not good looking
– No-one likes me
– I am weird
The list can on, but you get the picture. The mind can give you a lot of evidence to support its claim, but there’s no inherent truth in it because these thought stem from “comparison”. You must understand that the “Ego” sees everything from the point of comparison, but ask yourself – who are you to decide what is right and what is wrong? It’s all just a perception. Being “good enough” is just a thought of relative comparison, which is ridiculous when you consider that life depends on diversity to expand.
Life does not look at you as one of “lesser value”
You are unique and you came forth through the intent of life. Who you really are is the one consciousness that exists, where’s the comparison when there is only the one? You have the same power of creation as any other living form, and you can create any reality that your heart desires.
There is nothing “inferior” about anything that has take birth. Everything takes birth from the intent of life and hence has an inherent value to it. No-one is superior or inferior, because there is only the “one” life. A limitation based thought has its foundation in the premise that you are not “worthy” enough, and that’s just a big lie that the mind makes you believe in, if you fall for it you end up creating a “lackful” reality. Everyone is equally worthy, or rather life never looks at you as “unworthy” because it knows you to be an extension of it.
So stop giving value to thoughts of limitation and embrace the “wholeness” of who you are. Realize deeply that you are the one consciousness. God is not out there, it’s who you are. You are limitless in your potential to create, but cannot realize this truth as long as you keep holding on to thought that make you feel limited. Life does not judge you, so why are you judging yourself?
Sen, I am still reading your articles, I am practicing to get rid of my “obsessive thoughts”, I have been suffering almost 10 years. I know my root problems, I know my mind creates those unreal thoughts trying makes me feeling better, but is not, is bothering me and also creating tense and anxiety on my body. Even if I know what is the real cause of my obsessive thoughts, they are definitely creating from mind to try to find excuse for do not deal in real world: because i am scare what is gonna happen to me in the future, job, family. I know I am scared of not moving forward, not accomplishing nothing, that’s why my mind give me these thoughts that I can feel better, but is not, my mind fooling me every time. I distract myself from my mind, focusing in present, staying in nature, listening wind, bird singing, but that thoughts still on my mind. I can’t feel present moment deeply enough, because I have tense, as you said I try to calm but when there is obsessive thoughts in your mind and they repeatedly attacking and sticking you it is to hard stay in reality. I hope you understand my English, I realy thank you again for your support.
Cihan, Distracting yourself from the mind is not the solution. I never ask anyone to escape or distract themselves from the mind. The solution is to go into the mind, completely and fully, in a open manner without any agenda to improve it or change it or shut it down. As long as you take your mind to be the enemy you will always feel frightened of it. You are “trying” to be present in a bid to distract yourself from the mind, and escape the mind, this is not the solution.
I will suggest that no matter how noisy your mind is, allow yourself to be with it and listen to it. Your mind is inherently trying to tell you something, and you are not willing to listen to it, and so it becomes more noisy. Stop running away from your mind, and embrace it, accept it and be compassionate towards it. The mind is like a child, it needs your comfort and love. Don’t treat the mind like your enemy, treat it like your child. Listen to the mind, what is it trying to say, find out what is it really afraid of?
Once you find out what your mind is asking for, then we will be in a position to work out how to calm the mind. What does your mind want from you? Let me know in detail.
My mind wants security, it is very insecure about life, job, like social life. I grew up with low esteem from my family, they never encourage me to accomplish anything, they always said that I can’t do anything. I can’t be other guys that they have good jobs, focus in life and family, but now I am an adult, I am working hard, I have job, is not great jobs. But my mind seems like wants more and he is too ambitious. He wants me to open my own business but mean time he creates obsessive thoughts that discourage me. He wants me to study to find other good jobs and when I decide to do that he brings obsessive thoughts like excuse, again lack me, when my mind wants something like he wants to be more secure about his future and I start working on it he brings obsessive thoughts like future is not good, the world will end up, we will not have enough food to survive in this world. He is creating thoughts like world will end up saying don’t go forward. I mean he wants me to do things better and when I start he gets scared and create this kind of unreal thoughts. It is like trying to make me feel good, because he knows that I am very insecure. He encourages me than creates these obsessive barriers as an excuse, when I want to something good like trying have good jobs or thinking go to school, I have a kind of fear that I will not accomplish it. In that moment my mind brings this obsessive idea, make me feel lack and creates fear on my body. Sen it is difficult to explain about this things in english plus I am little confused i hope you understant what i said in this paragraph. Thank you again.
Cihan – Since your childhood the mind has collected a lot of negative external conditioning from your parents, teachers, friends, society and the media. Most minds are the same, in varying degrees of negativity. So basically your mind is a database of negative thoughts and patterns. Your mind looks at everything through the lens of fear and lack. If you try to change your mind, it will only become worse because the one who is trying to change the mind is also coming from the patterns of the mind. The mind cannot change the mind, just like a policeman cannot catch the terrorist if the policeman is the terrorist, you get this? Your mind is constantly generating thoughts of limitation because that’s the only pattern it is aware of.
Can you look at your mind as a computer or a radio station? See that you are aware of the mind, but the mind is operating on its own. The mind is just playing old records, and patterns, in the form of thoughts. It’s just a mind, a machine, a computer, a noise factory, nothing more. You don’t have to get pulled into the mind’s story. Ask yourself, Who am I? you will know that you are not the thoughts but the “Awareness” behind the thoughts. Your mind cannot exist without your awareness of it. Every thought appears in the light of your awareness. The problem is that you are “Addicted” to your thoughts, because these thoughts seem familiar. If you want your life to become peaceful and joyful, you will have to stop giving attention to these negative thought patterns in your mind. It’s like giving up an addiction to drugs. You are “Addicted” to your old thoughts of fear. You believe in your mind because you think that your mind is telling the truth. However, your mind has no clue what truth is, your mind is just repeating old thoughts – like a record player.
Your mind is a machine, it’s not real intelligence. Your mind is like an old database and its very mechanical. Do you know what mechanical means? No intelligence, just “repeating” a pattern. Thats what a mind is. The mind is good for doing mechanical jobs, but its no good at living “life”. Stop using the mind to live your life. Don’t ask your mind how to live this life, it will always give you fearful answers because it has no clue.
Try this practice for a week – don’t believe your mind. Watch the mind run its own stories and patterns, and see how mechanical they are. Can you see the same old thoughts repeating again and again? Can you see how predictable your mind is? Actually it’s not “your” mind, but its just a lot of external conditioning that you got from outside. Watch the thoughts repeating in your mind the way you would listen to a radio station. See that only when you believe in the mind does the mind have power over you. Just practice not believing the mind, just like you wouldn’t believe a “story teller”. The mind will “blackmail” you, threaten you, and tell you that something bad will happen if you don’t pay attention to it – don’t fall for it. Just watch this pattern in the mind. Don’t let the mind trap you in its story, just stay as a detached watcher. Do this “watching” for a week and let me know how it goes.
Thank you Sen, you are absolutly right. I have always been sure that my mind was only giving false alarm. I ignored it (not totally) but mean time I was thinking maybe I am going crazy, now after reading your articles I understood mind business. I will definetly do what you said also more determinated. I will let you know. To be honest I feel better already. Your writing is really touching the heart. Some of your articles actually is not articles, they are poetry. Keep writing please.
Detachment from the mind like watching the mind(ignoring the negative thoughts) and going deeply into the the mind , don`t you think both are different. I REQUEST little clarification. I liked your concept of doing nothing by just sitting and without concentration just watching the thoughts coming up and not reacting to them. I need some more information on getting rid of compulsions ( like doing some typical rituals to get rid of anxiety ) when we get obsessive thoughts. I have been practicing the mindfulness technique of just watching the mind and the thoughts, and some times i get distracted and go behind them and after some time i get back to the original practice. I have been observing that if i avoid rituals and give some time to elapse when i get obsessive they are fading and return after some time. Yes when i am ignoring them they are less troublesome (although with some anxiety ). I want go beyond the noisy mind and enjoy what true silence and pure conciousness. will this mind watching is going to help. How to stay not distracted by the negative thoughts and doing compulsions.
Dr. Rao – Watching the mind (mindfulness practice) is a technique that is useful to get an understanding of the patterns of the mind, and realizing your true identity as “pure consciousness” that is before the mind. This practice has its usefulness for a while, but it will not get you to a state of “liberation”. All practices, rituals and techniques, are like “medicines”, they can give you some temporary relief and help, but eventually you will have to let go of them. In your profession you would know that if one keeps taking medicine, then the medicine can start becoming an addiction and source of problem rather than cure. The healthy state is the one which is free of all medicines. In the same way, a liberated state, or freedom, can only come forth when you are not longer following any practice or attached to any ritual.
If you want true freedom, you must let go of attachment to the “Ego” or the “me” force. The “Ego” is the root of all suffering, and as long as its around, it’s not possible to experience a state of liberation. If you notice, there is a sense of “me” in you that wants to do practices. This “me” is interested in rituals and techniques, and wants to perfect them, in order to gain liberation. But the truth is that the “me” can never get liberation because it’s the “me” that keeps consciousness in bondage. True liberation arises when the “me” force dissolves in a body. The Buddha called it the state of “no self”, he always gave a simple teaching – “no self, no suffering”
You need to ask yourself if your drive for truth and liberation is strong enough to allow for the dissolution of the “me”. If you are not willing to let go of the “me” force, true liberation is not possible. The “me” can practice techniques to get some temporary relief, but it can never come to a place of permanent happiness and fulfillment. The “me” sense or “Ego” is based in separation, limitation and fear, and hence it can never realize the fullness of pure consciousness.
All practices and techniques (including mindfulness practices) are eventually taken up by the “me” force. There are people who have been practicing mind control techniques for years together without reaching liberation, this is because the “me” is always in the center when you cling to a practice.
If you want to bring an end to patterns of suffering, you will never to bring an end to the “Ego” or “me” force in you. How is it done? By recognizing that you are not the “Ego”, and withdrawing your attention away from the Ego’s pull. You don’t have to do anything really, just deepen your recognition that you are not the Ego. You are the pure consciousness that is at the background, in who’s light the Ego movement takes place. This recognition is called “Self realization”, and the deepening of this recognition leads to freedom from the Ego, and a state of permanent peace arises from there.
The “me” has nothing to do for liberation because anything that the “me” does will only continue empowering it and hence it will continue staying in the center. Liberation is about letting go of the “me” and realizing your true nature as the universal, pure consciousness. There is no real technique to let go of the “me”, because all techniques are used by the “me”. I hope you are getting a sense of what I am trying to convey. What is needed is to see through the “me” force, while recognizing that you are not the “Ego”. You are the pure consciousness that is at the background of all phenomenon. Stay as this pure consciousness and don’t identify with the ego patterns, soon this consciousness will start waking up in you – this is the movement of liberation from the Ego mind.