Stepping Out Of The Bubble

Stepping Out Of The Bubble

"Many people have developed the habit of always following thought and not paying attention to the rest of our experience. We really believe thoughts are everything. That our thoughts are who we are." - Lynn Fraser

 This statement was certainly true for me, I used to be pretty much continuously identified with whatever was happening with the thoughts inside my mind. From the moment I woke up after a nights sleep to the moment I managed to get to sleep at night, I had jumped on speed train of mental dialogue about what was going on in my life, how I was feeling, what I needed to do that day, things that happened last week, things that happened years ago or what I would like to happen in the future, even in interacting with people there was a running commentary about them or the situation at hand. Much of my mental dialogue came with memories or imaginings by way of imagery in the mind. I was self absorbed, it was like navigating life carrying a wide screen TV in front of my face playing a fictional movie called "the story of me and my life", a fantasy, a thriller, a comedy, a romantic and a horror, if the movie ended i was still left holding a ghetto blaster on each shoulder that was tuned into and blaring out "Radio Rik"  an incessant babbling and an occasional slide show of self criticism, criticism of others, patronising positive self talk and a few practical instructions like " I better go eat something coz my belly's growling" or even helpful tips on the best things to do to keep ruining my life.

  Thoughts and imagination are of course wonderful and magical, but they can also become intrusive, and if we identify with them as the truth of who we are then things can get messy. If we identify all day everyday with what is occurring inside our minds we end up living behind a veil, a veil of mere concepts and ideas which tend to cloud us from realising the purest essence and beauty of life.

 Don't quote me on this but it is said that we, presumably referring mainly to people in the rat race of western culture, have on average between fifty thousand and seventy thousand thoughts a day, and apparently fourty thousand of these thoughts are negative in nature. Up to eighty percent of the thoughts we have a day are negative thoughts! If you think that is false and a load of bollocks,then just notice that thought. One possible reason why the number of negative thoughts we have each day appears to outweigh the positive ones is because as human beings we have a negativity bias, basically negative information/experience is remembered more easily, or considered more valuable than positive information/experience of the same intensity, this phenomena seems to have primitive roots in how we decide whether or not to form a relationship. We are by nature programmed to be negatively inclined, so it's looking pretty bleak isn't it? Well no, not necessarily.

 If, rather than residing in our thoughts, we can reside more as the entire space of our present experience, we can begin to see that each individual thought arises in a vast field of awareness, and also dissolves away back into this field. We do not have to identify with thoughts that appear if we identify as the whole field in which they appear. 

 Thinking is not quite as important as we think it is, much of our thought is a repetitive loop, much of it is not actually very useful, and thinking all the time can wear us out and leave us feeling quite fatigued. It might be safe to assume that considering the number of thoughts that may be going through our minds on a day to day basis, it would be helpful to reduce the amount of thoughts we have and become more conscious of having them so we can better choose to allow the unproductive ones to softly fizzle away with no further thought, and to maybe follow the ones that are more productive, practical, positive and purposeful. It makes sense to take regular breaks from our thought patterns, a sort of reset where we can clear away the clutter and see things with more clarity, in allowing our thoughts to come to a complete rest regularly throughout each day we can experience a shift in consciousness and a deeper sense of being at peace with the world.

  Resting naturally into the thought free presence of awareness at repeated intervals can have profound benefits, and the clincher is that there is really no requirement to do anything other than to allow your thoughts to come to a rest regularly and bask for a few seconds in pure existence without the conceptual overlay. It is in residing in this space of pure awareness or consciousness which is being pointed to when we hear the the term "Enlightenment", it is from this space that we can notice all egoic movements, in this noticing we can allow these energies to arise and dissolve away without attachment, we can start to see through our more superficial desires and allow them to fall away, seeing these movements of energy as what they are, movements of energy in mind and body that come and go.  We can even begin to experience greater humility. There is ultimately no way of being that needs to be attained, "spiritual enlightenment" is the natural consequence of realising consciousness, and we can realise it if only for a few seconds, at any time, during any activity, even in the act of thinking, but it helps at first to ground ourselves in the pure state of awareness from which all thoughts and emotion are born. 

 Breath in, breath out and allow your thoughts to completely dissolve, allow your mind to completely relax and  to remain empty for a few seconds. Repeat this often.

 This is all there is to it, I would say it couldn't be simpler, but it actually becomes easier after a while as there is no effort at all involved in remembering to empty your mind and you just notice the space after a thought or a train of thoughts stop as presence naturally floods your experience. There are certain pointers that can allow us to deepen into this clarity of consciousness, such as bringing awareness into the entire space of the body and allowing  it to permeate the entire space of the thin air that encompasses all objects and connects all things, just observing it. Don't think, feel, feel into the empty space and feel into the fullness of it. 

  So if you currently feel it might just be nice to be free from any shackles of the mind and could do with a little breathing space in day to day life then give it a go. Empty your mind and notice the experience of experiencing.