An Observation About Life (page 2)

poppers

tetra

'i am one of these personalities with a constant running mental commentrary.'
Most people are in the same boat but don't realize it. The fact that you are aware of this is good.

'it get's in the way of experience.'
Experiences simply unfold but are distorted by the mind based on how a particular mind has been conditioned. Without the mind interfering, experiences continue to unfold but are simply witnessed - there is great freedom and peace in this.

'i am always future-thinking.'
Thinking can only be about the future or the past. When totally present with what is thinking ceases. Do not judge yourself when you notice you are thinking of the future or past. Start small - notice what surrounds you without attaching a label of any kind - simply see it, touch it, hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it.

'i want to just stop the madness and enjoy now, but it's so hard for me to do that without feeling guilty.'
Stay present with what is. If/when guilt comes to the mind stay out of the story associated with the feeling, but remain present with how the body actually feels - feel it fully without judgment/comment. Awareness of the feeling without becoming lost in the story will dissolve the feeling naturally and spontaneously and release it from the body mechanism. To remain fixed on the story will keep the sensations trapped in the body.

'it's a compulsion'
Don't beat yourself up over this. It's been like this for you for a very long time; such is the nature of a conditioned mind. Allow awareness to witness everything without comment, without judgment, without projecting into the future or retreating to the past. Allow awareness to rest on the immediate environment, and when you notice you are back into a 'story' return to the immediate environment.

Treat the mind like a known liar, ignore what it says. Simply dismiss its stories as so much bullsh*t and don't believe a thing it says. What you really are is beyond the mind and has no limitations whatsoever. What you really are is the source of peace/stillnes/contentment/fulfillment. What you really are is already here but it has been overlooked because attention has been directed outward. When awareness rediscovers itself you have consciously returned 'home', and then you discover that you never left but were simply distracted. You are already whole and complete but have been taught to believe otherwise.

codeblue

Bem: I second your statement to JT

James Thomas:

You truly inspire me. I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments when you post. I wish I could achieve what you have. I even have the "Power of Now"...I must confess, I only read halfway and didn't know how to do what he said!!!

I wish I had the "peace in life" that you have.........................(sigh)

I must start that book from the beginning. I truly want to enjoy EACH day.....take it for what it is worth (living responsibly as I always do) and NOT worry about tomorrow.

I fail to see worrying about "after death"...or even if there are "after death experiences". My logical mind says there are NOT after death experiences, but that may again be tainted by the JW value system I was raised with.

And as a parent...I couldn't see bringing my kids in a world...make them suffer to go to a better place. Logically, that doesn't make sense!

I applaud you again, James Thomas..........thank you for your incite!!!

CodeBlue

talesin

I can see that there is a warm familiar security in staying within the confines of thought, for I am king there;

tetra, does this speak to you? It does to me. All my life, learning was easy, analyzing, thinking; yes, intellectualizing everything. Living in my head. Of course, I had a lot to learn, but it can be an easy (and justifiable) way to ignore one's inner growth and dissociate from real life. My intense study/thinking phase is over, and now I'm learning how to STOP ,,, when my thoughts are racing ... close my eyes and just breathe, relax and be.

tal

Edit,,, poppers, yes, yes!

EvilForce

Code....coming to peace within yourself is part of the enlightenment process.

As a Dub, eastern religion was dismissed out of hand. But as with Christian values there is very good mental, emotional and physical insight with the Taoist / Buddhist teachings.

Life is truly what it is. It is neither good nor evil. But acceptance is understanding. What JT wrote signifies this. Very simplistic, basic, yet fundamental truths. We need to appreciate the little everyday things to appreciate the overall goodness around us. But as I've said before this is what has helped me...many others have found their own path.

gumby

I still think he sounds like "grasshopper"

Gumby

EvilForce

Be nice Gumby!!!!

LOL

tetrapod.sapien

i was driving home, thinking about this thread.

tal - yes, this does speak to me. it really does! like you and JT said, my logical mind, my intellectual journeys, are a protection of sorts, a buffer to the real world, out side of my mind's reality.

popper - thank you. that was some really meaningful advice. i keep reading your post over and over. it's almost like there is something inside me fighting it. on the third time over, it is sinking in. i feel like i have been missing so much. and yet like you say, start small.

evil - thanks. i haven't looked into eastern belief systems very much. i am open to learning new ways of experiencing the now, the aliveness.

i guess i have always been afraid of letting myself go. afraid of what i might see. like this JT quote from above:

:It can almost be frightening, kind of like stepping off a cliff. I can see that there is a warm familiar security in staying within the confines of thought, for I am king there; but to open consciousness wide and step outside, naked and exposed, is to lose all sense of control.....

i am going camping to a lake this weekend. i will start small, but i am going to have this as my main exercise.

...wow.

codeblue

bttt

jst2laws

James Thomas,

I can see that there is a warm familiar security in staying within the confines of thought, for I am king there; but to open consciousness wide and step outside, naked and exposed, is to lose all sense of control..... It can be exciting just holding, sensing and looking upon a leaf too deeply. Just being with life, can be quite an experience.

Many, especially those like myself who want to keep a grip on the allusion of reality, will not take the leap until we see some room for validation from science. No science, not even Quantum Mechanics, promotes this type experience because science is not into "experiencing" in research but only OBSERVATION. Yet anyone who understands what Quantum Physics has found, contrary to what they expected to find according to the Newtonian world view, must fight the tendency to wonder about the possibility that our perception of reality is only that, A PERCEPTION. From there even skeptics as myself may feel justified in asking, "is there a reality beyond this perception". I have, since youth, had a sense of connection to something. After leaving the WT I decided it was all a fraud and my feelings were imagined. Then I got hooked on science and found more reason to question my perception of reality then to question my spiritual "experience". It depends on where you are coming from. But you are right regarding where we should end up. I guess I'm trying to make it easier for people like myself to take the leap to where you are. Steve (jst2laws)

codeblue

Evil: what does it take to get to the "enlightenment process"...can you give me the code!!!!!

An Observation About Life

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