My thought, your thought, our thoughts...

There is nothing new under the Sun... they say.

Another cool machine I would like to have is one that color tags the thoughts or has some cool function, like that of spreadsheets that trace the origin of a particular result, in this case of a particular thought. A machine like this would put little lines in the minds of people (from all over the world, from all eras) and bleep, bleep, bleep when it found a thought never thought before. Perhaps I would discover really old thoughts that have been traveling from mind to mind generating actions, moods and other ideas for decades, centuries or millennia. Perhaps it would signal to really original thoughts, never ever thought before, that completely catapult entire civilizations into different directions. Perhaps it would be just a waste of time... as at the end of the day thoughts always come from the outside, don't they?

But since this blog is all about curious musings, I'll entertain the idea a little longer.

I wonder... what was the first thought ever thought? And most importantly, who thought it?

:)

And another thought...

One of the most fascinating discoveries about thoughts is that when really being aware of them, their origin starts to reveal itself.

I remember the first time I heard someone say that thoughts had forms, my eyes grew bigger and my ears became more attentive.

It is true. Often when I am with someone, and I am quiet enough inside, I can feel their thoughts and I can feel other thoughts enter my consciousness.

This is not new and it is a common experience for people that meditate. Thoughts become tangible things with forms and substance (a different type, not the material one, but a substance in itself). For some it has had such an impact that it has become their ticket to enlightenment.

One such person is Sri Aurobindo, which I often quote in this blog. I guess he was just prepared, because when he sought help on the topic (a long story made very short here) he just got it. Lele, (short for Vishnu Bhaskar Lele), suggested to Sri Aurobindo that he sit three days in solitude and watch his thoughts and that he would notice they came from the outside. On Sri Aurobindo's words:

I did not think either of questioning the truth or the possibility, I simply sat down and did it. In a moment my mind became silent as a windless air on a high mountain summit and then I saw one thought and then another coming in a concrete way from outside; I flung them away before they could enter and take hold of the brain and in three days I was free.

I am a long way from attaining this, but the possibility exists. Ahhh, silence, endless silence...

Have you tried watching your thoughts?

I would love to hear your experiences!

A thought on thoughts...

Have you ever noticed how many thoughts surface inside your mind every hour of every day (of every month of every year of your life)?

After asking myself the question, I decided to do a little research. Apparently a person has between 2000 to 6000 thoughts on average, per day. I think (there goes another thought) it would be great to have a little machine (just for fun) that counts and labels each type of thought. It would be so revealing, not so much to the rest of the world, but to oneself. [Now that I think about it more though, perhaps a prelude to that little machine exists already: Twitter.]

How many of these thoughts are negative thoughts, positive thoughts, neutral thoughts? How do they affect my actions, the actions of others? How much of these are actual helping me accomplish my goals?

Anyway, the fact is that most of us are completely oblivious about what's happening in our minds and that just by bringing a little awareness, the mind actually slows down. I know that for me being conscious of my thoughts has given me a lot of insight on not just myself, but the world around me. At times it takes me by surprise, where did this thought come from? I bet that if someone else could actually hear my thoughts, they would think I smoke pot. (Just in case someone's doubting out there... I don't.) I bet too, I am not alone here.

I have noticed that at times, the thoughts I thought were mine, were not necessarily so. The more I observe thoughts, the more I ask myself, "Where do thoughts come from? What creates thoughts?"

A little food for thought. More to come...

The five senses - part four

There is a paradox with the senses.

The senses are the ones that take people out of themselves and into the world. In meditation, for example, if one wants to go deeply and feel oneSelf, the less external stimuli from the outside, the better. I guess that's why in the past some hard core meditators would go into caves and why in the present real meditation means sitting in a silent place as to be able to go deep inside. This means no smells, no sounds, no movement. Stillness and silence.

Then, think of people incapable of feeling. Their minds are usually overactive, very, very noisy. You can almost feel the movements of their thoughts... it is painful. People like this are usually stressed, find it difficult to deeply relax and stay still. More often than not, people like this don't notice the birds sing, the smell of a rose, the sound of a faraway bell, the feeling of the wind caressing their face or how uncomfortable wearing certain synthetic clothes can be. I suppose this is a good thing, if, for example, we were locked in some torture chamber. In this case the mind would be a safe place to escape.

But back to the paradox, to counteract an overly active mind, the remedy would be to feel. Feel, feel, feel... don't run away, feel. Feel the wind, feel the floor you are walking on, feel your shoes... feel the flavor of that tasty (or disgusting) meal you are eating. Feel the sight of the waves crashing in the shore.
Feel what the world does to you, what all these stimuli is perceived by your body and how it makes you feel good or bad, or neutral. Feeling the world can be such a tool, particularly when we can disconnect the judgment and just feel. A tool for what? A tool to be more present.

Think about people that are depressed and unhappy. Most of the times their senses are numb. They have forgotten to feel. Just feel.


Photo by Tiago Fioreze

So, where's the paradox here? Well, when it comes to getting in touch with deeper aspects of oneself, the mind, not the senses, is the one that blocks the process. The senses are those things that take you out of yourself, but only through being aware of them, it is possible to go deeper inside, into the big Silence, far away from the stimuli of the world and into our real Selves.

Try it! Make an intention to feel your environment and see what happens. Do it for a few days, from morning to night... And if you do, let me know how you go. Would love to read your comments.

What's one thing that without it people wouldn't be able to interact with their environment?

Actually it is not one, it's five: the senses.

I was walking yesterday trying to figure where an annoying sound was coming from. I first thought it was coming from one direction, but further tuning in showed the origin of that sound. My mind almost instantly imagined the device that could cause such an itchy noise.

This lead to another insight. Somehow I realized that because of the walls surrounding the place I was in, I could not see where the sound was coming from... of course I could not taste, smell nor touch it, either, which couldn't give me any more information on the source. Further into philosophizing about the topic I realized that of all senses hearing and the sense of smell are the ones that can locate things coming from further away. On the other hand touch and taste the ones that are more short range.

Photo from Wikimedia

Amazing what little attention does to our interactions with the world. How many people are actually aware, consciously aware of all the stimuli that the world is offering ALL the time. Maybe this point is the reason why so many aren't (aware). There is soooo much of it: sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, and unless you can't use your eyes, visuals. It's like a little machine working all the time (perhaps except while asleep), feeling, feeling, feeling. No wonder why some people are unable to feel... could it be too much?

I mean, some people just switch off and live automatically. Their minds are overly active, disconnecting the feeling. It's as if there was a little command that said... too much information, just grab what it is important and let go of the rest. But, what is important?

Have you seen people on rush hour... they barely look alive, you can feel their minds (ok, I've been there too) moving at the speed of light... blahblahblah... There's a world out there and most people barely notice... it's all in their heads!