OUR MINDS ll

I awoke to blazing Sunshine; a great relief after several rainy days. It has been cloudy off and on but mostly Sunny, since arising. Jamie and I celebrate 44 years of marriage today. We often, don't remember, until the day has worn on. I sometimes get confused, because May 22^nd is also the birthday of my favorite Aunt and mentor. At the time, we got married, I wasn't remembering it was her birthday. So I wonder, is our anniversary the 22^nd or the 23^rd? In six years we will have a big celebration.

The confusion of the mind. Speaking of which; [the mind not the confusion] I would like to use the next few blogs talking about our minds and how we think. I have been aware lately of the danger of causes to our thinking process and consciousness. Later this week I plan to address this. Of course, I never know what I am going to write, so one must take my planning with a portion of salt.

Today I would like to talk more about that simple concept I brought up last week. It is so easy to talk about having no thoughts and only constructive thoughts etc. Wow, simple but so hard to do. Yes, I have been practicing for forty years. Don't take that as discouraging. I don't. I have made progress. Once we accept the idea intellectually, that our thoughts create our reality, we need to experience it, again and again, to convince ourselves at all levels. Then, when we try in ernest, our egos seem to get charged up and begin their attack in earnest. The ego does not want to relinquish control. Thoughts that generate, fear, doubt, worry and anxiety are the egos favorite method of control. This is an ongoing struggle but we can learn to deal with this aspect of our thinking. We can say, “this is not my thought” and let it go. Our teachers remind us not to give feeling to one of these thoughts. Adding feeling gives it some reality or at least invites the thought back to try again. Make no value judgement of the thought. We are not, good or bad people, because we had the thought.

Certain thoughts have persistence over time. They usually come from blocked off places in our consciousness that are caused by encysted hurts that we have not full dealt with. They may be hurts from our childhood and not readily accessible. When we find ourselves being plagued by a repeating negative thought, we can let ourselves feel the thought and sink deeply into our consciousness to remember the occasion that originated it. Whatever, the trauma, we then forgive all participants, especially ourselves. This is the only time, when we should allow feelings, to be attached to negative thought; when we are seeking its origin, to rid ourselves of the negativity.

Regardless of where the destructive thought comes from, it will eventually stop repeating if we can avoid giving feelings to it. If we can just let the thought float through our mind, it will drift harmlessly away. This takes practice as we often judge a thought as bad, hence giving it energy to torture us.

We like our thoughts, and we can get addicted to following them, where ever they go, even when they take us to hell. It is hard to be convinced, that no thoughts are truly neutral, and if the thought is not constructive, it is destructive. It is a great help to have, some emptying of the mind experience, to realize how blissful no thoughts can be. Folks, who have had good meditative experiences, are a leg up in learning how to control the mind.

Many of us are plagued by thoughts of the past, whether they are negative or positive, they are the past. Even positive thoughts, from the past, can lead to thinking we don't want if pursued. I have been saying to myself, “I only allow love, from the past, to come into my present”, whenever an image of the past comes to my mind. It seems to help.

Everybody needs to create the strategies that work for them. We all make up different things we will say to ourselves. Once we realize, that our thoughts are what make us unhappy or happy; that it is our thoughts that color our perception and determine what we see and experience; we are at the threshold of taking control of our mind and thus living life.

I have touched on this subject many times before. I need the reminder.

I need to get the dishes done and go to town with Jamie.

Love and Peace, Gregg