Living in No Thought World
One way I have used to define one of my meditation practices is to make the space between thought and thought larger. Sometimes, as far as I am aware, I am able to not have a thought for two or three seconds. This actually feels quite wonderful.
A reason I use this definition is because I can explain it to others. Everyone has pauses between thoughts. First, you must actually turn your awareness to your consciousness to see it, even though most people would automatically agree with this statement. But if you observe, you will indeed see that there are pauses. So, therefore, can you not merely extend the pauses?
Between observing thought, and extending the pauses, you have something similar to vipassana meditation. Though it is more detailed than that.
This description also helps people realize that they are more than thought. Who and what are you when you are not thinking? Observe. Watch. Feel. In that space between thoughts. That space is still you!
And of course God has this very same nature that he gave to us. God exists without thoughts. God is and can simply be. And so can we.
For more on Vipassana, here is a link. It is very similar to Thomas Keating's Christian Centering Prayer. Usually I feel like I am practicing both of these things.
Blinking in and out of Existence
Some realizations of mine have sort of floated together in my stream of consciousness and coalesced into this idea. Here are the realizations.
1. We live our lives blinking in and out of awareness. There are two ways you can observe this. One is simple: when you look at something, or around a room, there are moments where your eyes quickly jump from one place to another. We are totally unaware of this. So really, the world, to our mind, simply blinks out and back into existence for that fraction of a second when our eyes move. The other way is how sometimes our unconscious takes over and we lose awareness of where we are, what are are doing, and even the food we are eating. I wonder how many meals I have eaten without tasting them because I was lost in thought? So, our consciousness leaves and returns to the present moment. I see this more like a wave, rather than a blinking, but we are at various stages of awareness. In a sense we "go somewhere else" for a while, somewhere that we basically have made up in our imagination, then return to the present.
2. Buddhism talks about this concept, where time is really an illusion or a collection of instants. I had heard or read somewhere that they taught that reality goes into and out of existence 88 times per second, or something like that, but I'm unable to find the quote now. I am able to find some sources on the general idea which I will provide at the end of this blog. It seems to be the concept of "momentariness" which is an extension of the idea of impermanence.
I see these concepts as methods to view our conscious experience, not necessarily as "true doctrines" to believe in, but helpful tools. There really does seem to be a sort of waveform, of our awareness going in and out of the moment, and it is an interesting phenomenon.
Another Thought on Looking and Seeing
After my recent studies of Ram Dass and Rich Mullins, I have had a passage of the bible come to me with new meaning.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! - Matt 6:22-23
I used to see this with my old, performance based, guilt infused version of Christianity where I'd be afraid to look at "evil things." (Whatever those are.) If I ever accidently saw something "impure" I'd feel guilty, especially if part of me actually enjoyed it. But now I see it more like Rich and Ram Dass. If my eyes are healthy, I will see the world with compassion. I will see Christ in everything and everywhere. If they are unhealthy I will look for division, and anger, and fear. So, if my own eyes are full of anger and fear, then I look at the world and expect to see more of that, how much more doubly dark will my soul be?
Another way to look at being "healthy" in this context, is that the Greek word implies "generous." If we love people and forgive them, is that not a healthy way to see? If instead we are protective of what we have, and see others as competing with us for things and status, we will be full of darkness. The Greek for "unhealthy" in this case implies evil and malicious.
So the eye being full of light is NOT WHAT WE SEE but instead HOW WE CHOOSE TO SEE.
Links:
https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/momentariness-buddhist-doctrine-of/v-1
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