Thoughts are simply energy, they are not even yours! Thoughts derive from the collective universal bank of thinking. Millions of us are thinking/feeling the same thing at the same time. The same subject the same judgement, the same emotion. So thoughts cause emotions which then affect our behaviour.
When a population becomes angry about something, for example, politics, then that idea can spread and many many people, feel the same anger, and have the same thoughts, emotions and ultimately behaviours.
Unfortunately the majority of people are having angry thoughts about something nowadays. If the majority were having peaceful thoughts, this would have a similar effect on their emotions and behaviours, which would be more compassionate and loving. This would create a more peaceful and caring society. ( Spreading positive change: Societal benefits of meditation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10130585/)
However they are angry to the point that they don’t know what to do with it any more, because they were never taught how, so there is now a cultural implosion. Unfortunatley for those of us who lived through the so called Troubles in N. Ireland know violence solves nothing. So meditation is not ignoring the problem. A regular practice will pacify or calm indvidual angry minds helping a communiy to create a more peaceful solution, an agreement, without violence or aggression.
Only when we learn to deal compassionately with our own emotions can we find a collective peace. That could happen through various meditation practices and perhaps counselling in some cases is also required.
Thoughts gain so much power in the mind as they are lived out in the past and lived out into the future. You can find yourself caught in a drama of rage and fury that you cannot extradite yourself from. The ego feeds on this anger making you more angry like a little demon in your head that gets fatter and fatter and won’t set you free, unless you know consciously how to. You identify with your thoughts, worse, you become your thoughts. When serious anger inhabits your body and mind this can damage your physical and energy bodies as there is no outlet.
However if you practice meditation regularly then you can become aware of the structure of your mind, how it pulls you into its mindless tricks and it becomes like scrolling on the internet. You’ve just wasted hours or a day of your time in which nothing happened except these horrible angry thoughts and an even worse feeling of anger that you couldnt escape.
Meditation however enhances self awareness, then you are in a position to witness angry thoughts. It’s like stepping out of the TV screen on to the chair and witnessing (watching the TV screen from your chair) the mind at work. Who is this witness? That is a great question to reflect on.
If you can be aware of the space around the thoughts in your mind;- that is self awareness. Rather than being the thoughts;- that is ego.
Witnessing thoughts is like witnessing sounds. We can witness sounds, by receiving the sounds, and gently allowing them to fall into our ears. We may like or dislike a sound but as a witness we have no judgement or running commentary on it. You could feel the tone of a sound, again without judgement, you simply witness it. We can apply the same strategy to thoughts. Consciously witnessing thoughts that usually create a compulsion for desire or a compulsion to avoid. (see my last blog: https://beyondmindfulnessni.com/exploring-desire-and-avoidance ).
Witnessing thoughts is a practice, if they are overpowering you, you may ask them, ” What do you need right now?” Is it acceptance, compassion, understanding?” You may even request help from a bodhisattva (higher being). Request a message perhaps.
Usually the overpowering thoughts do need acceptance, compassion or understanding. Don’t push them away aggressively, simply witness them, acknowledge them, and offer self love. Then look out into the vastness of life and find a job to do that is part of your Dharma (purpose). Don’t waste your life hating on this or that thing, or person or group while missing all the precious moments of life, while you scroll the mind living out your dramas and stories, creating emotions like anger, anxiety and stress. Life is too short.
”Creating the space within,” was a message that came to me right from the start of my self employment before I truely understood the depth of its meaning.
Metaphorically, you can live in a crowded house or an open field of flowers. Yes, you will swop between the two many times, the problem is when you get stuck in the house and don’t know how to get out.
Start a simple meditation practice witnessing your breath, life force energy, that is all. When a thought comes witness it too or even a crowd of thoughts. Only witness don’t take part. Look for your friend, the breath, in the crowd.
Living out the thoughts in your mind, like a movie, is missing out on the wonders of real life. You cannot stop thoughts but you can be aware of them and control them, rather than they control you. Of course some thoughts are necessary: for work, in planning , creating, teaching, learning, reflecting and contemplating. When your mind is open and receptive this can be very enjoyable. You can make a choice as to who is in control of your thoughts – You or your mind, the Conscious or the unconscious being.
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