A question about observing thoughts

[Preetom]

3 hours ago, Wisebaxter said:

@Preetom

What is it about thoughts that makes them illusory?

It's the content of thoughts that make them sticky. Notice how thought superimposes it's own limitations on Reality/Awareness.

Let's take a thought like, ''Awareness comes and goes''. Like every thought, it has 2 sides. One side is the raw, neutral phenomenal part which in this case is a mental sound that you hear. This phenomenal aspect is not harmful just like chirping of birds or any other sound. The second aspect is the meaning or the content you make out of this sentence and thus believe. This second aspect has the capability to bind you.

Notice that the thought ''Awareness comes and goes'' itself comes, lasts for a second or two, then vanishes; while You Awareness remain as you are to witness this coming and going. Notice how this ephemeral thought superimposes it's own limitation of being transient on Awareness! Awareness knows no resistance whatsoever and allows EVERYTHING. That's why Awareness never argues or speaks back.

In this way, all of our limiting notions about us and reality are thought's superimposition on what is. If you train yourself to see this very clearly and never get fooled by it again, then you're moving in the right direction. This is where dis-identifying and watching thoughts non-judgmentally comes in. You are basically de-fanging the binding nature of thoughts, making them meaningless chirping of birds and ultimately more and more quiet.

3 hours ago, Wisebaxter said:

Couldn't my experience of this moment be an illusion? Is that what we're trying to get to with enlightenment, to attain a state of consciousness where we see through this dream state into reality? 

What we see is our mind's refracted version of Reality, and thus it appears like an illusion, time, space, matter to us. With Enlightenment, you see the essence or the Reality of this reality. Just like when you start lucid dreaming, the dream continues but you now know the Reality of that dream.

3 hours ago, Wisebaxter said:

Complete surrender. Is this the path?

Complete surrender is what we get at the end of the road. Meantime what we can do is self-inquiry or voluntary surrender. They merge and complement each other until the Release spontaneously happens as Ramana Maharshi called it.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Preetom

[SOUL]

On 12/21/2018 at 4:26 AM, Wisebaxter said:

if all is one and thoughts are just a modulation of awareness, why is there so much emphasis in spirituality on detaching from thoughts and thoughts being illusion? If all is one then surely thoughts are as much a part of the whole as anything else and are no more of an illusion than awareness itself.  Why would I identify with awareness as opposed to a thought if ultimately they are comprised of the same thing? 

Most people pursuing non-dualism mistakenly interpret 'illusion' to mean 'does not exist' so go about denying and resisting the physical manifest. Illusion really means 'not as appears' so though our thoughts are something we experience in the manifest life they aren't as they appear.

Thoughts are awareness from a limited perspective, it's awareness of the self and to create this perception the body creates a sense of self. As we expand our awareness it ceases to be limited to just our sense of self perception to recognize a unified perception beyond just the separation of self.

So by not attaching to the separated perception we continue to realize the awareness of unified perspective. It's not a denying or resisting of the thoughts, we can accept and embrace them for what they are but it also isn't a clinging to them as sole identity. We are aware that thoughts are not as they appear and doesn't provide the context of the unity perspective we experience in awareness.

[Matt8800]

On 12/19/2018 at 9:19 AM, Wisebaxter said:

Ok so when doing a certain type of meditation you're supposed to watch thoughts going by, but when I watch for thoughts I stop having any. The only time I have thoughts is when I forget what I'm supposed to be doing, then when awareness returns I'm like 'oh, I had a thought.' But I didn't watch it as such, it's more like I became it as awareness left. Is this a normal phenomena? Can anyone here actually 'watch' their thoughts consciously? 

You are achieving exactly what you are supposed to achieve. Once the thoughts stop, you will see a "kasina" appear before your minds eye, which is basically a light, lights, glittering field, etc. When you see that, focus your attention on the kasina without breaking and it will get more intense.

From a technical standpoint, that will lead to deeper Jhana absorbtion and you will be able to reach deeper jhanas. Once you have mastered the concentration methods, that will set the foundation for deep insight (vipassana) meditation.

You can get more information from a book called Wisdom Wide and Deep, which is basically a westernized version of the Vissudhimagga, which is a large ancient Buddhist text that contains very advanced techniques.  

[Hellspeed]

Focus on Breath, there is no more to it. Any other technique is for specific works.