Do not try to kill the mind...

[SoonHei]

Ramana Maharshi once told a story about a man who wanted to bury his own shadow in a deep pit. He dug the pit and stood in such a position that his shadow was on the bottom of it. The man then tried to bury it by covering it with earth. Each time he threw some soil in the hole the shadow appeared on top of it. Of course, he never succeeded in burying the shadow.

Many people behave like this when they meditate. They take the mind to be real, try to fight it and kill it, and always fail. These fights against the mind are all mental activities which strengthen the mind instead of weakening it. If you want to get rid of the mind, all you have to do is understand that it is "not me". Cultivate the awareness "I am the immanent consciousness". When that understanding becomes firm, the non-existent mind will not trouble you.

~ Annamalai Swami 

[bejapuskas]

Thanks, this will definitely help me  

[SoonHei]

"Generally we are more interested in experiencing phenomena (which are things other than ourself) than we are in experiencing ourself, so throughout most of our waking and dream life we attend to phenomena rather than to ourself. This habit of ours needs to be changed, and we can change it only by persistently trying to be aware of ourself alone in preference to being aware of anything else. This is why I said that it is necessary for us to be attentively self-aware. It is not sufficient just to be self-aware, because we are always self-aware, whether or not we are also aware of anything else, so in order to be aware of ourself alone and thereby to destroy our ego we need to be attentively self-aware."

[Jack River]

The attantion, which isn’t cultivation/control/effort is indeed necessary, but there is not attention when moving dualistically. That is trying to control inattention, which remains inattention. We can be aware of that though??

 

[Jack River]

5 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

Truth will correct all errors in my mind.

Truth is insight, insight is action. 

Undivided/non-fragmented SEEING/PERCEPTION is freedom

Edited January 21, 2019 by Jack River

[cetus]

9 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

"Truth will correct all errors in my mind." 

Silence is the only truth.  -and it will certainly correct all errors of the mind.

[Jack River]

1 hour ago, SoonHei said:

This habit of ours needs to be changed, and we can change it only by persistently trying to be aware of ourself alone in preference to being aware of anything else.

We may find that a subtle conflict can arise because of this. We may be inattentive, and the mind reacts to itself not being attentive. This seems to keep mind in movement. Reaction and mind go together. 

I found that trying to be aware(trying to be attentive), is inattention..to see that then that inattentivenes is the fact and  stands by itself. This seems to cancel out all conflict that arises out of the duality the mind imposes on itself. 

Edited January 21, 2019 by Jack River

[Gabriel Antonio]

Right. Mind produces thoughts, just like the mouth salivates.

The goal is to calm down the mind, not to kill it.

Mind is like a puppy. No need to be aggressive. Just  educate it. 

(Funny “enlightenment” marketing in your signature btw)

Edited January 21, 2019 by Gabriel Antonio

[Jack River]

Also can we be aware that the habit of acting on behalf of a goal will sustian the reaction of mind and limit its own quietness/silence? 

Something we can also notice through observation. 

[SoonHei]

@Jack River yes yes. Your posts are getting more and more clearer to me.

 

The "notice" or "be aware" words you use give that for me.

 

Thanks.

 

@Gabriel Antonio correct. Calm the mind initially and then let it be free and do it's thing. You just watch it.

 

And yes, you're right, I should change that out of the signature... Or make it towards a different lesson.

[Shin]

Stop to identify with thoughts,

And start to identify to the thing which sees them.

There is no need to calm the mind if you don't think you're it, you will just stop paying attention and silence will come when it comes.

As long as there is a desire for a quiet mind, that is still a thought judging other thoughts, that will never work.

Edited January 21, 2019 by Shin

[Jack River]

@SoonHei thank you, dude.

[Jack River]

Can we see that Identification in general is reactionary/mind movement. 

Saying I am this(awareness), but not that(mind/thought)  is still divisive/a self imposed reality/distortion. 

The totality of what is, is what-is. Saying I am this and not that is still mind movement/resistance. 

Mind is pretty subtle fosho. 

Edited January 21, 2019 by Jack River

[ajasatya]

the mind is an amazing tool. but it's not the source of truth.

[isabel]

it's beautiful but what is the experience of oneness when you are focusing on things that are "not you"?

I understand I am not my thoughts, I am that which is aware of my thoughts and so on, but I don't get the "all of this is me", why is it all me when I am not this and not that...?

thank you!

[SoonHei]

@isabel  this is why it's often said words cannot pin it down fully

 

you are first and foremost simply the awareness - which is aware of everything.

you are currently identified as your body, mind, feelings etc... ergo first to get out of that paradigm, the not this and not that

when one realizes that one is the awareness which is aware of all, then the next thing to realize is that being aware of something = being that thing

awareness is the only thing there is, so all is made out of awareness itself.

 

i like this analogy, when you wake up from a dream and realize it was all in your head/mind... then if you are to ask yourself, what was the body, the world, the other people, everything else in your dream made out of? 

it was made out of your mind. all of it. you as the dreamer of the the dreamworld created it entirely, it was centered likely on the first person POV, but it was all a creation of your mind / IT WAS ALL YOU.

 

zoom that out in the real world awakening, you realize that you are the awareness (of Nobody) and as that awareness, you create/are everybody / EVERYTHING!

and it's all one, without separation. there isn't you, the awareness and then objects which are created separate from awareness... awareness/objects are one. 

zero and infinite

No-Thing is everything - as ONE.

Edited January 21, 2019 by SoonHei
mini blurps

[isabel]

@SoonHei cooool thank you

[cetus]

17 minutes ago, isabel said:

I understand I am not my thoughts, I am that which is aware of my thoughts and so on, but I don't get the "all of this is me", why is it all me when I am not this and not that...?

'All of this is you' because you are an appearance. Even the "I am" that is silently aware of the thoughts is a subtle form of appearance.

[isabel]

36 minutes ago, cetus56 said:

'All of this is you' because you are an appearance. Even the "I am" that is silently aware of the thoughts is a subtle form of appearance.

makes sense  (I think) I am an appearance, everything is an appearance...weird - can't wait to know this more deeply, thank you

[cetus]

@isabel It is all one but in way you may not dare to think.