The Thought Flattening Technique

[Huz]

For people doing the thought flattening technique to gain mindfulness over thoughts. When you don't have a diary present do you think its effective to do the process in your mind mentally. Ie say the thought you became aware of. Then unreal the content of the thought. Then describe what it literally is in your mind.

[Huz]

No one answered, but just doing the process in your mind for the majority of the time really boosts you mindfulness of your thoughts. Which I think is the hardest experience to develop mindfulness over

[Sri McDonald Trump Maharaj]

Yes of course it worksI have been doing it mentally, write alittle on the computer. I just took a walk in nature for an hour. I think that flattend about 15 thaughts and made me relalize that I have about 1 000 000 more thaughts to flatten.

Edited May 10, 2016 by Sri McDonald Trump Maharaj

[abrakamowse]

I was trying today to do it but I still can't accomplish anything, I guess I need to do it more frequently.

Thanks for posting the topic, it's good to make a practice of it.

Edited May 10, 2016 by abrakamowse

[Huz]

33 minutes ago, abrakamowse said:

I was trying today to do it but I still can't accomplish anything, I guess I need to do it more frequently.

Thanks for posting the topic, it's good to make a practice of it.

I would advise sit for an hour and which ever thought comes up flatten in and write it in a diary. You should have done enough practise that it will stick with you throughout your day and you can do it mentally. This is what kickstarted me. Do it with negative thoughts because those are the hardest to be mindful over.

[ndalian]

On ‎9‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 2:01 AM, Huz88 said:

For people doing the thought flattening technique to gain mindfulness over thoughts. When you don't have a diary present do you think its effective to do the process in your mind mentally. Ie say the thought you became aware of. Then unreal the content of the thought. Then describe what it literally is in your mind.

I would say do it in a diary. I've started writing it down and it definitely helped me to improve my understanding of the proses. I guess once you get the hang of it you can skip the writing part.

[Huz]

When I flatten an image I imagine a stamp imprinting it on my mind, I find it's easier to look at it as it is without content 

[abrakamowse]

@Huz88  Question: The technique is supposed to see the thoughts as they are, no meaning to them, they are unreal. What is hard to me is that when I saw something, for example a red cup of tea. I think, "that's a red cup of tea" and I don't have idea how to see something unreal on it.

I understand if I go to a level where atoms are part of the cup I can make it, and if I think atoms are really mostly empty space I can make it... but what I can see is a cup of tea anyway. How can I make it unreal or flat, or with no meaning.

I am confused if flattening is also watching the objects as if they were a 2D drawing or as if they just make no sense. I mean, trying not to label them and watch them as if they have no meaning.

 

Any hints???

Edited May 11, 2016 by abrakamowse

[Huz]

1 minute ago, abrakamowse said:

@Huz88  Question: The technique is supposed to see the thoughts as they are, no meaning to them, they are unreal. What is hard to me is that when I saw something, for example a red cup of tea. I think, "that's a red cup of tea" and I don't have idea how to see something unreal on it.

I understand if I go to a level where atoms are part of the cup I can make it, but what I see is a cup of tea.

 

Any hints???

Are you doing the technique for sights or for thought? The situation you are are describing to me is that you look at something then make a judgement on it, which is different from observing your thoughts. What you should do in the case of seeing the red cup is observe without any perception. So you look at the red cup without any thoughts at all. If a thought arises, don't worry, become aware of it and it will disappear then stare at the cup again. 

If you take the example of thinking of a red cup. So a thought arises "a red cup". Acknowledge the story it is telling you. It could be "I like red cups, and want to own one". Then split it into what it literally is i.e. an image of you holding a red cup, an image of a red cup on the table, the sounds "my red cup" (be mindful of the meaning it creates in your mind, and flatten that).

[abrakamowse]

@Huz88 Thanks, I got you know.

 

I was confused with a method to see reality as it was 2D, with no volume as it if were a painting. I don't remember if I saw that on a Leo's video and I don't really remember the purpose hehehehe... And I think he talked about it as a flattening technique, like watching things as if they were projected like a movie.

Thanks again!

I will try to do it again, I understand that I was making a judgment. The idea also is to become aware of how thoughts are created and the mechanism why thoughts appear, right?

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by abrakamowse

[Huz]

1 hour ago, abrakamowse said:

@Huz88 Thanks, I got you know.

 

I was confused with a method to see reality as it was 2D, with no volume as it if were a painting. I don't remember if I saw that on a Leo's video and I don't really remember the purpose hehehehe... And I think he talked about it as a flattening technique, like watching things as if they were projected like a movie.

Thanks again!

I will try to do it again, I understand that I was making a judgment. The idea also is to become aware of how thoughts are created and the mechanism why thoughts appear, right?

 

I think the idea is to come to realisation of not knowing what the fuck a thought actually is and also to de-attach yourself from them. You as a "self" have probably detached yourself from sights, sounds, smells etc so why shouldn't you detach yourself from thoughts. They are an object of experience as real as the red cup you actually saw. But for some reason we identify ourselves with the story our mind creates out of it. That story is an illusion which gives birth to the illusion of self, that is separate from the external world. So thoughts are the bugger. If we manage to detach ourself with from all objects of experience i.e. sights, sounds, smell, taste, feeling (those are easily done with practice) and thoughts. Then we are left with nothing at the core which is our true being. 

Maybe with high enough awareness you will get insights of how thoughts are created and why they appear. But I am no way near that stage.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Huz88

[abrakamowse]

@Huz88  Thanks!!! Much appreciated.

[abrakamowse]

Sometimes is easy to see the thoughts as unreal, but some other times is so difficult. It seems so logic that it is difficult to not be engaged in overthinking.

[Huz]

1 hour ago, abrakamowse said:

Sometimes is easy to see the thoughts as unreal, but some other times is so difficult. It seems so logic that it is difficult to not be engaged in overthinking.

Dude tell me about it!!! So easy to become unconscious with thoughts. Its like sometimes in a situation if you think a thought it effects you deeply. Then when you think that a thought with similar content it doesn't do anything. I have started to notice sometimes when a thought impacts me that there are very close relations to "I/me" in it but when it doesn't there aren't. 

[JustinS]

@Huz88 How do you do the thought flattening technique?

[abrakamowse]

5 hours ago, Huz88 said:

Dude tell me about it!!! So easy to become unconscious with thoughts. Its like sometimes in a situation if you think a thought it effects you deeply. Then when you think that a thought with similar content it doesn't do anything. I have started to notice sometimes when a thought impacts me that there are very close relations to "I/me" in it but when it doesn't there aren't. 

I agree with that, the ones which more impact or attachment produce are the ones who try to keep our idea of identity and separation.

I will try again tomorrow and I will post about it.

@JustinS  it's a technique were you study the thoughts that arise and try to see where it came from to find out the falsehood of thoughts and how unreal they are. But I think @Huz88 can explain it better than me.

[Huz]

On 12 May 2016 at 11:35 PM, JustinS said:

@Huz88 How do you do the thought flattening technique?

It is when you are conscious of your thoughts and separate the meaning from the experience. You become conscious of how your mind assigns meaning to the thoughts. Check out Leo's last video on thoughts. Its is his technique and explains it in a lot of depth.

[abrakamowse]

@Huz88 I just realized that I always thought that the mind generated the thoughts. Thanks!

[JustinS]

@Huz88 Thanks, I'll check it out!

[Naviy]

On 09.05.2016 at 7:01 PM, Huz88 said:

For people doing the thought flattening technique to gain mindfulness over thoughts. When you don't have a diary present do you think its effective to do the process in your mind mentally. Ie say the thought you became aware of. Then unreal the content of the thought. Then describe what it literally is in your mind.

I do both: Flattering Illusion in journal and in mind.

I'd like to do 100% of the exercise in journal, but I am too lazy and stupid to commit enough. I'd do that, if I had 24 hour access to computer, but I do not want to make journal entries on phone or in paper diary. So I do a little bit of journal on computer (way less that Leo said to do in his video) and more - in mind, when I remember to and when I have the energy and motivation to do it (there is almost always resistance to do it).

I'd say, both methods work, but doing it in journal is more clarifying and also it helps you to read through your entries later and kind of analyze them a little bit and contemplate on them, seeing how you distort the life experience by thinking with pre-constructed thought beliefs. Doing it in journal also helps you to gain some more stable experience from the exercise, so your mental work will be used more effectively, I think.