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Over the short period of this life so far (I'm enjoying my 54th spring), I've noticed relatively few things that I would consider valuable enough to pass on to others with regard to living. I used to believe I had lots of great and important ideas to share with everyone, but I got over that delusion quite a while ago (thank you God). So these words are not put forth as vital profundities but merely as mental meanderings. Take them lightly, as you should with all words, as words are only symbols that, at best, point to the reality they represent.
So, given the name of this community of blogs and forums, Thoughts.com, I feel it's appropriate to devote some time to THOUGHTS themselves. Just what are they? Are we our thoughts, as DesCartes maintained in his famous statement "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am) or are we something more?
Realize the inherent failings of what I am trying to explore here. I am using thought to question the nature of thought. Hmmmmm, it could get tricky, eh? Yes and no. If we believe we are our thoughts, then having our thoughts question the core of themselves would be like scientists performing experiments upon themselves--objectivity would be lost. Harvard professors Tim Leary and Richard Alpert were criticized for doing just that when they started their experiments with LSD in the early 60s.
Time for a quick question before I go on. That voice in our heads, you know, that stream of more or less constant thought that we listen to--is that who we are? If so, who is listening to those thoughts? So, the fact that we must be something apart from our thoughts is fairly obvious, because otherwise we would have no notion, no awareness of thought itself.
So, that is one of those few vital realizations that I would pass on. That who we are is the awareness that is the witness to thought, NOT thought itself. This is an extremely important distinction.
That's about it, nothing else coming up--I could probably bloggghhhh some more but I'd have to stick my fingers down the virtual throat of my brain to do that...
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Interesting post. Hmm..I think the awareness of thought is part of who we are...but I have a feeling that there's a lot more to it...More that we cannot comprehend.
Just a thought.
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Posted by Cecy24
on 2008-05-23 14:03:09
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Notice I didn't say the awareness of thought was who we are-I said the awareness, the consciousness, that is the witness to thought...it is the witness that is there when thought has evaporated, it is....ahhhhh. Like you said, it is incomprehensible, it can only be experienced. So I think we agree. I was drawing the distinction between identifying with thought and being the witness...that's where I was heading.
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Posted by GrammyandGrampy
on 2008-05-23 14:24:13
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You make an interesting distiction between thought and witness to the thought. That's very true. The witness to the thought is still there after the thought vanishes.
In this way, we are not our thoughts, but that "something" that witnesses them.
Hmm...you got me thinking.
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Posted by Cecy24
on 2008-05-23 14:28:59
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"Hmm...you got me thinking." Cecy24
Oh oh...I'm not so sure that's a good thing...hehehe.
And that 'something' you refer to (that is the witnessing presence) connects us to all life. That's why believing our thoughts leaves us feeling we are separate and disconnected 'minds in a body', leaves us believing we are our names, our genders, and all the rest of our personal stories and drama. And by creating that feeling of separateness (which is an illusion) by believing our thoughts, we feel incomplete and so we search much or all of our short lives for something outside of ourselves to complete us, when all along the completeness and connection was within us.
Just another thought for you not to believe...
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Posted by GrammyandGrampy
on 2008-05-23 15:47:53
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Oh wow, Grampy! You've made my brain hurt! I'll come back and read this when I haven't had a glass of wine to fog my thoughts...er...consciousness
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Posted by BootLady
on 2008-05-23 17:34:43
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| Views: 107
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