Tagged: thought
The thought of violence
Many times I hear that part of Education is to teach the student “how to think.”
Actually, that is called conditioning, in a mild way. The proper label is violence.
Most individuals do not realize how violence has been ingrained by society. The competitive “spirit” hungry for success is violence, as it is not concerned at all for the common good. It is just about “ME” and “MY” loved ones. If we want to observe this with some depth, we may need to inquire about the nature of thought:
“Thought is the response of the brain that has recorded. If the brain did not record, you would have no thought or knowledge. It is like a registering machine. From knowledge is memory, and the response of memory is thought.”
J. Krishnamurti – Public Talk 1 in Madras (Chennai), 24 December 1977
Notice the automatic process of thought. That mechanism is unable to be creative. It only repeats what is recorded, although with variations. That may be a “good thing” to learn some technical skill, but the art of living is not concerned with that skill at all.
Out of that repetition and the obsession of “becoming number 1” to feel “successful” in society, the thought of violence was generated.
“Thought has created violence in me, and then it creates non-violence to be achieved, and then there is conflict.”
J. Krishnamurti – Buddhist Scholars Discussion in Madras, 21 January 1985
Observe the contradiction. I AM vs. I SHOULD BE. What SHOULD BE is an ideal. That is the main component of the rhetorical talk of a politician. Those are the “feel good” words that most want to listen. We don’t want to SEE what IS. We are blind.
What is needed is a new way to deal with what IS.
“Please learn. Learn to observe, not memorize. We have contradiction only when we are not dealing with what is actually going on. Because we don’t know how to deal with what is going on, we invent the ideal, which is an escape. If you want to change what is going on, don’t have contradiction. Then you have the energy to deal with what is, instead of wasting energy in contradiction, having ideals and all the rest of it. I am violent, and my conditioning has been not to be violent, so I try to be non-violent. Whereas in actual fact, I am violent. So I am wasting my energy in trying to be non-violent. When I remove that, I have the energy to deal with what is – the energy to observe the fact of being angry. I won’t use the word ‘anger’ because the word is not the thing. Therefore there is only that reaction. The moment you name it, it becomes stronger. By associating through that word with the past, you are giving it strength. If you don’t name it, it soon dissipates. Eliminate contradictions altogether, and you are dealing only with what is actually going on.
J. Krishnamurti – Public Discussion 1 in Madras (Chennai), 27 December 1977
What should I DO to eliminate violence in me?
Acknowledge it. Do not fight it. OBSERVE it when it appears and become aware on how “I “want to demonstrate my supremacy over others, then we invent escapes, such as pride, shame, competition, non-violence and even nationalism.
“Nationalism is a poison.”
J. Krishnamurti – Public talk 2 in Bombay (Mumbai) 25 January 1981.
As the emotion is OBSERVED without labeling it or judgment; there is a space where it could be seen to its root causes. Every person may have a different root, although the “output” is violence. Observation is not concerned with results or the goal of “becoming better.” Observation is only concerned with OBSERVATION.
Thought, memory, thinking, conditioning, action; which in our society usually results in violence. It is a vicious cycle.
For those eager to “practice” and learn this “new method,” there is a catch:
“Real learning comes about when the competitive spirit has ceased.” – J. Krishnamurti. There is no achievement, no “becoming better,” no reward in the afterlife, no “special mention” and honors, no utility whatsoever in our “money making” society. Can we handle that?
The thought, the thinker, thinking and dreaming
“Thinking is common to all humanity. Thought is not my thought; there is only thought. Thought is neither of the East or West; there is only thinking. “ J. Krishnamurti
“I think therefore, I am.” Rene Descartes
The philosopher and mystic, J. Krishnamurti states the opposite of philosopher, mathematician and scientist Descartes: Thought is not mine vs. I think. Thus, thought is mine.
Most of humanity will experience as Descartes states. Few individuals will understand the depth of Krishnamurti, for he is not an intellectual (although described as such) but he merely states his own experiences. Without similar experiences, there will not be understanding.
Also, whether it is “my” thought or there is only thought, there is the “reality” of thought or the lack of it, called “dreams.”
Descartes said: “The dreams we imagine when we are asleep should not in any way make us doubt the truth of the thoughts we have when we are awake.”
Nevertheless, he had a dream which told him a lot:
“…After a short time, he goes back to sleep once more, and finds himself in a third dream. In front of him, on a table, is a book. Having opened it, he sees that it is a dictionary. Then he notices a second book. This one is a poetry anthology. He flicks through it and immediately comes upon the latin verse: “Quod vitae sectabor iter?”: “Which path in life will I choose?”.
At the same time, an unknown man appears and presents him with a poem which starts with Est et non (what is and is not). He adds that it is an excellent work. The young soldier says:
“I know. It is in this book of poems. Look!”
But he flicks through the anthology in vain. He can’t find the poem. So, he takes up the dictionary and notices that some of the pages are missing. He is exchanging a few more words with the stranger when, suddenly, the books and the man disappear.”
Is following the path of “what is” and “what is not” a choice? We take both in Life.
Can we find that poem in a book? Can we find words to describe it? Life is such a poem.
Many “ideas” or “inventions” came from a dream.
When Life speaks to us, we say” I imagined a dream.” “ I invented this gadget.”
Out of touch with awareness, most don’t perceive that we can only “do” thinking with what Life has already thought.
We say “My thought”: How scientific that could be!!
Dreams are only dreams, for all those who only dream.
Question: What is mind? What is no-mind? How to get to no-mind?
“What is MIND? Can you explain through words what is MIND? How to move from MIND to NO-MIND? No-mind is also called pure space, emptiness, what does this mean? I personally feel the mind is total illusion (Correct me please if I am wrong). And if the mind is illusion, how illusion can be associated with purity and impurity? You know they refer it as “Pure Mind” and “Impure Mind”.”
Thank you for your question.
A description will set limits. This may work for tangible items; but when we are referring to intangible such as the “Mind,” is not that easy.
For example, let us take a look at a dictionary definition of MIND: “The element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.”
From my experience, that definition is quite inaccurate; but yet because it is a “dictionary definition” most will believe in that. Of course, if there was AWARENESS we could know the answer, but yet we want words to make intellectual sense of something that is readily observable.
Consciousness is AWARENESS. The MIND is accumulation of experiences and conditioning which shapes our perspective of Life. We use the filter of the mind to make sense of the world. The mind is the one knowing “what is right or wrong” according to society’s teachings. It is the internal voice speaking which brings our conditioning forward.
For example: “masturbation is sinful.” That is conditioning. That is stored in our mind. That becomes our guiding “truth.” Thoughts will appear to support that core belief. Once those thoughts have drilled down in us and we believe them despite our inner conflict; then feelings will settle and those will create emotions, that is; the body will be affected. Then we may play the “dishonest” game of defending that “truth” verbally, while still DOING it. This will increase our sense of guilt and from there, it is only a step into emotional and mental disturbances.
If you want to understand, do not try to make sense of my words. Just use those as guiding symbols. OBSERVATION, AWARENESS is what will allow you to know.
If you go deeper into this, you may be able to recognize that the MIND is not YOU, but conditioning that have shaped YOU into something. It has given you a “form.”
For example, you are clay; but the mind will present that clay into the form of a little house made with clay. The mind will defend that “form” at all costs for it thrives in identity, which will create the ego-mind. Ego is mind.
You said “The mind is total illusion.” I ask you to confirm that through your own observable experience, after reading this.
Is the house made of clay an “illusion”? Yes and No.
However, what is important is to see clay in every “form.”
That is deconditioning. It is not to negate by saying that everything is an “illusion,” but by OBSERVING that clay will present itself in different forms. Every form is a perspective, the way we look at Life.
“Reality” presents itself through different “forms.” All of them are “real,” but illusions at the same time. It all depends on the one observing. His conditioning. His perspective.
This is the reason why the “I” is real for most, it presents itself with a marvelous form… but it is an illusion at the same time.
When there is no-conditioning, what is there then? An Empty mind. That is space, emptiness. Many labels to refer to “no-mind.”
My friend Mathias, one day explained that “emptiness allows for decoration of a room.” If the room has already stuff in it, there are limits as to how we could decorate. For most individuals, the mind is full of stuff, full of furniture, there is no space for anything “new.”
The terms “purity and impurity” are mental abstractions. A duality created by the mind. Concepts to play with.
“Purity” is not to DO some things and to avoid others.
“Impurity” is not to DO things which are not “pure.” Observe the trap. We must define what is “pure.” That definition entails a particular perspective, a particular reality. For example, some religions believe that sex is “impure.” Thus, their definition of “purity” is no-sex, celibacy.
It is not that sex is pure or impure, but it has been defined in a certain way. There is a particular perspective in such statement.
Since the mind is more less a “computer hard drive” full of experiences and conditioning influencing the output of our actions, there cannot be such a thing as “pure or impure” mind, but rather pure and impure experiences, which can’t be. Experiences are only that, experiences.
No-Mind is not the negation of mind, but to empty the conditioning of it, the “furniture” in the room. That is how it is said: “A pure mind is an empty mind.”
The next question will be: How do I empty my mind?
“You” don’t DO it. Once AWARENESS sets in, it happens while at the same time, emotional disturbances may need to be dissolved; but that is part of someone’s particular path. There are no “recipes.”
You want to DO something? OBSERVE yourself, BE AWARE of your thoughts, emotions, reactions, movements. Learn from yourself. “Know thyself.”
Beyond the trap of purity and impurity, there is AWARENESS and lack of it.
AWARENESS is like breathing. We are so used to “automatic pilot” that we need to read what the “expert” says about “how to breathe.” That is the conditioning of the mind: Believe the “experts” if you want to know.
Once we read the opinion of the “authority,” thoughts will arrive saying that “I know what breathing is.” To de-condition means to open to the possibility that “I don’t know anything, despite reading about it” and go through the breathing experience ourselves.
The mind will try to make “my” findings about breathing into a “best-seller.” That is conditioning. Got to make money! Get ahead!
My moral values will tell me that “I shouldn’t make a profit through spiritual teachings.” That is conditioning as well. That conflict will come from the mind.
An empty mind, is empty of that sort of conflict, for BEING knows the direction in Life. There is no need to make a choice, for that is mind.
To listen to that message without distortions, means to discover no-mind.
Being successful
The other day I purchased a bed linen. The Company selling it had an unusual ad: “It is said that Webster’s first dictionary in 1806 defined success as being “generous, prosperous and kind” Regrettably, the most recent published definition of success is “getting or achieving wealth, respect and fame.” We do business based on the 1806 definition.”
Observe how the meaning of words change in time. 200 years later, that same word means something completely different, thus a definition will change in “no time” in time. 🙂
Take the word “god” for example. Isn’t the definition of that word different among people? Who has the “right” definition?
“I.” 🙂
The word “success” is a human invention. Our society has bought into it. To be successful is the objective, the thing to attain; although it is not clear what it means.
How wealthy is wealthy? How famous is fame? Isn’t respect nowadays another word for inspiring fear? Who is the authority to define what something is?
The guy down the street wants “respect,” and he earns it through his ability to inspire fear into his neighbors.
Being “generous, prosperous and kind” is not a corporate attitude or behavior towards business. We cannot make ourselves generous or kind through a corporate mission statement. We ARE or we ARE not. If we behave as if we were kind, generous, etc. from 8 Am to 5 PM, Monday through Friday… We ARE fake.
Words meaning absolutely nothing. Pretty, touchy words, no feelings. All mind, no heart.
That is the same scenario when most talk about love and loving someone. There is the blurb, the political correct phrases, the catchy words, but nothing else.
Love is not something to talk about. Words destroy the sacredness of the moment, the relationship, what it could be… the feeling.
Therefore, “Being successful,” means anything that you desire.
Achieving that, means very little unless there is an agreement that it is worth something.
For mice, to be “successful” could be to get cheese from a human refrigerator. But mice are “intelligent” enough not to worry about success.
Being successful is taken to extremes in our society. For instance:
What is so important about a football game or a “world cup” soccer game?
Nothing…. It is just a game. But yet there is a common agreement that this game could be in fact a “historic moment.” Everyone is watching it. It is transcendent… It is team A versus team B. The “World champ” (yet another pretty word meaning nothing) will victoriously emerge from that “duel of nemesis…”
That is the human world of fantasy. Something to pass time with, to keep the mind entertained until death arrives… Then success is over; then there is only “losing the battle” against cancer, drunk drivers, medical doctors, and all excuses death may use to “take us away from our loved ones.” 🙂
All the winning, all the success gets taken away by Death; then under that cloudy perspective; we become automatic “losers.” We believe that… unless there is an “afterlife,” then the “I” could be “successful” there…
As our minds step away from words, the meaning of living Life in the innocence of an empty mind, will replace the meaning of the words.
Every Life story from the “lowly” untouchable mosquito to the immortal Sam the true “man,” is neither a success nor a failure.
In Life no one could be a success nor a failure but only in the “fantasy island” of the conditioned human mind, that is the mind full of duality.
Remember: What someone says it is not accurately what they mean or feel. It cannot be.
Beware of words.
The religious “I.”
The “I,” the ego does not allow us to perceive the unity of all.
That “I” solidifies separation through thinking. Thought means separation.
Look at a sunset. What do you see? The Sun, the Ocean, clouds, the sky, seagulls, fish.
All of those labels separate forms. In “reality” none of those labels exist, none of those separate things exist as separate; those things come as one, in one package, which cannot be contained as a static thing, for it is always changing as the weather changes.
By labeling, naming and counting we become more interested in descriptions, analysis and dissections… the mind is in its glory! We become a mental entity devoid of a heart to feel.
Naming, counting, describing and analysis will starve our being from feeling that landscape, that instant of Nature which will nurture us for we are part of it as well. The observer and the object being observed are related through feelings; they are one as long as there is no separation through thought.
I am not saying that the mind is “bad.” It is just an out of control “device,” just like people nowadays behave with their smartphones; there is a continuous on-going dependency. With the mind is extremely subtle for we identify with it intimately, that is why we are not aware.
When Ego exists; then to possess becomes the next thing in his agenda.
“This is Angela. She is MY wife.” The label “wife” has no meaning in “real” Life. It is just a common agreement by society, a thought. That thought has an owner, “I.”
“If I have not realized my own ego which is an illusion; How is it possible to realize other things such as God?”
It is impossible.
“Why?”
Because the illusion of the ego will color everything else “I” perceive.
That is why a religious path becomes an ego trip for many followers. That is why the “experience” of God becomes another way to solidify the importance of our ego. “MY” experience. I must be important, special… for others do not have it.
Any search for “ spiritual experiences” is without a doubt an ego trip to “thy Kingdom come.”
It is another way to escape from what is truly important, that is; to realize the self. By realizing one part of the Totality, we realize the whole. But we refuse to start with who we ARE now. We want to believe in an ideal of what “I” should be. We want to search for another ideal: MY ideal of what God should be, MY ideal of the afterlife, MY ideal of what Life should be through an out of this world “spiritual experience.”
The ego is interested in possessing the key to unlock the chakras, the method to elevate the Kundalini, to glow in white light, to meditate the “right way” in bliss, to sit next to God, to become an angel, a saint, a guru, to go to heaven… to become better, to work for God…To obtain all of those experiences…
It is true that all of those “experiences” with angels, Kundalini and chakras may happen is someone’s path, but they weren’t sought out, they came without looking to obtaining them; thus away from the egotistical mind.
The ego is not interested in diluting itself into “no-I,” into an egoless existence. The ego must continue into the afterlife and must possess the “eternal, everlasting” things.
By DOING all of those things, we are just going away, increasing the distance from realizing the self.
However, that is not “bad” for that walking away sooner or later will bring the seeker back to himself. It is just a matter of time; and that is why the ego believes in “speeding things up,” for “time is money even in the afterlife.” 🙂
It doesn’t work like that. There is a necessary assimilation/realization of Life experiences. Consciousness will move as the BEING is ready, not when the ego decides to “DO” it.
Your “feeling” may be an emotion
Sit down. Relax. Unwind. Observe “your” thoughts.
Are “you” willfully thinking those thoughts?
No. They just appear.
The above could be called one of the greatest discoveries of self-realization. Anyone can do that. Anyone could take the time just to observe their “own” thoughts, but as long as we have a belief that there is a need for a “creator” for things to exist, we will not understand the above.
“I think therefore I exist.”
That will be our motto. The “I” is the “creator.”
We will say: “I am thinking. I am creating “my” thoughts” and then as I become more “spiritual,” I will be thinking that “I” need to change my thoughts.
“Change your thoughts to change your life,” will be our motto.
The above is “spirituality for the masses.”
Nothing wrong with that; but perhaps we find greater depth by finding the time to be alone and just observe “ourselves.”
A thought is a reflection of emotions, for most individuals.
A thought is a reflection of feelings for few individuals.
We hear, “You are peace, you are love, you are happiness.”
Those are feelings, which are not in the realm of the consciousness of the “I.”
In the consciousness of the “I” we have emotions.
Emotional individuals usually have an incredible amount of thoughts. They are “thinkers.”
Anxiety, apathy, obsessiveness, attachment, fear… those are typical emotions which most individuals are not aware that these exist in themselves. Some will label these as: Being concerned, being detached, being focused, etc. It is in that re-labeling how we miss the opportunity to be AWARE of these emotions, which are coloring “our” thoughts.
Ego is very emotive. An emotion will give someone a “high” and a “low.” Some label these as “positive” and “negative” emotions; however, observe that lost in that duality, we choose one (positive) over the other (negative,) when in fact; both are coming from the same place.
An emotion is dualistic, just like the ego.
An emotion will hold experiences in Life as “traumatic experiences,” if that experience was not enjoyed by the ego. That experience when is unable to be released, will be detrimental to the body /mind.
Inflammation of the body in different ways: Through the experience of heat, fever, tiredness or lack of energy or even through cancer is mostly an emotional trauma, which is not released, “healed.”
The “fight against cancer” is in fact, healing emotions. We could destroy the “bad cells” but our “unhealed” emotions will make that experience to happen again.
The “no-I,” the feeling is experienced when our thoughts are calm, when there is no anxiety or stress. That state is known as “meditation” for the masses.
It is in that tranquility how we could experience a “feeling” such as bliss and the name used for that will be “spiritual experience.”
A healthy human being is someone who “thinks” very little, that is the “I” does not need to appear all the time. The “little voice” talking to us, is not present as much. It is in that state when we are able to OBSERVE and feel.
Do we see the relationship?
More thoughts, less feelings.
More thoughts, greater ego, more emotions, less observation.
More emotions, less feelings.
If what you think or believe does not agree with what you feel, that means that your emotions are creating the reality of your thoughts.
Those emotions are the manifestation of your ego.
When we are able to feel without the “filtering” of emotions, there is no need to think, in other words; “my” thoughts will be the same as “my” feelings. When we operate in that way, we operate with honesty in Life.
Some may call that Harmony or Balance.
Love is not an emotion. “Love” as an emotion will be dualistic: Euphoria and depression will be experienced. Hate, attachment, dependency, neediness will be experienced.
Joy is a feeling.
When we enjoy Life, then we could know Love… but before Love, there is Peace.
When we find Peace, we find Love… and when we find love… we find Joy.
Here the Paradox:
“You are love,” they say.
Yes, “you” are, when “you” are not. 🙂
The Body-mind-spirit-soul connection
“I am a soul not a body.”
Really?
What about the mind?
What about the spirit?
Why some religions and philosophies spend so much of their beliefs in “conquering the mind” or “controlling the mind” if “I am not the mind”?
Words separate.
That is perhaps one of the most important realizations to go beyond the “head” and into the feeling of living Life.
Every word has an opposite.
That is how duality is created in our communication.
Now, that we could see this handicap inherent in the way we “think” (for words are needed to express thoughts) then we could see how plain stupid is the idea of “defining” God, “defining” who I am, “defining” Life, etc.
Do we see that we are using words to express in duality that which is not possible to express through duality?
Do we see how thinking alone cannot bring a different state of consciousness, other than the perception of separation?
Living life in joy is not concerned in the most minimum in defining or conceptualizing Life.
Do not define yourself to be able to change, to flow, to live.
The unity of the body, mind, spirit, soul is artificially divided through thought; when in “reality” it is unity which no label or definition could touch.
Do we see that?
Moreover; the unity of body, mind, spirit, soul is ONE with everything else, for it cannot exist all by itself. Totality.
Do we see that?
Let me put it in another way.
Any thought is doomed to separate what otherwise is not. That is why any “intellectual” cannot “walk his talk” in “spirituality.”
“ Me and God alone.”
That phrase is full of separation. Full of “I.”
Let me put it in yet another way…. 🙂
Thinking and its entire family of beliefs, judgments, assumptions, analysis, logic and reasoning are not the “tools” to live Life in Joy.
I could hear a “black or white” follower saying:
“ Thoughts are bad then. We must make effort not to think.”
That is a gross misinterpretation just as to believe that by denying ourselves from Life’s pleasures and becoming an ascetic or a “renunciate” we could be “better.”
Thoughts are extraordinary tools to live Life in the “office world.”
Integration rather than rejection.
Life’s pleasures are part of the whole experience of living.
Separating pleasure from pain, we have created a duality. Choosing one over the other, we have created an illusion.
There is no separation between pleasure and pain for the experience of one, necessarily leads to the experience of the other.
Just like the experience of hot and cold, light and darkness, good and bad…
Want to feel guilty? Want to ask God for forgiveness?
Make that separation. That is all it takes.
Exploring the Depth of Living 