Your Thoughts Are Not Real

‘Christ died for our sins’ is an example of a belief that probably is not true (we have no way of actually proving it), but if you are a Christian, then you take it on faith. The statement that ‘You are not your thoughts,’ however, is a belief that is true.

After all, you can observe your thoughts, even the ‘I’ and ‘me’ thoughts, and watch them come and go, yet you as an aware, conscious being—the watcher or observer of your ever-changing thoughts—are always here.

So, your thoughts may be true, like telling a story about what you did during the past hour, or they may be false, imagined, or unverifiable (like ‘Christ died for our sins’), but they are not real. After all, they come and go, arise and disappear, and what is real is always here.

You are real, in other words: you as an aware, conscious being. That, in a nutshell, is the very essence of ‘self’-realization.

You Are 'It'

Feeling upset or conflicted right now? Someone has said something, or something has happened to cause as emotional reaction in you? In other words, you’ve taken something personally? You think what the other person has said or what you’ve imagined to be all about ‘you,’ this psychological/emotional ‘person’ you think you are?

If you really want to shift the upset and experience more freedom, the first thing you’re going to have to do is be really present with whatever is happening with you. So, breathe deeply and slowly, feel yourself in your body, feel your feet on the ground, listen to the sounds around you… Really be here now, in other words.

Then step back with your awareness and notice what’s happening in your mind. See if you can separate yourself—your true ‘self,’ the observer, or witness of your experience—from the ever-changing contents of your mind. Observe how your thoughts come and go—even the thoughts, “My God, this feels terrible,’ or ‘This shouldn’t be happening!’ come and go.

So, guess what? Obviously, you cannot be your thoughts! You are whatever is watching, observing, experiencing the thoughts. And what is that? Hah! Nothing you can think or say is ‘it.’ Why? Because you are ‘It!’

Why is it So Difficult to be Present?

The present moment is all we have. Everything happens in the present. It’s the place of true creative power, and it is where our wisdom and love is shared. Those who embody presence honor the past, keep an eye on the future—including setting goals and making plans—yet live right here, right now.

Why, then, do so many people have difficulty being present? Simply put, they are distracted, preoccupied with the thoughts and stories between their ears—their anxieties, fears, obsessions, hopes, dreams, and wishes. In a word, their story. Their story about who they think they are, what they want to become, and what they’re seeking to avoid, what they’re running from.
But when people stand back and observe themselves, and realize that their thoughts, their story comes and goes, yet they—as this aware, conscious being—are always present, a shift may happen.

They in a real sense find themselves truly present. They are right here, now. The thought may arise: “So, this is what it means to be awake, present.” Then they just breathe, and relax it being, and smile at the simplicity of it all!

The Art of Being Supremely Present

There is a mantra I used to repeat to myself over a period of a year or two before I finally realized the freedom that is our true nature: Supremely present, mind still, I breathe in the beauty of this moment.

This mantra always had a profound effect on me. Whenever I would say it, I’d become very present in my body. Whether sitting or standing, I’d be extremely alert, watchful of everything happening in and around me: sensations, feelings, thoughts, circumstances, the fullness of the moment itself.

I remember something Erich Schiffmann told me about J. Krishnamurti: “He was like an animal in his awareness.” It is like that whenever you are supremely present. You are like an animal—a jackal, a lion, a gazelle—perfectly still, all your senses alert, eyes and ears attuned to the unknown.

It is good to practice being supremely present. Whenever you do, you are one with the now.

Being a Spiritual Warrior

My New Year's insight:

The main barrier to awakening, to complete freedom, is complacency, the lack of drive, desire to be free. You've got to be really vigilant, and the moment you feel slightly off-center, caught up in the 'me,' self-judgment, resentment, an expectation, you've got to jump on it.You've got to stop and realize you're lost in a thought, you're telling yourself a story.

And you are not that, you are not the thought or story. Why? Because they come and go, but you are always here as this supremely aware, conscious being. Being very alert and present in this way is what it means to be a spiritual warrior, regardless of whether you happen to be a man or a woman.