The Power of Thought

Thoughts have a very practical power. Everything human-made began as a thought, an idea, in someone’s mind. Everything, from the invention of the wheel over 6,000 years ago, to the microchip and nanotechnology today, had its origins in the human mind. The clothes we wear, and the houses we live in; our furniture, kitchens, cookbooks; the vehicles we drive, the books we read and the electronic devices we use; the aircraft flying overhead—everything began as an idea in someone’s mind.

What is the effect of realizing this? It is simple. The more you see that your thoughts are not real, precisely because they come and go, the more power you have to consciously choose them and shape them in ways that serve your own—and ultimately humanity’s—good. And, who knows, you may invent, come up with something new and wonderful yourself! But, at the very least, your thinking will be wise, creative, and will, most of the time, result in harmonious action.

Empty Space Meditation

Read the next paragraph first, then do the practice and play with the teaching…

Close your eyes, take a few deep, slow breaths, relax into yourself, and then imagine, or visualize empty space between your eyes… Between your ears… And then inside your head… Allow yourself to just be empty space, relaxing into your true nature for a few minutes… Or even five or ten minutes, however long you need to get a real feel for it… Then notice how the emptiness is at the same time filled with creative energy, rich in intuitive insights, ideas, and deeper realizations of truth… This creative fullness is there for you to use, whenever you want…

Now open your eyes, and observe how relaxed and at ease you feel, one with life and the unfolding of this moment… And again, read the next two paragraphs through, then close your eyes once more, and experiment with the teaching…

First, contemplate the realization that you are not your thoughts, but rather the ever-present awareness in which thoughts come and go … Then think a thought, any thought, and notice how it rises in your awareness, and then goes away, disappears, only to be replaced by another thought… You can even think specific “I” and “me” thoughts, but they too come and go…

Now, you’ve got to really see this, actually look within and watch how the thoughts and stories, and especially the "I" thought, come and go, pass in and out of your inner visual field, yet you, the seer, the experiencer of your ever-changing thoughts and stories, are always here, always present… The more you see this, and that you—the unchanging awareness or consciousness behind your thoughts—are still here, the freer and more at ease you are…

The Seduction of Story

We are a story-telling people, and our stories are important. They matter. We communicate through sharing and telling stories. Journalists make their living by reporting stories. Novelists tell made-up stories. Historians tell stories about the past, what has happened in human history. And ordinary human beings, in their relationships with each other, share stories about what they or others are doing, have done, or hope or plan to do.

But we are not our stories, because our stories, and the very thoughts and words that make them up, come and go, and we are what is always here. Reality, remember—Reality with a capital “R”—is what is always present.

Freedom, and the deep happiness and inner peace that do not depend on anything, comes when we realize this. It arises when we discover that we, as aware, conscious beings, are always here, amidst the ever-changing world of thoughts, stories, sensations, feelings, emotions, events, and circumstances.

The Interconnectedness of All Life

As we awaken to the freedom and happiness that is out true nature, an undeniable truth becomes clearer and clearer: we, as the consciousness that we most fundamentally are, are part of an indivisible whole.

I, in my essence, am exactly the same as you in your essence, in other words. This is the unifying spiritual truth underlying all the great religions. We are one. It is like the ocean and the wave analogy. It the depths of our being, we are all part of the one ocean of consciousness, yet in our individuality, our uniqueness, we are like the waves, appearing separate and different, yet still a part of, an expression of, the one ocean that we are.

In fact, in the truest sense, when we awaken to the consciousness that we are, we realize our oneness, our interconnection with all life, and with all living things. Even the tiniest bug or beetle is an expression, in bug or beetle form, of the same consciousness that is in you and me.

This realization of oneness leads to a greater sensitivity to all of life, and to everything in our environment. It is the ground of unconditional love. The freer we are, the less “self” or ego there is in us, and the fewer conditions we place on our love.

We realize that love, as the flowering and expression of the human heart, is an inherent part of our true nature. We enjoy sharing our love with people, animals, all of nature and we share it generously, with kindness, patience, and gratitude…

Forgiveness

Until you have forgiven everyone who may have hurt or wronged you, you cannot be free or happy. And the essence of forgiveness is letting go of your story of blame.

Why is it that until you forgive, you can’t be happy? Because so long as you’re holding onto a grudge or resentment against someone, you’re in your ego, your small “self.” Your ego is still the master in your world, still has control of you, and as we’ve seen, the ego’s game—in its worst manifestation—is one of judgment and condemnation, of “I’m right and you’re wrong.”

There can be no real freedom or personal happiness so long as the ego has dominance in your life. It is just a fact that has to be acknowledged. Yet your ego is still there, still an expression of “you,” but now it is more the servant of your true being.

As Ramakrishna, the Indian saint said: “The ego makes a very poor master, but a very good servant.” Your ego—the “I,” the “me”—serves you by setting good personal boundaries, organizing your personal wants and needs, and establishing goals and making plans.