Break glass in case of emergency
Tom Dietvorst
There will always be a difference between what has happened [is happening] and your thoughts about it
…a distinction between your problem and your thoughts about it…
Your awareness is just the space in which these sensations appear
…and notice that that in you that is aware of these things is merely aware
see if you can be aware of the stream of thought…it is a genuine mystery how fragments of language like this, when unrecognized, feel like a self; they feel like who we are; they seem to fully define our point of view…and having seized the throne of subjectivity in this way, they fully determine what we feel next…
…in this case, probably the feeling of doubt
…meditation is a way of inspecting this process and ultimately standing free of it…
…notice whatever emotion is present…if you're feeling anxious or sad or whatever the state of your mind…see if you can feel the raw energy of this emotion…there is nothing to resist here, feel it completely, but let go of the thoughts about it…
…see if you can hold this emotion the way you would hold a child suffering from this same state of mind…imagine what it would feel like to rescue a child with your compassion…
…there is nothing to resist here…you are simply the space around this feeling…so fully embrace it…let yourself become incandescent with it, so much of the pain of negative emotion is our resistance to feeling it…
…notice any thoughts as they appear and let them unravel…a thought is like the sound of my voice, it arises and then it passes away…and then another one comes…notice this stream of thinking and then come back to the energy in your body…
…
…I want you to take a moment to consider the problem you are confronting in your life now. Only one of two things is possible. Either there is something you can do to solve this problem; or there isn't…
…
…whichever is the case, worrying about the future is almost guaranteed to be unhelpful…
…
…but whether there is something to do or not a few minutes from now, or in an hour, or next week, this is the moment that is given to you…this is the moment that you can actually make contact with your life…
…the question is what is the difference between suffering and freedom now?...there is this moment and then there is the story you are telling yourself about the future…now doubt it is a compellingly powerful story, but see if you can notice the next thought the moment it appears…
…
and each next thought simply disappears…all on its own…
(Sam Harris, Break Glass in Case of Emergency, Waking Up app)
[me (-:)]