Beyond Content Of Thought

Ram Dass
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विचार के मूल तत्त्व की दूसरी ओर
- राम दास द्वारा (18 सितंबर, 2017)

अंधकार, उसकी परछाई, जो की मुझे लगता है कि वास्तव में अन्धकार और उसकी वास्तविकता को मजबूत करती है, उससे बाहर निकलने की जी-तोड़ कोशिश करने के बजाए, केवल अपना अभ्यास करते रहो। देखो, अगर कोई कहता है, "पता नहीं क्यों लेकिन मुझे ये भयानक विचार आ रहें हैं, क्या आप इन्हें समझने में मेरी मदद करेंगे?" तो मैं उनसे कहता कि पहले मैं उनके साथ बैठूंगा और उनकी सांस का अनुसरण करने में उनकी मदद करूंगा। सांस का खुद का कोई मूल नहीं होता। यह केवल सांस है। समस्या को मजबूत बनाने (जिसकी शक्ति स्वयं ही बढ़ती जाती है, जब आप सबसे पहले उस पर ही काम करने लगते हैं) से बेहतर है कि आप अपनी साँसों के केन्द्रीकरण करने और स्थिर करने की प्रक्रिया को मजबूत करें , उनकी उपस्थिति को मजबूत करें । यह एक बहुत नाजुक स्थिति है। मैं उस समय को कम करना नहीं चाहता जो विचारों के मूल पर काम करने के लिए वास्तव में उपयुक्त है, लेकिन अधिकांश भाग के लिए, विचारों के मूल पर ध्यान केंद्रित करना, मेरे लिए, आखिरी रणनीति है।

विचार के मूल तत्व के बजाय विचार की यांत्रिकी पर ध्यान केंद्रित करना एक बेहतर रणनीति है, क्या आप इस भेद को सुन/समझ पा रहे हैं?

अब मैं एक चिकित्सक के पास जा सकता हूं, और वे कह सकते हैं "चलो आपके बचपन के बारे में बात करते हैं और देखते/समझते हैं कि यह सब कहाँ से आया ..." यह विचारों के मूल तत्व से निपटना है। या, इसके बजाय, मैं जवाब तलाशने के लिए मूल तत्व पर ध्यान केंद्रित ना करते हुए उन्हें सिर्फ विचारों के रूप में देखना चुन सकता हूँ । वे केवल विचार हैं! उन्हें विचारों की श्रेणी में रखिए, न कि वे किस बारे में हैं, वे सिर्फ विचार हैं। और ध्यान करते समय, विचार की पहचान या उसकी पकड़ से जागरूकता को मुक्त करना, यही मेरा प्रमुख खेल है। ऐसा करने के लिए आप अपने ध्यान अभ्यास में जाते हैं, जो कुछ मामलों में एक विचार ले सकता है, जैसे कि साँस का पालन करना।

उसके बाद क्या होगा, "लेकिन मैं इस रिश्ते के बारे में क्या करूँगा?" एक ख्याल आता है, और मैं शिक्षक को कहते सुनता हूं, "अपनी सांस पर लौटें।" साँस लेने में, श्वास बाहर निकालने पर वापस जाओ, फिर एक और विचार आता है और कहता है, "भगवान, मेरी जिंदगी अव्यवस्थित है!" अब उस समय, आप ध्यान छोड़ कर एक चिकित्सक को बुलाकर, ये कह सकते हैं, "आइए, मेरा जीवन क्यों अव्य्वस्थित है, इससे निपटते हैं," या आप कह सकते हैं, "ठीक है, 'सांस लेने और छोड़ने पर' वापस जाओ। यकीनन तुम्हारा जीवन अव्यवस्थित है। वापस सांस वापस जाओ।"

यह सिर्फ बढ़ती है-गिरती है, बढ़ती है-गिरती है, दूसरे शब्दों में, अब आप किसी भी विचार (स्पष्ट या अस्पष्ट) से अपने अस्तित्व को मुक्त करने के‌ लिए‌ ध्यानित अभ्यास का उपयोग कर सकते हैं। कुछ विचारों से आप इस तरह से छुटकारा नहीं पाएंगे, क्योंकि वे एक घोंसले या मकड़ी के जाले की तरह होते हैं। फिर, आप मूल तत्व के संदर्भ में उनसे संपर्क करेंगे, लेकिन मेरी रणनीति पहले यांत्रिकी के लिए जाना है, और फिर बाद में मूलतत्त्व के लिए जाना है, जब वह चुनाई/कटाई के लिए, वास्तव में परिपक्व हो।

प्रतिबिंब के लिए बीज प्रश्न: आप विचारों की यांत्रिकी और उनके मूल तत्त्व के अंतर से किस प्रकार से सम्बंधित हैं? क्या आप अपने जीवन से कोई ऐसी कहानी बाँट सकते हैं जब किसी विचार के मूल तत्त्व के बजाय विचार की यांत्रिकी पर ध्यान केंद्रित करना, आपकी प्रगति में सहायक सिद्ध हुआ हो? विचार का मूल चुनाई के लिए परिपक्व है या नहीं, ये जांचने के लिए एक अच्छा परिक्षण क्या होगा?

'एक्सप्लोरिंग द मैकेनिक्स ऑफ़ थौघ्त' से कुछ अंश

Excerpted from Exploring the Mechanics of Thought.

SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the distinction between mechanics and content of thought? Can you share a personal story of a time when focusing on the mechanics instead of content helped you make progress? What is a good test to know when the content is ripe for the picking?

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12 Past Reflections

On Jul 5, 2020 ALIA wrote :

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On Sep 21, 2017 Bradley wrote :

I think that my thoughts often get in the way of my life, just as Thich Nhat Hanh said in Being Peace how, in Buddhism, knowledge is regarded as an obstacle to understanding. I can see in my own life how the content of my thoughts is an obstacle to just being.

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On Sep 20, 2017 Joseph Kokomo wrote :

I quit drinking in 1990, which in many ways was the beginning of me waking up. In 2004, I started vipassana meditation and deeply focusing on art, meditation and 'thoughts', even when not in formal meditation. The sentiment of this post is nice and I agree with it, to a degree. But I know, from LOTS of therapy, group support and spiritual groups, that some people will use spiritual 'axioms' and principles as a way to avoid spending time and paying attention to another person, which I feel is detrimental to people's feelings of self worth. If the time out to watch the breath is truly to help the person, fine. But if it's used as an excuse to quiet the person, I disagree. I am a firm believer in the power of listening. And the 'guru' who is compassionate enough to listen with an open heart is helping. I know a lot of people probably thought of me as 'high maintenance' because I talked all the time and it seemed like nothing was sinking in - bel... [View Full Comment]

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On Sep 19, 2017 Bansi Pandya wrote :

Structure of Thought: Thought has created the center as permanent entity and it attributes its origin and truth to itself. It also attributes perception as perceiver and feelings to it like me and mine executive hold everything together; if center falls apart then my world is also falls apart (my world is my experiences, knowledge). If there is total perception then thought has no place and perception is action in Now.
The self cannot act. So when I say “I sleep” or “I grow” or “I breathe” I need to be aware of the incoherence inherent in language which makes me believe that the self grows or sleeps or breathes.

We are a product of thought (individual and collective). If we are more than thought we will not discover that with thought. This thought has to end for that understanding beyond thought to happen in Unitary Perception.

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On Sep 19, 2017 Shuka. D wrote :

Thoughts and thinking the same but different. A thought rises and gives
way to Choice . Do I choose to engage this thought or let it drift by.
Thinking is the content , dwelling on something which has the ability
to move one out of the presence of now and into the realms
of our conditioning behaviours is never very useful. Thus awareness is essential for choice.
Awarenece is cultivated through a regular practice of meditation.

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On Sep 19, 2017 Maryanne wrote :

I believe the mechanics and content of thought have very different qualities. Is practice to discern these different qualities? Observing the quality of mechanics has an immediate release of pressure and attachment. This can become a joyful practice, this awareness, even filled with humor! . . (the cosmic laugh?) Challenge is to stay in faith and intention . . which requires constant, but not obsessive practice. As our generous wisdom teacher RD has said above, it is a delicate situation. But doesn't it build on itself with attention?

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On Sep 18, 2017 Tan wrote :

The article is the reminder for being captured by thoughts. When I am captured by thought the authomatic reactions are arizing and overwhelming me... Dis-identification process is not easy.

Meditation is not always helping when the amigdala is in action... What does help me?
The Work of Byron Katie - see www.thework.com.

We created the board game - the W Game - and using it for the Awareness Group weekly. I can work in the Group on the suggested belief (doing preventive work) or the situation & thought which is bothering me... every time I play - using 4 simple questions and turn arounds - I am awakening = dis-identificating from the thought (every time it looks like a surprise!) Then during day-to-day life it becomes easy and easy to wake up to reality - dis-identificating.

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On Sep 17, 2017 Jagdish P Dave wrote :

When I identify myself with my thoughts, I become my thoughts. Thoughts create feelings and emotions and actions and my character. If I do not dis-identify myself with the mental and emotional world I create in my mind, I get trapped by my self-created trappings causing ups and downs of mental and emotional states. It is up to me to free myself from my from the bondage I have created or to remain stuck with it. One of the ways of reducing or working through my suffering is the practice of mindfulness.I have found practicing mindfulness very beneficial to me. Breathing in and out keeps me grounded , steadfast and composed.It creates space in me to let my thoughts come and go like waves and makes my mind quiet and clear. This is the mechanics I use to work on myself. When I do not apply mindfulness, I resort to habitual and conditioned patterns of reacting to the contents of my thoughts which perpetuate and strengthen the cycle of my suffer... [View Full Comment]

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On Sep 17, 2017 david doane wrote :

You can go to a so called psychotherapist who gives poor advice, and you can go to a so called spiritual leader who gives poor advice. Ram Dass sure has his anti therapist biases. My suggestion is consult with others, listen to self. The language I prefer is focus on process rather than focus on mechanics -- what they each are referring to is probably much the same. The point is to get back to healthy process, engage in healthy mechanics of living, be in the present, let go of content/problems/agendas, and trust that good will happen. Focus on problem content tends to reinforce it and gets me spinning my wheels going no where. Dong the right action, as the eight fold path suggests, and not occupying myself with trying to control outcome, works best. I am happiest and the most good happens when I live that way. When I am solidly grounded in healthy process and mechanics, the content issue falls into place and sort of takes care of i... [View Full Comment]

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On Sep 15, 2017 Rajesh wrote :

I find this passage very nuanced but very revealing at the same time. Ramdass seems to suggest that we need to study the both the content of thought and its mechanics, but we need to be skillful about which to do when. I am still wrestling with this in my own meditation practice and I do find that "extricating awareness from though", as Ramdass puts it, is key to understanding. For the most part, focusing on content keeps you in an endless web of thoughts, without resolution. For example, if one finds that a set of thoughts are creating fear response in oneself, it is because there is awareness that these thoughts are creating fear. For me, this is the mechanics of thought. If one goes about solving the "problem", that is focusing on the content.

It's also interesting that Ramdass suggests that focusing on the breath helps in extricating awareness from thought, but is still a thought.

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On Sep 15, 2017 Kristin Pedemonti wrote :

Realizing thoughts are just thoughts and they do not need to define me or even be "reality" is freeing. Thoughts change even within a day as our feelings change and evolve: whether those feelings are about ourselves or others. Reflecting on this for myself: I noticed today that my thoughts are jumbled and tangled today, partly due perhaps to a slight cold and feeling a little under the weather. I noticed that I was judging myself about things more harshly today. In recognizing these are just thoughts and not trying to "fix them" or deeply analyze, but knowing "this too shall pass" I am able to sit in breath and rather focus on that breath, in and out and relax. I've also been introduced recently to EFT, tapping and wow, it also helps with realizing thoughts are simply thoughts and they are not permanent. I hope these thoughts are clear ;) <3