Thinking about thinking

Please take a few moments now to let your mind relax a little.

Just as we can be aware of the feelings and movements in our body we can also step back from our thoughts and simply watch them. We are not normally aware of our thoughts - one thought arises which then leads to another and then another, until we become lost in our own world. But right here, right now, step back in your mind and simply be aware of your thoughts as they come and go.

Just watch them for a few moments, nothing more. Simply sit still and wait for a thought to arise and then just be aware of that thought without following it or attaching any meaning to it. Feels good doesn't it? And just watch that thought come and go too.

Now, as we are doing this, simply be aware of who is doing the watching, the feeling of your own Presence. Who we think we are, our self concept, is in the realm of thought - those things that we are stepping back from right now and are able to watch. But who we really Are is who it is that's doing the watching.

You can see now that they are two distinctly separate entities. Who you really Are is the observer. As you are aware of your Self watching your thoughts, recognize now that who you really Are cannot be known or deducted from thought. Who you really Are can only be known through this awareness, through direct experience. This is a simple yet profound understanding that is easy to forget but will stand us in good stead later on. So what was the point of this little exercise?

It may have seemed silly but it has an important purpose, - to help us see that who we think we are cannot be true. Who we think we are is bound up in thought - those things our real Self has just been watching. As we start to step back from our everyday thinking mind and allow ourselves to relax deeper into the experience of who we really Are we come to recognize that this true Self is far more intelligent, alive, creative, loving, resourceful and unlimited than anything our thoughts could even conceive of.

As we have just experienced, there is no effort or journey required to access the awareness of our true Self - just a letting go of our attachment to our thoughts and the changing world they picture so we can can step back in our mind and relax - letting our attention rest in the experience of what always Is. This is so simple and easy it is almost universally overlooked.

The little book of Flow by Nick Smith