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Originally Posted by AbodhiSky
thought is like somebody else's cat that wonders into my yard. it's all about what i make out of it. i can ignore it and go about my day. later i may look in the yard and the cat is gone. it left on it's own. or i could bring that cat indoors. freak out that the cat may be lost. spend all day putting up flyers around the neighborhood about the cat i found looking for the owner.
thought does not give birth to illusion, a particular relationship we have with it does. thought is just a natural product of the brain. what gives birth to illusion is a lack of awareness and understanding. turning that thought into "thinking" which usually means me (consciousness) becoming enmeshed and identified with thought of a certain type. as mine or me
i think the relationship between me and thought can go two ways. i can be centered in "i am" or in myself and here thought works for me. i can use it as needed and put it away when not needed or in use. it is a tool for me consciousness. me as awareness and understanding can use thought to conceptualize or put into words realizations or understanding. anything i come up with will not be "it" as "it" is an actual understanding or experience and not an idea about it but i can communicate it or point to it for better or worse. whether what i say connects to someone else as a realization or experience of a truth i have no control over. so in this relationship i have an awareness of thought and a type of control over it's use and function
the other way the relationship can go is thought owns me. it dictates my feelings and reactions and colors my experiences. it tells me what "this" is. this moment in time. it tells me what is present here and what i am or feel or believe or think now. it's instant, the thought appears and without a space, i accept it and it's statements as truth and reality
so thought is like nothing at all. it only leaves a mark if we allow it to. but then if we don't have the awareness to not identify or to separate from it as self, thought can lead to a world war where millions die so it is no small thing. it can makes one's life hell. i assume there is a reason why this relationship leads to hell, so we seek a different one. and to achieve such a new relationship between me and thought requires more self awareness or more awareness in general. so there is the reason for all of this. why put spiritual consciousness into a human body and it's mind? to develop more awareness in consciousness (me or the soul) itself
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Regarding thoughts, Ramana Maharshi has said: “The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge spiritual progress."
"I AM" could be considered a "single thought".
https://quotefancy.com/quote/1308183...-the-degree-of