I have many compulsions, but up to now, I have not seen thinking as one of them. I need to reconsider.
Eckhart Tolle’s soft voice whispers strange messages from my iPod to my mind. I listen to his book The Power of Now. I learn that I am a compulsive thinker. My thinking defines my identity, and not before I stop thinking will I be truly free. I think, therefore I am, said Descartes. Wrong, says Eckhart. It is quite the opposite, actually. You are when you do not think. Being conscious, present and in the now is impossible when you think.
Moreover, you are not your mind; your thoughts are not your identity. Thinking is just a stage in the evolution of consciousness. The mind is a tool; you can pick it up and use it when needed. When it has done its job, put it down again.
The compulsive non-stop thinking most of us suffer from is damaging. Thought alone becomes destructive when it disconnects from the realm of consciousness.
This realm of consciousness is a bit harder to grasp and explain. I get that it is a kind of presence, closeness and connectedness to an intelligence beyond us. Some call it the universe. Others call it God. Eckhart prefers the Being.
The mind is a survival tool, developed to help you avoid perishing by thy neighbour’s axe or eaten by a lion. All true artists create from a place of no mind, from inner stillness. The mind comes later, and gives form to it. Great scientists receive their most profound insights in a state of inner stillness. Creation and creativity is not a product of thoughts, and people who consider themselves not creative, often will find that it is not because they do not know how to think, it is because they do not know how to stop thinking.
Eckhart’s message makes me curious. There is a paradox, an ambiguity in them. Listening to him, I observe my mind, just as he tells me to. What I see? I see myself thinking. I truly cannot grasp his message about not thinking, without thinking. If I do as he says, stop thinking, the message does not come through.
What do you think about that?
Posted by paal 