Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot  It's not a normal life. If you were fully in the present, you would be an enlightened person. That is how Osho, amongst others, explains it. And of course, the vast majority of human beings on this planet have not experienced enlightenment, and therefore you could say that enlightenment is "abnormal".
The closest I've come into it is doing a very deep meditation, and having the effects last two or three days (as you say, the effect is temporary). This has happened to me maybe on five, six times in my life.
What you may not be seeing, Cantando, is that it is absolutely possible to live an outwardly "normal" life in that state, and in fact live it better than before. Let me describe how it was for me, Cantando - this is my personal experience.
You DON'T become a zombie, when you're in that state, Cantando. Instead you become calm, peaceful, happy ..... and extremely, extremely intelligent, brilliant, productive & efficient.
An example - I go to work, in that state. I sit down at my desk. There is a highly technical, difficult piece of work that needs to be done.
In my "normal" state, I might procrastinate .... worry .... feel anxious ... do some of the work ... get stuck .... get distracted .... wonder if I should ask for help... and risk looking stupid ..... struggle to find the next step .... get random thoughts about whether I'd locked the front door at home, before leaving .... go for a coffee break .... work some more .... make mistakes ... think angry thoughts about why my boss assigned this piece of work to me ... work some more .... struggle to find the solution.
In the "no-thought" state, it is very different. There is no fear, no anxiety, no worry. Instead there is a formidable degree of control over my thoughts. I would decide, "Now I shall focus on getting this piece of work done." The concentration that follows is very impressive.
even enjoyed it.[/b][/i] There was great happiness in the work.
...
This is what I think you don't understand, Cantando. You have to experience it, to really know what it is. If you knew what it is, you would not say, "It would be impossible to live a normal life if one was continuously in that state." |
I have experienced the 'no thought' state many times in meditation and occasionally at random times during the day without warning.
It is a wonderful experience, though to be honest, I remember very little of it upon returning to mundane reality.
However, you can't go about your everyday life continuously in this state.
Every time you turn a corner, you are hit with something new, which generates new thoughts. If they are arising from your subconscious, you can observe them, but you cannot stop them.
If something knocks you on the head, can you avoid thinking about it? Can you say, 'I'm not going to permit any thought about this'. That in itself is a thought.
You can't control all your thoughts all the time.
You seem to have shifted from your original position of:
"Control your mind completely;
Think nothing except what you consciously choose to think about;
Do not ever permit any irrelevant, random or stray thoughts to arise"
to
"Instead there is a formidable degree of control over my thoughts."