Thoughts about Thoughts are not Awareness

[The Cloud]

I used to think that if I thought about what I was thinking about, then I must be aware of my thoughts. But then it occurred to me that if I'm thinking about thoughts, the thoughts about my thoughts are just more thoughts. Thoughts are not awareness, they are usually only compulsive reactions. I thought I'd share this minor realization of mine because it fooled me so long thinking that thinking about thinking was awareness of thought. I'd often think "I'm thinking about X," thinking that would make me more aware, when really I was just compounding the thoughts by adding a Y. Compounding thoughts are not signs of awareness.

[ethereal]

I think the scary thing is that what we think of as awareness is not really awareness either. It is the ego's reflected awareness as mind, that is, it has turned into an object of consciousness within the mind. You may think that it is "formless, objectless, kind of like nothing and everything, kind of nowhere and everywhere" but that experience of awareness is still just an experience, still an object in the mind. The evidence is when you think you can become "more aware" or "more focused" with awareness -- no, awareness is already there prior to that, you can't manipulate it, what you can manipulate is not really awareness but the mind.

I think true awareness comes way beyond the mind's dualities and experiences, though I don't have much experience to say any more than that.

[spacedout]

I agree with athereal that awareness is an experience and is an object in the mind. There is only one awareness and not different degrees of awareness. Awareness is always present and takes removing all of the obstructions that cover it up, such as thoughts and emotions. The mind can still be present without thoughts and emotions and that is when awareness shines through. In my experience awareness is illuminated when I feel presence - the life force within the body. Along with the feeling of presence there is an enhanced ability of noticing anything that comes within the range of senses. The noticing takes very little effort. It is an opening up and simply letting things come to me - a field of experiences opens as though life if fully and completely being witnessed. The witnessing occurs without any partiality or judgment. It is a marvelous way to live.

[young]

It is all a matter of identification. We are so identified with the mind & the body that we 'do' awareness with the mind. Awareness is always present (like spacedout says). YOU are that awareness always. I'm not talking about mindful awareness (even that is being observed by awareness). But like I said, we are so indulged in the mind & body, we act as if whatever they 'do' is of our doing. We don't do anything. The mind & body do everything, but we DON'T. We are only awareness, the witness of what the mind & body do. Pain & suffering comes from pretending we are the 'doers'. What we think, the action that results is not of our doing.

I have found peace & happiness when staying as awareness. Whatever my mind & body do is not of my concern. It is all a play of conciousness. The wars, the suffering we indulge is all a play. We don't have to identify with the objects in play and can watch with enjoyment (since joy is our true nature).

Since we are identified as the mind, be attentive towards yourself. Use the mind and observe the observer that is always present. With repeated attempts, the mind will merge with the always present awareness.

[Anagogy]

Originally Posted by The Cloud

I used to think that if I thought about what I was thinking about, then I must be aware of my thoughts. But then it occurred to me that if I'm thinking about thoughts, the thoughts about my thoughts are just more thoughts. Thoughts are not awareness, they are usually only compulsive reactions. I thought I'd share this minor realization of mine because it fooled me so long thinking that thinking about thinking was awareness of thought. I'd often think "I'm thinking about X," thinking that would make me more aware, when really I was just compounding the thoughts by adding a Y. Compounding thoughts are not signs of awareness.

Honestly, I don't see much difference between "thoughts" and "awareness". To me, they are just words. And what follows is yet more words, but words that I feel more accurately reflect the nature of human awareness. A thought, to me, is simply a form of awareness. I see us as having the awareness of individuality (which I call the ego), and that awareness is mercurial in the fact that it can fix its awareness on different "things" -- that is to say, it is always fluctuating. These "things" or "shapes" are (yep, you guessed it) thoughts.

So my definition of thought is just that: the shape of awareness at any given time. According to this definition, you can't escape thought, and furthermore, why would you want to? You can't stop thinking. But you *CAN* think that you've stopped thinking, which a pretty funny thought, is it not?

If we look at the defintions of "think" on the web we get:

• judge or regard; look upon; judge; "I think he is very smart"; "I believe her to be very smart"; "I think that he is her boyfriend"; "The racist conceives such people to be inferior"
• expect, believe, or suppose; "I imagine she earned a lot of money with her new novel"; "I thought to find her in a bad state"; "he didn't think to find her in the kitchen"; "I guess she is angry at me for standing her up"
• use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments; "I've been thinking all day and getting nowhere"
• remember: recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection; "I can't remember saying any such thing"; "I can't think what her last name was"; "can you remember her phone number?"; "Do you remember that he once loved you?"; "call up memories"
• imagine or visualize; "Just think--you could be rich one day!"; "Think what a scene it must have been!"
• focus one's attention on a certain state; "Think big"; "think thin"
• intend: have in mind as a purpose; "I mean no harm"; "I only meant to help you"; "She didn't think to harm me"; "We thought to return early that night"
• decide by pondering, reasoning, or reflecting; "Can you think what to do next?"
• ponder; reflect on, or reason about; "Think the matter through"; "Think how hard life in Russia must be these days"
• dispose the mind in a certain way; "Do you really think so?"
• have or formulate in the mind; "think good thoughts"
• be capable of conscious thought; "Man is the only creature that thinks"
• bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation; "She thought herself into a state of panic over the final exam"
• an instance of deliberate thinking; "I need to give it a good think"
  --wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

So you can see from this list, that the line between awareness and thought is a very small one, if there is one at all.

I find it so interesting how language creates certain contexts and psychological realities. From my perspective, people who are trying to "escape thought" are not really trying to escape thought, but rather, trying to gain control over their thought. They are trying to tame or focus their consciousness. And the more they try to dominate their thought patterns, the more resistance they run into. The reason is because the idea of "control" has the concept of "resistance" built in. After all, why would you need to control anything, unless it was already not doing what you wanted?

So from my perspective, the first step to actual control, begins by abandoning it. Accept your thoughts, watch the shape your awareness takes moment to moment. Don't try to control it, just watch. Observe. Maybe this is what Tolle calls "being in the now".

Its interesting how easy things are to change when you accept them the way they are. When "you" no longer have a vested interest in what your thoughts "should" be, they cease to have power over you. And they cease to fluctuate without your consent. This is when thought/awareness becomes balanced.