It takes years of self-study to be able to catch, see and then dismiss negative thoughts. What could be more critical than dismissing any negativities? Most people ignore self-examination because they believe there is nothing to learn, so they spend their lives fearing anything that comes close to this wrong belief. There is something to learn. There are endless things to know. Tapping into parts of yourself that yearn to see more makes everyday fun and interesting. Fame won’t bring you to completeness. Becoming rich will not help you find the self-ease you secretly seek. Realizing that you could be doing better than how you presently approach life and then beginning to develop the inner tools to do so inspires you to see your preceding realization. Those self-defeating thoughts do not have a chance to root and wreck your day, and here’s why… Realization is higher than thought. Don’t be afraid to see any negative thought that passes thru your mind. Don’t believe they are you; they are not. It takes years to dismiss them; because we are falsely sure they are us. They are not. Watching and staying awake and alert to these thoughts renders them harmless. We catch them before they sink into our minds. Ponder all this, and you are on your way to dismissing negative, painful thoughts.
What a great subject to make clear in oneself; “Realization is higher than thought.” How many times in my past life have I gone back and forth with two opposing thoughts and tormented myself? Then much later, I saw what was happening inside of me and realized that behavior was self-defeating. The realizing was higher than those thoughts. Walking the spiritual path is all about learning. Thank you, Truth.
‘There are endless things to know’. I thought I was not afraid of much but today I realised I was scared multiple times before I even got out of bed! Thankyou Truth for allowing me to be able to accept this one small blow to my ego. The wrong part of me wants to hide from what comes next, the right part of me wants more of this right humbling of my self-images. Please give me more! Then I can be truly safe.
Vernon once said to get out of bed as soon as we wake up in the morning, not to linger. I must admit that I haven’t always followed that instruction, but over time I’ve had insights into the reason. I recently read that when we first awaken our body dumps a cascade of chemicals into our system to cause the brain to come awake. This process takes a few minutes. Since conscious awakeness is our primary spiritual responsibility, we need that asap. I formed a habit over the years of not allowing myself to think first thing in the morning, but if I’m half dozing that can be much less effective. I realize that you were speaking more broadly about confronting unconscious fear, but I thought these points about arising might prove valuable to others as they have for me.
Just think, the ego has no interest in discovering anything new. It is falsely content with its present knowing and level. Therefore nothing new can be received, and it’s stuck with the limited knowledge it has acquired. It’s a closed system. I can’t think of anything more terrible than for a human to live inwardly. Freedom of spirit resides in a totally different location inside. Assuming you know something keeps you imprisoned with anybody with an opposing view. When you really know, it’s void of all arguing. If you are still captured by arguing, you are arguing for your ego. No, thank you!
I recall Vernon pointing out that “Every opinion has an opposite.” What a great ego-busting tool!