As You Think, So Shall You Become
I am not what you think I am.
You are what you think I am.
I am what I think I am.
When we form judgments about others we seldom notice that the judgment is actually a thought arising in our own mind. This mental process never left us as it is our very own mental process but somehow we are being misled into believing that the judgment is about another person. We felt it is "about others" because our thinking process has “others” in it, yet, no matter what, this thought system still remains ours.
A good example to illustrate this reality is by considering a common thought of "he/she should not have acted as such". We often have such thoughts about our friends, spouse, children or even our parents.
This statement, if scrutinized honestly, will be noticed as a thought appearing in our mindscape. It doesn't matter whether it was a thought or had taken on a verbal expression – both are derivatives of a thinking process. This thought process has no capacity of “being another person” since each of us have our own mind to work on. Due to ignorance on our part about the thought process, the thinking we intended has others in it and thus somehow when such a fabricated process took place, we believe entirely that the thought about that other person truly describes him/her.
“Ideas never left their source” – what was described above illustrates the meaning of this phrase in the book “A Course in Miracles”. Another phrase in the same book also ties in with this reality of the thought process – “I am never upset for the reason I think”. It is actually our thought system that made us upset. Not the other person.
Thus, strangely, we are causing our own suffering, right within the realm of our own mind. That is why it is useful to be mindful about our own mind. This kind of awareness brings us directly to understanding what the mind is and what is truly happening. With awareness of our mind, as a kind of daily meditation which we can develop alongside what we are already routinely doing, our mind will become less preoccupied with blame, judgement, hatred etc since we now know all these thoughts contain a deluded view whereby we can target another, whereas we will come to understand that we cannot do so except to contaminate the quality of our mind. Would you want to “mess up” your mind if you know that all these thoughts will only stress you out more?
Wait no longer if you wish to live your life in a wiser and more peaceful manner. Join us in the upcoming session of Mindfulness A Starting Point, our very first session for this new year. You can be certain you will get to know your mind better. The course is offered freely and if you are inspired, you can support WISE and its activities.
In grace,
Tuck Loon
Newsletter 03 February 2021