It takes some discipline but I’ve discovered the home-brewed serenity possible in simply watching one’s thoughts vs. identifying with them. This is one of those recommended steps en route to awakening but is easily overlooked. Thoughts arise and disappear in an continuous flow, like rain striking a sandy beach. We have little control over these thoughts and some would argue we have zero ownership: that is, they arise of their own accord.
The mistake(s) we make is in identifying with the thoughts, making them ours vs. recognizing the transience in each. To my way of thinking it is akin to watching automobiles stream by on a highway and periodically announcing, “That’s my car! That’s my car there also! And that’s my car too!” At any given moment a similar steady beat of thoughts cascades through our brains and, unconsciously, we grab hold of this one and that one and identify with it. “Yes, I AM fat!” “God, she’s such an idiot!” And so on. It seems the more dramatic the thought the more apt we are to make it our own.
How wonderful, then, to consciously watch the thoughts come and go, giving no more attention to one than the other. We become “in the world but not of it,” and in a sense we take control of “our” thoughts by simply letting them be. After all, if they’re going to arise then it doesn’t very well do much good to fight them; and if they aren’t really ours to begin with, what is the point of assuming ownership. Let your thoughts whisper by and refuse to add to the chorus. They come, they go, more come, and so on. Peace.
