The Quiet Underneath
Sept 8th, 2020
“Move outside the tangle of fear thinking. Live in silence. “ Rumi
A dialogue flows like a river. It can be smooth and mellow, while at other times, it can be turbulent and murky. When you run a river you need to not only navigate but also let go to the flow. At some point, you know that there will be challenges. And it is in these challenges such being confronted by the white rush of rapids that you discover the most about your capabilities and potential than at any other time. The same thing happens in a dialogue. The hardest times, when the hard feelings, judgments, boredom, differing view points peculate upwards and we are able to stick with it, we have the opportunity to learn beyond measure about oneself.
This is no different than our dialogue on Monday. I am still pondering the reverberation. Our dialogue led us on a journey into thought…..
What is the quiet underneath thoughts?
Do we always need to be thinking?
The story of our self is built by thought. Thoughts can expand the idea of self through constant learning and growth, or cause a diminished self identity and an enclosure of divisive beliefs.
Yet, is the story we build for ourselves really who we are? Our thoughts constructed by knowledge and thereby limited?
Between each thought, is there a space, and if so, what is that space?
What is underneath thought? Rather, is there something that is beyond thought, beyond self? If self is an illusion, what is there when the self is not?
What can we learn from pausing? Silence? Stillness? True listening?
Thoughts have created magnificent things. Thought, when stuck in fear, can do horrendous things. Thought buoyed by love can create beautiful soulful things.
After reflecting on this dialogue and these questions, I began really thinking and meditating on thought. What I came to see is this….
Is thought the problem?
The problems we see in the world are created from our dysfunctional cultural conditioning and the taught ignorance of who we really are. When we are taught to see and believe in artificial divisions, hierarchical systems, separate selves, and in unlimited growth, then we create psychological fear, conflict and suffering. This is the entangled fear Rumi is describing.
If we are taught to use thought to divide then we will learn to do so.
Yet, to understand directly that we are actually not divided, we need to pause and discover the quiet underneath our conditioned thought. Pausing is simply listening, noticing, while not running away from what is happening to oneself in the very moment of presence. Don’t push your thoughts away, nor identify with them; simply let them be. If you have strong feelings, be with them and see what happens if you don’t label the feelings. Don’t do anything and watch your mind quiet. And here, you will be confronted by the very nature of oneself, and the realization that in actuality, nothing is separate and all is whole.
Out of this place, when living from this ground of being, then thought would be very different. Instead of dividing, it would commune and navigate the world in a healthy sustainable way, flowing out of the presence of wholeness.
Just a stream of consciousness, a pondering on thought and of the quiet underneath…..
Please leave a brief or long comment on what you think about this….
