(Author’s note: This was in my drafts from 10 years ago. I’m more forgiving now, and this might probably help someone, so I’m publishing it)
I shouldn’t be writing about spirituality, 25 year old yuppies like me shouldn’t be writing about this stuff. Oftentimes, when one mentions spirituality, a person whose has lived their lives, finished with mid-life crisis, and has more or less surrendered to what life really is, comes to mind. But I’m writing about it, and not in a zealous Christian kind of way. Not that I have anything against zealous Christians, but you know… And yes, that was my ego talking – my mind is making this – my eccentricity, my weirdness, my somehow untypical quest for spirituality – as an identity. Which I shouldn’t be doing, at least what the book says.
Things picked up from the book:
- #1: You are not your mind. You should disassociate yourself with your mind. You are not your thoughts, your likes and dislikes, your family, your beliefs, your dreams.
- #2: All these things are your life-conditions. These things are associated with time, with the past and the future, and time is nothing but an illusion. Past and present does not exist, what exist is only the Now, the present.
- “Unhappiness and Happiness is only separated by the illusion of Time” . Oftentimes, what makes you happy now will only cause you unhappiness later.
- #3 If you let yourself be ran by your mind, then you are said to be unconscious. Being continuously ran by the mind, being controlled by constantly thoughts, being lost in your mind, letting your ego take over, causes suffering.
- #4 Attaining consciousness is the key to enlightenment. The key of being conscious is being in the Now, bringing all attention to the now, and not be caught on the incessant thinking of the mind/ego. Do all things with your whole attention, with your whole body.
- #5 Watch your mind, watch your thoughts. Watch your emotions. Be the observer of your mind, but do not judge it. Negativity dissolves when brought to the light, when brought to your full attention. Watch it fully disappear when you observe your thoughts.
- #6 Emotions is the body’s manifestation of what your mind this thinking. If you find that your mind and your emotions are in conflict, emotion usually tells what true. If you find yourself being taken over by emotion, do not think about it, feel it. Feel the hurt, feel the pain.
- #7 Intense Suffering can bring a person to consciousness. When a person realizes, I don’t want this anymore, I don’t want to suffer anymore, then it brings a person to a higher level level, out of the unconsciousness.
- #8 You may not be happy, but you will be at peace.
It was an interesting read. It took some time to wrap around the idea that the past or future does not really exist, that what you have is now. Which is in a sense true. And I can really relate as to how suffering / intense pain can bring can transform people, because I’ve experienced it myself. The feeling that things really seem so bad, that you don’t see the point of life anymore, when you cry every night.
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