What is a thought?

[Alexander]

Thought is neurological process.

[Jane]

16 minutes ago, Alexander said:

Thought is neurological process.

There’s actually no such thing as thoughts, they simply don’t exist.

[Robed Mystic]

22 minutes ago, Jane said:

Maybe, but then every thread in the Nondual sections of this site, are going to be paradoxical, so this might as well stay put, and save the pointless effort of migrating. 
 

 

Wise words.  Yes - most discussions surrounding metaphysics will ultimately result in paradox.

 

[Robed Mystic]

8 minutes ago, Jane said:

There’s actually no such thing as thoughts, they simply don’t exist.

Well..they exist but what do they exist as..nothing..the interesting thing about nothingness is that it can still exist.   

Edited May 4 by Robed Mystic

[Agape]

There are two modes of thought - discrete and continuous. Continuous thought taps into the whole system of the body. It is Source. Discrete thought seems, to me, to be a reflection of continuous thought. I believe that continuous thought is pretty much impossible to perceive in a discrete and identifiable way and that it conjures up discrete thought. Basically, there is no you and no me and it's all a game played by thought. And we suffer so much because we believe that we did 'it'. But you never had any control. There is no 'you'. There is no 'me'. It's a mirage. The experience of a mirage is real. But the mirage is not what it seems to represent. But it will never matter how many times you look at the mirage. If you're walking through deserts, you will see mirages. You'll just get good at seeing what is the truth of those illusions. 

[Joseph Maynor]

It can help to get at what the opposite of thought is which is silence where the mind is just gone.

[Robed Mystic]

30 minutes ago, Joseph Maynor said:

It can help to get at what the opposite of thought is which is silence where the mind is just gone.

Have you meditated lately?  You can't stop thoughts from happening  

[Agape]

There are two modes of thought - discrete and continuous. Continuous thought is what Socrates referred to as the "Daemon" and he lived by it. Discrete thought is perceived as being subject to conscious control. But the truth is there is absolutely no one controlling either modes of thought. Everything, regardless of how pleasant or painful, just is happening. It's an illusion that there is someone controlling anything. It is continuous thought that keeps spewing out about this apparent self. But there is no self. There is no you reading this. There is a subject, awareness, consciousness, being,.but there is no person deciding anything. It's frightening to see this. You are. But you don't exist. And yet, you are is only what could carry on beyond this place. This is what I think anyways.  

[Jane]

7 hours ago, Robed Mystic said:

Well..they exist but what do they exist as..nothing..the interesting thing about nothingness is that it can still exist.   

What’s even more interesting is that “nothingness”  can never not exist. 🤯

 

Lol 

[Jane]

4 hours ago, Agape said:

Everything, regardless of how pleasant or painful, just is happening. It's an illusion that there is someone controlling anything. It is continuous thought that keeps spewing out ……

 

It's frightening to see this. 

The illusion can never be free of itself either. How can an illusion free an illusion, become liberated?

 

It can’t. 

[Alexander]

12 hours ago, Jane said:

There’s actually no such thing as thoughts, they simply don’t exist.

Lol , delusion.

[Phil]

Like a mirage. Actually, pretty much the same as a mirage. 

[Jane]

On 5/5/2024 at 12:39 PM, Phil said:

Like a mirage. Actually, pretty much the same as a mirage. 

Yes 👍 

 

Standing very still and quiet on the platform (metaphor for the screen of conscious awareness  ) just allowing the trains ( metaphor for thoughts) to just come and go as they please.
We can see how it takes no effort to not get on board the train of thoughts that deplete energy.
 

It’s seen that given no attention; thoughts simply leave, because no energy has been given to them, so they have no power or real existence that can override who we truly are.
 

Who we truly are is that which is aware of thought, and that remains always, completely unaffected and unchanged by all the locomotion passing through like dreams as though nothing ever happened. 
 

Creation is “frozen thought”in time and space appearing as things, which have no consciousness.

So in reality, we are just watching ourselves as though we are in a movie or dream. That’s the only place the “me/ I thought” can exist, as a mirage, appearing real.

 

[Phil]

🙂

Like air believing there’s this other thing, “wind”. 

[Joseph Maynor]

20 minutes ago, Phil said:

🙂

Like air believing there’s this other thing, “wind”. 

The same analysis given to thoughts can also be given to emotions.  The ocean of emotions is Bliss and the ocean of thoughts is the Witness.  All else are just drops or waves in that Ocean.

I'll use @Agape's distinction between discrete vs./and continuous thought here which I found interesting.  Bliss = continuous emotion and Witness = continuous thought.  Awareness = continuous rather than discrete thought.  Bliss = continuous rather than discrete emotion.

SOURCE

 

Edited May 6 by Joseph Maynor

[Phil]

@Joseph Maynor

Very nice. 🙂

 

[Joseph Maynor]

The thought that the Self controls the self needs to be looked at.  This is a deep one.  Pull the "I thought" out of that one!

 

"[A]ction which belongs to the body and the senses, while yet retaining its own nature as action, if falsely imputed by all to the Self who is actionless and immutable; whence even a learned man thinks 'I act'." -- Shankara, Commentary on The Bhagavad Gita, Page 131 (see below)
 

SOURCE

https://estudantedavedanta.net/Bhagavad-Gita.with.the.Commentary.of.Sri.ShankaracharyaN.pdf

Edited May 6 by Joseph Maynor

[Jane]

1 hour ago, Phil said:

🙂

Like air believing there’s this other thing, “wind”. 

😂 that’s cute.

 

It’s like when free falling through the infinite vastness of empty space,  we must not forget to remember to let go of the air while falling. And also not forget there’s nowhere to land, or to cling to. And that homelessness is our only home. 🫠
 

 

[Phil]

@Jane

 

Adorable. ☺️ 

 

Like a leaf treeing. 

 

[Jane]

@Phil Too funny Phil. 👏🫶

 

Thanks for the funny. 🙏