Lost In Thought

"Most people spend their entire life imprisoned

within the confines of their own thoughts.

They never go beyond a narrow,

mind-made,

personalized sense of self

that is conditioned by the past.

In you,

in each human being,

there is a dimension of consciousness far deeper than thought.

It is the very essence of who you are.

We may call it presence,

awareness,

the unconditioned consciousness.

In ancient teachings,

it is the Christ within,

or your Buddha nature.

Finding that dimension frees you

and the world from the suffering you inflict on yourself

and others when the mind-made "little me"

is all you know

and runs your life.

Love,

joy,

creative expansion,

and lasting inner peace 

cannot come into your life 

except through that unconditioned dimension of consciousness.

If you can recognize,

even occasionally,

the thoughts that go through your mind as simply thoughts,

if you can witness your own mental-emotional reactive patterns

as they happen,

then that dimension is already emerging in you

as the awareness in which thoughts 

and emotions happen -

the timeless inner space in which the

content of your life unfolds.

The stream of thinking has enormous momentum that can

easily drag you along with it.

Every thought pretends that it matters so much.

It wants to draw your attention in completely.

Here's a new spiritual practice for you:

Don't take your thoughts too seriously."

~Eckhart Tolle