It’s worth noticing that the majority of our thoughts are automatic and repetitive – it almost seems as if thinking happens to us; rather than us actually thinking. This is what’s loosely termed as “compulsive thinking” and if we observe ourselves (and others) closely enough, we would immediately notice that we are seduced by this mental static – we march around, meeting people, getting things done and acquiring things as if our peace of mind and happiness depended on it. But has acquiring things, earning recognition and scaling the power hierarchies ever rewarded anyone with lasting happiness? Our history books, story books and religious scriptures are brimming with metaphoric and literal arguments against the idea of attaching peace of mind and happiness with the material world – yet we still somehow cannot stop ourselves from being constantly seduced by our automatic and repititive thoughts that which demand that we run faster and faster on the treadmill of life.

Our mistake seems to stem from the fact that we identify ourselves with our minds and the noise that our minds create – we confuse the “possessor” with the “possessed”. This is the birth of what is called “ego” – a false self which is a very pale substitute of the real self. The weight or thickness of the ego (false self) is directly proportional to the degree to which we identify with it. Hence, the amount of suffering we go through is directly proportionate to the weight and thickness of our ego. Its worth noting that our consciousness is far wider, deeper and vaster than our day-to-day mental static; but by being scammed into believing that we “are” the static; we open the floodgates to all sorts of psychological and spiritual dysfunctions.

The thickness and density of the ego differs from person to person and from time to time. Where some people are always trapped in the control dramas of their egos; others enjoy brief periods of freedom – this is when they are being creative or engaging in self-less acts of sharing and giving. Those who are permanent prisoners of their own out-of-control minds are, in essence, cut-off from their very own true self and; as a result, these people will usually come off as fake. As a way forward, these people should start off with making a genuine attempt to be more aware of their chattering minds and its seductive trance on them – this self awareness will pay rich dividends in bouts of mental peace as it will begin to awaken the still, calm, silent, deep and compassionate consciousness that’s all encompassing enough to drown out the noise of the ego. This all encompassing consciousness is the real Self.

This is how Eckhart Tolle describes this phenomenon, “You are cut off from Being(the all encompassing real Self) as long  as your mind takes up all your attention. When this happens – and it happens continuously for most people… The mind absorbs all your consciousness and transforms it into mind stuff. You cannot stop thinking. Compulsive thinking has become a collective disease. Your whole sense of who you are is then derived from mind activity. Your identity, as it is no longer rooted in Being, becomes a vulnerable and ever-needy mental construct, which creates fear as the predominant underlying emotion”. 1

Understanding the mechanism of emotions

Now that we have some insight into how the our mental chatter gets entangled with a false sense of “self” to give rise to the ego; its also important to understand that emotions are triggered when the body reacts to this mental chatter.

The body operates and is regulated by its own organizing intelligence. This is the same organizing intelligence that perfectly and independently regulates the blood flow, the digestive system and the respiratory system. This is also the same organizing intelligence that immediately switches the body to “fight or flight” mode by infusing it with unbounded energy in the face of immediate danger – as a result one would feel fear, anger and a possible plethora of other primordial responses. These are prime examples of the body reacting to immediate threats in the “external environment” by temporarily taking over complete control. This is what can loosely be called the body’s instinctive response.

But, on the other hand, an “emotion” is the body’s reaction to a “thought” (and not to an immediate external threat). The body cannot distinguish between a thought (mental static) and a real, physical threat. So, you could be sitting in the comfort of your drawing room and thinking fear-based thoughts; but your palms will begin to get sweaty, your heart will beat faster and your muscles will tense-up as if the threat is real and in the physical environment. The bad news is that since the perceived threat is only because of mental chatter, the built-up of energy in the body has no means of release and therefore gets pent up in the body and turns toxic – this then causes an imbalance in the smooth and natural functioning of the body. Result: disease, sickness and chronic ailments galore.

Just as the ego strengthen itself by investing the mental chatter with a sense of Self (the “I am the noise in my head” syndrome); it also strengthens itself by identifying with unexamined emotions. At times the mind will think a though, the body will react in the form of an emotion and the emotion will trigger a response so fast that the conscious mind will not even be able to process what’s going on. This “thought-emotion-reaction” cycle tends to be so quick, unconscious and automatic because of a person’s repeated and dense past conditioning. Haven’t we all met people who would adamantly always act and behave as if everyone is untrustworthy or as if they don’t deserve love, prosperity and happiness?

Regaining control; shattering the vicious cycle

The only way to break this downward spiral of negativity is to become aware of the negative thoughts, emotions and corresponding reactions as much as possible. When an emotion is triggered, try to trace that emotion to it’s reactions in your body – these bodily reactions/sensations/impulses could be anything from harsh to subtle. The trick is to use the light of self awareness to completely feel these emotions in your body with an attitude of total acceptance – having an accepting and open attitude is the key to dissolving any chronic negative emotions. If you find it difficult to feel these emotions in your body then try to practice conscious breathing – feel the air entering and escaping your body for a few minutes before slowly and steadily turning your attention towards the body and its subtleties. Keep an open and yielding mind and quietly accept all emotions of guilt, anger, fear, unease, anxiety and grief etc as and when they arise – no resistance. Carry this process of “feeling-and-accepting” into your day-to-day life and a time will come when the all encompassing true self will begin to emerge and dwarf the egoic mind – this true self is deep, silent, compassionate and indestructible. In the words of Eckhart Tolle, “Surrender, one could say, is the inner transition from resistance to acceptance, from “no” to “yes.” When you surrender, your sense of self shifts from being identified with a reaction or mental judgment to being the space around the reaction or judgment. It is a shift from identification with form–the thought or the emotion–to being and recognizing yourself as that which has no form–spacious awareness. Whatever you accept completely will take you to peace” ²

References

(1)     Author: Eckhart Tolle ^. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, New World Library, October, 1999 ISBN 1-57731-152-3 (HC) ISBN 1-57731-480-8 (PB) .Chapter 6

Author: Eckhart Tolle ^. Stillness Speaks: Whispers of Now, New World Library, August 2003 ISBN 1-57731-400-X ^. Chapter 6

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The full story

The ego fabricates stories in order to keep us a step away from being happy and at peace. The non-verbal scheme of the ego includes convincing us that we will attain happiness and peace in the future when we get “this” or achieve “that”. It also tries to sell us the idea that we can not be at peace because of something that has transpired and therefore cannot be changed.

True happiness and deep peace has everything to do with embracing reality – the moment of Now. This is what Buddha called the “suchness of life” and opposition to this “suchness” or “IS-ness” is the the primary function of the ego. A plethora of various forms of psychological suffering begin to crop up when the ego succeeds in displacing the mind from its throne – the present moment –  doing this is what fuels the ego which then creates more suffering and negativity. It’s a deadly downward spiral and almost all of us are trapped in it. The ego operates from behind the curtains and its primary strategy is always to keep its host oblivious to the tricks its pulling on us. Think for a second and ask yourself; how many times have you observed people doing exactly what they condemn others for doing? How many times have you tried to point that out but have only been met with denial, clever justifications, anger and tricky arguments? On a grander scale; have you noticed that this phenomenon is not only limited to individuals –it applies to groups, political parties, religions, governments and corporations alike?

To put an end to this vicious cycle of perpetuated unhappiness, you have to take total responsibility of what is going on within NOW – forget about everything else and simply ask yourself, “what am I feeling NOW” then be totally attentive and become aware of the negativity/unhappiness within you – also notice the voices that justify this unhappiness. Awareness equals psychological freedom and unawareness equals rigid identification with thoughts and emotions. Not being aware of the mechanics of your inner state is like falling asleep while driving at high speeds – becoming aware gives you the power to retake responsibility and to choose happiness and peace over the vicious control dramas of the ego. Freedom from the ego is not something that will happen in the “future”, its “now”.  To quote Eckhart Tolle, “You cannot find yourself in the past or future. The only place where you can find yourself in the NOW. Spiritual seekers look for self realization or enlightenment in the future. To be a seeker implies that you need the future. If this is what you believe, it becomes true for you. You will need time until you realize that you don’t need time to be who you are.” ¹

The core of the ego and it’s cunning devices

Fear and greed-based thoughts disguised as “self” is at the very core of what ego is – this is the mind made “me” which is always looking for ways (real or imagined) by which it can be “more” – this also explains the ego’s insane addiction to the future. This also explains why the ego is hell-bent on looking at the present moment simply as a means to an end – and when the end is achieved the ego comes up with another end… The ego habitually uses the tools of separation and conflict to enhance its image and to strengthen its identity (this is the “us” vs. “them” syndrome). Statements such as “believers vs non-believers” are now almost cliches – haven’t we all seen nations, religions, corporations and tribes draw their sense of identity by opposing another group of people? Food for thought: who would the believers be without the non-believers?

The value in being self-aware and in the “Now”

Being compassionately aware of this trickery will trigger the dawn of a deeper, indestructible, un-attached and peaceful presence which can loosely be called the higher Self. This awareness is free from the trappings of the external world. Its far more intelligent. Its joy is unconditional. Its peace is deep and ever-lasting.

Operate from this level of self awareness while going about your day to day activities and drop the idea of using the present moment as a means to an end. Make the “doing” more important than the expected results of the “doing”. The future never arrives – our lives are always NOW. Living in this way means that you have accepted the suchness of life and have understood the futility in arguing with whatever arises in the present moment.

“I am not my thoughts, emotions, sense perceptions, and experiences. I am not the content of my life. I am Life. I am the space in which all things happen. I am consciousness. I am the Now. I Am.” ² – Eckhart Tolle.

Arriving at the truth by peeling away all falsities

It is definitely worth pointing out that a real spiritual teacher will not be interested in selling you his beliefs, rules, intellectual theories and ideas. Because the real essence of happiness (and even spirituality) has nothing to do with thoughts, words and huge fortresses of beliefs and opinions; but it has everything to do with the formless, ever-present, impartial, and still truth withing you. Therefore the job of the spiritual person is not to add onto your existing thoughts, beliefs and opinions; but rather, to remove all falsities that separate you from that truth within – actually coming to this inner truth (as opposed to only intellectualizing about it) is what brings deep inner peace and true joy and happiness.

However, words have their role to play as well. Words are capable of pointing one towards the divine stillness and truth within – like signposts point us towards our geographic destinations. But beware of the fatal mistake of confusing the signposts for the destination. Unlike ordinary thoughts and words which say “look at me”; truth-bearing thoughts and words will always imply, “look beyond me”.

The destination is, always has been and always will be, within us.

In the words of Eckhart Tolle, “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, as 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 the 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.” ³

Eckhart Tolle is basically a “spiritual advisor” who currently has little influence on Western psychology. Yet his Eastern-inspired philosophy of life is an important supplement to the mental health profession, and many of his books are important tools in terms of self-development and mental balance. Today psychology begins to get inspiration from several of the great wisdom traditions, and Tolles philosophy is perhaps crucial for the modern human who suffer from stress, worries, spinning thoughts, mental noise, high standards of efficiency and little knowledge about the real joy of life.

Bibliography and references

^{1              —– Author: Echhart Tolle . Stillness speaks, New World Library, August 2003 ISBN 1-57731-400-X . Chapter 5}

^{2              —– Author: Echhart Tolle . Stillness speaks, New World Library, August 2003 ISBN 1-57731-400-X . Chapter 4}

^{3              —– Author: Echhart Tolle . Stillness speaks, New World Library, August 2003 ISBN 1-57731-400-X . Chapter 2}

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WebPhilosopher.net

The WebPhilosopher.net asserts copyright over this article and all articles containing this copyright declaration. This work is not in the public domain. This work is under Copyright protection © 2010 – WebPhilosopher.net and its owner Sondre Risholm Liverød. All rights reserved. Publication elsewhere, copying or other distribution of the text is not allowed without approval from WebPhilosopher.net. Please contact us if you have any questions or want to discuss an agreement in relation to this material. Please assert our full copyright declaration for more information about terms of usage.