a story
Hello,
Let me tell you a story.
This story might take a few moments for me to tell. Hmmm yes, I might be a little slow in the telling of this story; you see, I am listening to music right now while typing ....
Have you ever had a story that you wanted to share, a story that started in several places at once?
This story begins at several places, and all at once. I am not sure what to do about this.
Eh, what the hell, I might as well just start here:
Yesterday, I purposely had a look at Mooji's website on the Internet. I had not been there before, but three of my disciples had, and each of them had asked me what I thought of Mooji. Now, I will freely admit that although my disciples asked me this question many months ago, I only got around to looking at his website yesterday. I am going to inform both you and my disciples of what I noticed; please don't try and stop me.
First of all, I noticed that Mooji has really beautiful teeth.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I noticed that he speaks about something that I have never heard anyone other than myself speak about! And that is pretty exciting! I would much rather tell you what this something is - I would much rather tell you in my own words and from my own experience, than to try and paraphrase him. Yes, this is what I prefer to do, especially since I do not appreciate anyone else's garbled attempts at paraphrasing my words. And please don't take my word for it that this is what he is saying or what he means; you can listen to him yourself.
The concept, in a nutshell, is that the cessation of all thought for any significant period of time is not only extremely difficult, but also contrary to the mechanism of the human brain. And there is nothing wrong, per se, in being a human being, nor is there anything wrong, per se, in having a brain.
More significantly, I have noticed that even if a person manages to stop all of their thoughts for a moment, they are still likely to be just as stupid as ever once they start thinking again!
These are just two of the reasons that all of my meditations are tools* which can bring greater awareness to the relationship the meditator has with her thoughts. Or, I could say, this is one of the reasons why my meditations are not directly aimed at stopping thoughts.
Now, I am not one to deny that thoughts have been fucking humans up since ... well, since humans have been thinking. I am saying that to pit one's Self against one's own body and mind in an it's me or them - combat the enemy - eradication of thought as “the final solution” kind of mentality is only asking for trouble. As an enlightened being, I know that it is much better to co-operate with nature than it is to try to “conquer” nature.
Did I mention that after thought stops, the mind can be just as crazy as ever once it starts thinking again?
But what about all those beautiful, enlightened people with a quiet mind you have met? Ah well, it might just be that a quiet mind is more of a result or a symptom or a by-product of: health - beauty - love - awareness, than it is a means to achieving these things.
Whoa, now before you get your knickers in a twist, let me explain! Especially since I am lying to you a little bit in order to make it easier for you to see something.
Darn! Now what was I going to say? Hahaha .. um, give me a moment.
Ah yes: the healthier the relationship a person has with their own thoughts, the quieter their mind is likely to become. Conversely, the poorer the relationship a person has with their own thoughts, the more likely it is that the thoughts are going to run riot!
Why are you not asking me what I mean by a healthier relationship with thought?
(Good, I am glad you asked that.)
Ninety-five percent of thoughts are nothing more than crazy thoughts. Ninety-five percent of thoughts are fantasy-based thoughts such as “I'll bet x thinks x about me” or “I really need x, then I will be x” or “ x thinks they are so great, I'll prove them wrong” or “ if I don't get x, I won't be able to get xyz”. The list goes on and on, and is of more variety than I could possibly list and describe here.
Almost all people are thinking crazy, stupid things all the time. If you think your thoughts are not stupid and crazy, then ask yourself if you would be comfortable having every single thought of yours displayed on a screen attached to your forehead. What if you could not censor a single thought? Anyway, I can see that for almost all people, at least ninety-five percent of their thoughts are crazy.
But wait, it gets even more insane! I also see that almost all people believe their thoughts! And how crazy is that? People just make up some fictional thought because of some fear or desire or .... which is crazy enough in the first place, but then they go the extra step and BELIEVE the thought that they just invented!
If you believe crazy thoughts all day and night, you have no choice but to become a crazy and sick person. Actually, only a crazy and sick person can believe crazy thoughts. Ouch.
Maybe you know a person that is all crazy talk. Maybe this person talks to you, but you know not to take them seriously. Maybe you even notice that they have some good points, but you would never accept any advice from them; I mean you would have to be crazy to take their advice!
Now, what if this person were your mother? Yes, you might want to kill her, but really that is not such a good idea and I promise you that it is likely to get you into trouble. Perhaps there is another alternative. Maybe you can just smile and nod and listen and say things like “Gee, I never thought of that” and let mum get on with ploughing the fields or fixing the computer or making that fantastic casserole that she makes or or...
Hi.
OK, so a healthier relationship with your thoughts promotes a quieter mind. But believing your thoughts is kind of like adding fuel to the fire of craziness.
But are all thoughts crazy? No, they are not; like I said, only about ninety-five percent of thoughts (depending on the thinker) are crazy. Believing all of your thoughts is not healthy, nor is ignoring all of your thoughts. A healthy person can recognise which thoughts are the crazy ones and which ones are not. Sometimes a thought can actually be helpful.
Do you remember my mentioning that I lied to you, do you remember my mentioning that I lied to you just a little bit? OK, I will now correct my lie. I am really speaking about a synergistic sort of thing: A quiet mind can promote a healthier relationship with one's thoughts; however, it can only do so if there is something to work with in the first place.
There.
Does this make sense to you?
I might just be saying that the better friends you are with your mind, the more likely it is that your mind will co-operate with you.
Now I am going to say it from yet another perspective. Have you ever heard an enlightened Zen master say that she is “one with everything”? Do you think she means everything except her mind? Doesn't everything include everything?
Hi.
Hey, so Mooji. Yeah, getting back to Mooji - I can see that he is a much nicer man than I am, and like I mentioned, has great-looking teeth! Mooji has impressive biceps in one photo, too .... oh, and he also said something in one of the three videos that I watched, said something which I have never heard anyone other than myself talk about!
No, I don't think that he is copying me. First of all, I am pretty darn obscure; it seems pretty unlikely that he would have come across my writings. Secondly, just because I discovered this for myself through the process of seeing myself does not mean that it is not actually written down somewhere. It only means that I had not encountered it anywhere else until now. Thirdly, Mooji might very well have also discovered this for himself, just as I had. Fourthly, since I can see that he actually knows for himself, the source does not matter - the path that led him to the knowing is irrelevant.
Yeah, so finishing up on the Mooji topic, it is time for my disclaimer! I have not met the man in person, and I have only watched three short videos on his website. However, I am going to recommend him! Ha! (Think for yourself, enter at your own risk, buyer beware, and the like.)
* Hi there. OK, um I do not mean to imply that I define meditation as a tool. I do not even mean to imply that I use meditation as a tool. I do not even mean to imply that meditation is something to be done to gain some sort of end result, prescribed or otherwise. Or, if you came to me with tears streaming down your face and declared, “Oh Master, I have just experienced real beauty”, it would not even occur to me to reply, “yeah, but what is it good for? How do you use this beauty thing, can I make this beauty tool work for me?”.
Nor am I defining meditation as beauty.
Hugs and Kisses,
Zen Master Avatar Prem Anadi Bunny Rabbit The Third, garden-variety