Ordinary men believe that their thoughts on a subject are correct, and men with opposing ideas are wrong. Those trying to achieve-the-realization, reach a level where their view is that their thoughts on a matter are real, and ordinary men’s, imaginary.
When this perspective initially hits them, it seems well founded, since they are one of the few who are sincerely trying to gain an objective understanding of what is going on, while everyone else simply wants to have their subjective theories about what’s going on momentarily triumph over any opposing ones. At first, this feels correct, but it is in error.
Any thoughts in your mind regarding the non-material features of human existence are no more substantial than anyone else’s. It is not the thinkers that are the problem, but the very essence OF thinking. This is indeed perhaps the trickiest thing for the human eye to ever see. Many get stalled here – but wait – cheer up – it gets worse!
The greatest damage, (in the sense of wasting-energy), suffered by the few is this: taking the thoughts you hear in your head about YOU, as though they mean something. Your so-called “mind” does not talk to you about YOU – it talks about itself – that is all it can do. It has no more objective, personal understanding of what makes it work than it does about what causes
economic fluctuations, or makes a winning team.
While the mind will be confronted with opposing views when it publicly expresses its ideas about religion, The Theatre, or The Lakers, it receives no such resistance as it contemplates, and comments on itself, and such contemplation is always presented in the guise of you thinking about yourself.
Not realizing this state of affairs is man’s normal state, and also the prime example of being unenlightened. In truth, you do not “think-about-yourself.”
J.