Here is what I am starting to discover. what is your experience?

It seems that as indicated in many philosophies, there is a gap between thoughts. The way to catch this gap is to drop the current thought & wait for the next thought. Then as soon as you catch something immediately drop it & wait for the next thought.

Gradually you get to notice the gap & absence of thought. But there is something there. Let’s call it pure un-manifest potential or is it the presence of creation. You can barely catch this gap. But then you start to notice something. You are not actually thinking your thoughts. Instead you are catching something that is pure inspiration & then analyzing this bundle of inspiration to try & "fit it" into some reference point into your life (past or future memory)

This process of analysis of this inspiration is actually what we seem to then claim for ourselves as our own thought. Well, it seems that the ego portion of the mind is doing this "trying to be in charge of the presence of consciousness". It appears that thinking is the problem in most situations. Not that it is irrelevant, rather thinking is necessary for translating inspiration into a reference within physical reality.

But I think we are moving towards learning to solve our problems by listening ourselves out of a given situation, rather than thinking ourselves out of the situation.

Well At least this is what is starting to make sense to me. But maybe I'm going mad & just don't know it yet.

asked 27 Nov '09, 03:26

The%20Traveller's gravatar image

The Traveller
19.5k11942

edited 22 Jan '11, 01:03

Barry%20Allen's gravatar image

Barry Allen ♦♦
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yes "The Traveller" i think i can understand what you are talking about. I have experienced such moments too.. and the feeling at the time is really different and I cannot explain what happens to me at the time. May be it is inspiration and even I think at times that I am getting mad.. but i love it so i dont worry. :)

(27 Nov '09, 18:38) Perfection
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We're all a little "mad" or insane. I think it is when we recognise and admit this insanity that we begin the journey toward sanity. For me I would have to say that thought is mostly the voice of the ego and those moments of no thought I can only describe as a delicious feeling. I tend to overthink most things so when I can attain those fleeting moments of no thought I'm in heaven. I guess thinking is the problem until we learn to use it as opposed to it using us. If we can reach those moments of no thought, I would agree that listening is way more beneficial as the voice we are listening to then comes from a higher source.

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answered 27 Nov '09, 13:37

Michaela's gravatar image

Michaela
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The gap between thoughts is absence of thought, it's a state of awareness, a state of conscience ,,, just as hot and cold or dark and light, thoughts and awareness are on the same continuum and are polar opposites, the more you think the less aware you become and inversely the less you think the more aware you become, Between these two poles there are infinite combinations and degrees of thought/aware states ,

Many people live their lives with a constant chatter of thoughts in their head, thoughts often imposed by education, culture , etc ,,, without ever realizing that a state of awareness exists ,,, they are lost in clouds of thought that distort true vision

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A state of complete awareness can be cultivated and achieved through the art of letting go ,,, and this eventually leads to the realisation that matter, thought and life are only different aspects of the great whole, the universe,

True meditation is awareness, it's a state of being wholly present in the now ... thoughts cannot exist when in such a state, It's also known as 'i am', cosmic consciousness, enlightenment, etc ,,,

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answered 05 Dec '13, 10:41

jaz's gravatar image

jaz
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edited 05 Dec '13, 10:46

lost in thought hmmm ... so what are these cloudy thoughts that I need to let go of?

(14 May '15, 01:22) jaz

who cares, just take the path of least resistance and go with the flow :)

(14 May '15, 10:56) jaz

Thinking is a left brain activity, it is funny that given enough time and work the left brain can work things out that the right brain just already knows.

I love your listening instead of thinking idea, you have it now. :-)

We can think of a problem a bit then say "I give this over to my right brain to give me the answer", then forget about it, the answer will come.

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answered 22 Jan '11, 02:13

Wade%20Casaldi's gravatar image

Wade Casaldi
36.9k428102

I believe the absence of thinking is sleeping.

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answered 30 Jan '10, 14:40

justTheo%201's gravatar image

justTheo 1
28316

Damn! Maybe you're right. And to think I put all that effort into analyzing the movement of my mind instead of just descending into the sweet silence of thoughtlessness,...sorry SLEEP. On a slightly more serious note, thanks Theo for reminding me of this past question. After a while you forget your own questions.

(30 Jan '10, 15:21) The Traveller

I don't think so. I think while I dream, especially if the dream is a lucid one. The gap between thoughts is something different than sleeping.

(31 Jan '10, 01:39) Vesuvius

Actually, the 'Sleep' to which I referred, is the unconscious state in which we live out our lives. Sleeping, (as described in Gurdjieff) is simply not living mindfully. I should have made that a bit more clear :)

(01 Feb '10, 15:28) justTheo 1

You are welcome, The Traveller, I am glad I could help. :)

(01 Feb '10, 15:29) justTheo 1
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For me:

Thinking is trying to put a human experience on a "being" event

And

Not thinking is Being during a human experience.

Michael

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answered 20 Jan '11, 01:44

jim%2010's gravatar image

jim 10
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edited 22 Jan '11, 01:08

What a deep observation! That's a beautiful way to describe it. Very poetic. Thanks for that answer.

(21 Jan '11, 03:45) The Traveller

Thinking is listening to your thoughts form, and mind chattering, and the absence is silence in your thought, where there is no thoughts form, no chattering, but dark grey matter extending into the horizon!

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answered 22 Jan '11, 02:43

Inactive%20User's gravatar image

Inactive User ♦♦
470124198

the absence of it is no more veils in the mind it is like a blank canvas or a clean window! then only awareness and perfect focus remains! similar like being in the moon state except that you don't think anny thing you just are aware if you continue and go deeper you lose earing then seing then it is darkness then you see with out the eye the golden light come to you and you exit the body and go in the golden light!

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answered 04 Jun '11, 04:06

white%20tiger's gravatar image

white tiger
21.9k115116

Thank you for your answer. Was this a personal experience? I used to travel into the darkness you describe as a little child (within my consciousness) and I remember constantly searching for something within. But my parents kept snapping me out of it constantly until eventually I stopped doing it. I remember Meadows of shimmering light but not the golden light you describe.

(04 Jun '11, 13:32) The Traveller

yes it is the traveller i am talking of what i have experiance and know to be true!

(04 Jun '11, 16:57) white tiger

as for travelling in the darkness that is where you find the mind and what is in it! you will encounter though and emotion in there!

(05 Jun '11, 04:00) white tiger

the traveller in meditation i focus open eye on a spot that is not there! in that focus you will see the darkness in that darkness you will start to see the though and emotion that is those meadow of light that you need to understand what they mean to put them to rest! once all that is done you will have perfect focus and awareness! then the moon state comes with no though!

(05 Jun '11, 04:14) white tiger

You know, White tiger. In your last sentence you just mentioned something that I remember and have never talked about to anybody because how do you explain it? When you said I focus open eye, I remember that this is what I was starting to do with my eyes closed. In other words, I was opening my eyes in the darkness that was created by the closing of my eyelids. I was learning to open the eye of consciousness. That's when I started seeing things in that state. But that was long ago, and I haven't tried it lately (I don't know why)

(05 Jun '11, 20:25) The Traveller

well traveller more things for you to experiance so enjoy!

(23 Jun '11, 03:10) white tiger

and traveller in case you do not know why i do it open eye it is to maintain focus and awareness. with eye close you could go to sleep or day dream. experience and enjoy.

(14 Sep '11, 01:32) white tiger

you make me think about buddha looking for the best meditation and he remember something from is childhood that he was meditating and seing light.

(14 Sep '11, 01:36) white tiger

if you want another advice slow it down observe it understand the meaning and put it to rest. it will stop flying around in your mind. you will stop losing energy on that though or emotion it will be solve. how many unsolve puzzle fly around in your mind with out you knowing it?

(14 Sep '11, 01:42) white tiger
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Being lost in thought can be a beautiful thing if you stay focused on Love (Appreciation).

It's all of the thoughts that doesn't resonant with who you truly are that gives you pain.

The absence of thought is mental silence-

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answered 06 Dec '13, 20:52

arpgme's gravatar image

arpgme
4.6k1327

Whether we are now providing logical reasoning through premises and conclusion, deduction and induction or any other possible reasoning. But, ...

What is thinking?

  • Thinking is activity(ies) that typically by associating and connecting (whether emotionally or not) among associated, then tracing limits between them.

And something was logic because our thinking found connections (whether emotionally or not), ...

  • That's why sometimes we saw people did something to be considered "not logic" (emotionally), but for them, they did reasonably. It's because they found connections. But for others they did improperly (not logic) just merely because of comparison to the specific ethics or morality or general assumptions (it doesn't have to be like that, etc ...).

And What is the absence of it?

  • Closer to it ... it's confusion -- even closer to it ... it's idle -- further ... it's closer to emptiness
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answered 05 Dec '13, 10:56

Seremonia's gravatar image

Seremonia
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Thinking is when the brain is actively pondering something- the catch is that there are various levels of thinking...trying to solve a math problem is a different level of thinking than is letting yourself get inspired as to what to make for dinner...and that is different than the thinking called "daydreaming", which is a loose type of thinking where brain waves are not as sharp, and thought is seemingly suspended...but brain wave tests show that even daydreaming is still thinking.

But what you are describing is moving your brain waves to a completely different type of wave.

There are six discrete states of brain waves that the brain produces, and each indicates what the brain is busy doing: Gamma- Actively Working on a Problem; Beta- Alert, Thinking; Alpha- Meditative, The "Golden State" you Achieve in Early Meditation; Theta- Where you are Drowsy, Meditative- The Point between Wakefulness and Sleeping; and Delta- Sleeping Waves produced while asleep, which vary according to the level of sleep you are in (REM Sleep, etc.)

So, if I try to interpret what you are describing, you are wondering about the state of "Not-Thinking"....which would probably fall somewhere between Alpha and Theta Brain wave activity. There's the science. Achieving this state is ideal for what you are describing- the brain is less active, the waves, if you view them, are actually loosely formed, but not as loosely formed as those of deep sleep.

You have described a very good technique for beginning meditation. Letting go of active thought is hard at first, but with practice, one begins to achieve whole periods of time where the brain is actually dropping down into Alpha and even Theta Brain waves- and this is the "Sweet Spot" for Close Encounters with the Fourth Dimension (or is it the Infinite Dimension? LOL!)

I personally seem to get more out of this exercise than actually sleeping- It enriches me, it brings me to God, it Enlightens me, all while I keep my brain quiet...In other words, (my words) Letting Go and Letting God Talk...or The Universe, if you Prefer...or my Right Brain, which sometimes does happen!

I can describe such a state and the results achieved...I was driving the all-too-familiar route between Woodstock and Wonder Lake, IL (a distance of about eleven miles, and at that time, all cornfields and two lane sleepy traffic...) I regularly drove this route day after day, getting my kids to and from High School and Middle School and Grade School and Kindergarten....(Family Planning??? Yeah, I had a year where I did all four...)I was daydreaming, and not at all really aware of my driving. I suddenly must have dropped down in my brain wave activity, for I became aware of the wide sky, which I could see from horizon to horizon. The sun was bursting out from behind clouds, dazzling me, and became Aware of the Presence of God all about me. I will never forget the feeling that I had in those moments...I felt Love, Great Love, Acceptance, Peace, and Again, Such Love! It was amazing!

So, to me, that is the Result of the Absence of Thinking- in other words....Receiving!!!

Blessings,

Jai ♥♥♥

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answered 05 Dec '13, 16:27

Jaianniah's gravatar image

Jaianniah
37.8k13104607

...wow... :)

(05 Dec '13, 17:01) Roy

@Jaianniah - The absence of thinking...[is] receiving. Love that. So true. :)

(07 Dec '13, 13:16) Grace
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