“Riding on the wings of thought, I enter the world of time. Riding on the wings of thought I enter the world of the mind.” Leonard Jacobson
The mind is a dimension of consciousness that allows you to leave the present moment and participate in the world of time. It is an intricate world which contains all of your past memories and future imaginings. It contains all your opinions, concepts, ideas and beliefs. It gives you a sense of life beyond this moment and to that extent it is illusory in nature. It is a lot like cyber space. It isn’t real and yet you can access it simply by thinking.
If you get too involved in your thoughts, ideas and opinions, you will find yourself absorbed into the world of the mind. You will find yourself living in the past and future rather than the present moment, which is the only life really available to you.
The mind is like a computer and like any computer, it can only function according to its programming. Our minds are programmed in early childhood with such limiting beliefs as I am not loved, I am not wanted, I am not good enough, I can’t do it, I am all alone, I am not allowed to be myself, I am not allowed to feel or express my feelings, I can’t have what I want, and I have to accept what others want for me. To the extent that you are living in the past and future world of the mind, these limiting beliefs will flow into every aspect of your life.
Awakening involves freeing yourself from these limiting beliefs and opening more fully into the present moment.
To be present is your natural state. In fact, there is only one way to leave the present moment and that is to think your way out of here. And where will you go? All thought is about the past or future and that is where your thoughts will take you. You will find yourself caught in the past and future. The more frequent the thoughts and the more you believe in your thoughts, opinions and beliefs, the more you will find yourself imprisoned within the world of the mind.
Most of our thoughts are unconscious and unintentional. Most of us are addicted to thinking, and so the thoughts just keep arising, pulling us from some memory of the past or some fantasy in the future. If you are not sure if thinking is a significant addiction, then close your eyes and don’t think for 30 seconds. You will discover that the thoughts simply don’t stop. It is not until you awaken fully into the present moment that you will recognize how lost in the mind you have been.
When you awaken into Presence, the mind is silent. There are no thoughts and so there is no past or future, at least not in those moments of true Presence. I am not against thinking. The more present you are, the clearer your thoughts will be when you consciously choose to think. You can still think, but now you are present, choosing to think in a conscious and intentional way. You are free of those random, unconscious and unintended thoughts. You are intending to think, you are aware of your thoughts and when you have completed whatever you are thinking about, you naturally and spontaneously return to a state of silence and Presence.
It is impossible to participate in the world of time without thought. However, for most people, thinking is habitual. Most of us are caught in a world of separation and illusion and the doorway to Presence is firmly closed. When we recognize this, the process of liberation can begin.
