That is what you think

We had become a freak-like group amidst our classmates at school, and used to engage ourselves in funny games. Well, others had a good ‘check-nut’ firm in place, and did fare well, later in life, while I just remained where I was, a ‘loose-nut’, spinning at the same place, around a worn out groove!

Once, we tried out saying “that is what you think” to every thing that the other kid says to us. We had resolved to stick to this for a while, where as the other kids, not quite prepared for this ordeal, got a mental fatigue, hearing this stupid response to everything and anything that they tried to tell us, even with an improvisation in their attempts. We almost forgot the ‘fun’ we had. But at least to me, it left a very deep residue. Many times, I did re-look at this ‘that is what you think’ and now, as an adult, it seems to scare me! Now it also seems too late to get rid of this ‘that is what you think’ (especially when it is addressed to oneself!). The problem is not with the ‘thinking process’ itself. It is with the incessant inclination and tendency to jump into conclusions (what we call as pre-judice, pre-conclusions, pre-mature judgment etc). Clarity is far better, when the observation is with fewer thought processes. The hard part is that the hard-thinking that we did till then actually helps to eliminate extraneous data to arrive at the correct observation. Please see, that “Eureka” happened in a bath tub, but after a huge mental fatigue till the previous eve, fighting a bitter lost battle with the problem of ‘somehow’ testing the purity of gold without melting the crown! The ‘falling-apple’ revealed the ‘gravity’ only when the mind was on the look out for something, having tried out all other clues! The lid of the tea kettle came off due to the steam pressure of the boiling water, and revealed the locomotive power, only because there was a search within, for some form of (alternate) power to push a heavy vehicle on wheels. It is not just about those great scientists. At work places, we gave up looking for that error in books of accounts, out of sheer fatigue, and in the morning with that ‘fresh’ mind, we just glance casually, and the elusive error is right there, just under our very noses (we would have passed along its side several times!). At home, sometimes, we happen to locate a misplaced item, after the need has ‘died’ (and now, we are surprised why we could find it so easily)!

But, when it comes to ‘think’ in-order-to understand ourselves????

Quite a serious business. Nevertheless, all I hoped was to help the asker, with my answer, was to avoid the paths that might lead to a dead-end very soon, and cause fatigue. After all, it is one’s own journey, very personal too.

Psn(20th July, 2010)

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100719154408AAPINMf
How to think and understand about myself.... ?
seriously.. I tried to think about myself, but couldnot understand where to start. i really donno much abt myself. people tell me more abt myself than i know. i should start knowing myself very well... where should i start and wt should i do?thank you, sandy

My answer:
That is the toughest job.
The toughest part is being honest to oneself, coming to 'terms' with reality.
When we attempt to start thinking, the mind will only try to justify everything with a 'because' or 'but', if, therefore, etc... If we try to just look, like a witness without any judgement, then, may be, we would see things as they are, within ourselves, and with patience, clarity would occur.

(Every thought is a judgement, some way or other, that is the problem. At school, when a kid, we tried this game, saying 'that is what you think' to our friends and classmates, to 'whatever' they say! Even we ourselves did not expect that it would suit so well! Very soon they would 'drop-off' very irritated by our stupid repetition of 'that's what you think!' (But neither of us grasped the significance of a great concept that we unknowingly employed! We were too young and ignorant at that age!)...

What others tell about us is what they see. They see only the finished product, and that too, just the manifest part of it. That is why, we admire a good movie, when a hero 'fakes' the roles so well! We even get tears out of emotional empathy. We get so stuck to the character of that hero that we try to look at him 'as we saw in the movie'. Some heroes have encashed this stupidity to get votes, and became a political leader, forsaking just the acting! Oh! perhaps, now they are acting for 'real' as 'honest' politicians (we asked for that trouble!). Only a genuine spiritual guide can give that expert guidance about 'what we are' (simply because, that master would have evolved to perceive beyond the sensory levels of perception. But we have to necessarily 'trust' !). We can try that 'looking' without trying to justify, within ourselves, and we can 'see' (what the eyes cannot). It may require some patience, time and practice. No harm in trying. Eventually, we would only evolve, with that big side-benefit of a better ability at focusing (that scientific temper of keen non-judgemental observation!).
Best wishes.