Well, it’s time to make a commitment right here and right now. I have been preparing myself for some time to write a new book entitled Mastering Thought. Today I got the inspiration to chronicle my progress in my blog. I am going to make a blog entry after each and every major segment of writing is done.
There are really two reasons why I want to do this. I need to hold myself accountable to get the job going! And also, I really want to tell the story of the writing itself; sort of an outside view of the story. You know when you read a book, you are reading inside what the author wants you to know. But you have no experience of what it was like for the author to actually live the process of putting it all down.
So that’s what I am going to do. I am going to confess what the process is like for me. This could be extremely tedious and boring, or it could be something else. I will have to wait and see.
So what did I work on today? I felt the like Table of Contents finally came together. I have tried to get this thing started over the last few months. I have even written a preliminary chapter or two. But today it seems to all come into focus in a new and more complete way.
This is the way I write my books. It seems I mull the organization of the information over in my head for months – even years. And then there is a day like today when the “flow” of the thing finally suggests itself. If feels in my gut that that may have happened.
And I know why it happened. I am in the middle of teaching another one of my 4 Week Intensives. This is a series of conference calls during which I teach Witness Thought Transformation in much the same way I teach it in my practice as a Marriage Family Therapists. This forces me to focus like a laser on my material, and thus bringing the concepts and the flow of the information to the forefront of my thinking.
So today it felt like the light when on and I jotted down the chapter topics and sequence. Next I will review what I have already done and see where it needs to go. Then it will be on to chapter one!
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Julie & Julia
Just wanted to pass on what a delightful experience Sheila and I had watching this movie. What a wonderful 2 hours and what a nice evening. I would encourage anyone to go. Just a whole lot of fun.
And if you don't believe that Meryl Streep is Julia Childs, get your eyesight and hearing checked immediately.
And if you don't believe that Meryl Streep is Julia Childs, get your eyesight and hearing checked immediately.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
letting go (of the non-Self)
Why watch thoughts? Because when we do something wonderful emerges to take its place. I ran across a quote from David Hawkins that says this better than anything I have ever heard. He says, “It is not necessary to know about the Self but simply to become it by letting go of the non-Self.”
When we practice Witness Thought Transformation we literally watch the non-Self melt away. We are not thought – we are the Self that remains when thought dissolves into awareness.
When we practice Witness Thought Transformation we literally watch the non-Self melt away. We are not thought – we are the Self that remains when thought dissolves into awareness.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
My Arguement with J. Krishnamurti
Oh my gosh, what am I thinking? Arguing with J. Krishnamurti?
Here is my beef with the old sage. Actually it is a point of contention I have with most of eastern, new age, new thought – er thinking. Here is what Krishnamurti says:
When man becomes aware of the movement of his own thoughts, he will see the division between the thinker and thought, the observer and the observed, the experiencer and the experience. He will discover that this division is an illusion. Then only is there pure observation which is insight without any shadow of the past or of time. This timeless insight brings about a deep, radical mutation in the mind.
Okay, so what is the problem with what he is saying? First off let me state categorically that I agree with everything that he says. It is the absolute truth. So where’s the issue? My issue comes in the first sentence: “When a man becomes aware of the movement of his thoughts.” This sort of statement has been made in various forms for thousands of years. So what’s the issue?
The issue is so obvious that we never question it. What exactly is the movement of thought? More precisely; what is thought itself? This is never explained. In fact, it is left to the ego-mind of the reader to fill in the blank. This turns out to be a very dangerous thing. The role of the ego is to trick us into thinking we “get it” when we don’t really get it. In the process, the ego becomes spiritualized and then we are pretty much lost forever.
The key to understanding thousands of years of eastern thought and spiritual teaching is to confront the question what is thought? And, in Krishnamurti’s case, how do we become aware of its movement? For without this little gem of truth, the rest of what he is saying is not only irrelevant to our growth but dangerous fodder for the ego-mind.
This is where my work comes in. A number of years ago I made a startling discovery that produced and almost immediate awakening in my clients visiting me in my therapy office. Today I call that teaching Witness Thought Transformation™ and it is an amazingly simple practice that makes the movement of thought and the mind obvious. And I don’t just mean in the setting of meditation or some spiritual practice. I mean walking around in everyday life.
Our new age culture is full of people who think they understand what Krishnamurti is saying. This is intellectual understanding. But the fruit of actualizing this revelation comes in the form of better relationships, experiencing joy even when there are problems, and a personal quality of life that others enjoy about us. If we are instead still in the drama and the struggle then clearly there is no awareness of the movement of thought.
Here is my beef with the old sage. Actually it is a point of contention I have with most of eastern, new age, new thought – er thinking. Here is what Krishnamurti says:
When man becomes aware of the movement of his own thoughts, he will see the division between the thinker and thought, the observer and the observed, the experiencer and the experience. He will discover that this division is an illusion. Then only is there pure observation which is insight without any shadow of the past or of time. This timeless insight brings about a deep, radical mutation in the mind.
Okay, so what is the problem with what he is saying? First off let me state categorically that I agree with everything that he says. It is the absolute truth. So where’s the issue? My issue comes in the first sentence: “When a man becomes aware of the movement of his thoughts.” This sort of statement has been made in various forms for thousands of years. So what’s the issue?
The issue is so obvious that we never question it. What exactly is the movement of thought? More precisely; what is thought itself? This is never explained. In fact, it is left to the ego-mind of the reader to fill in the blank. This turns out to be a very dangerous thing. The role of the ego is to trick us into thinking we “get it” when we don’t really get it. In the process, the ego becomes spiritualized and then we are pretty much lost forever.
The key to understanding thousands of years of eastern thought and spiritual teaching is to confront the question what is thought? And, in Krishnamurti’s case, how do we become aware of its movement? For without this little gem of truth, the rest of what he is saying is not only irrelevant to our growth but dangerous fodder for the ego-mind.
This is where my work comes in. A number of years ago I made a startling discovery that produced and almost immediate awakening in my clients visiting me in my therapy office. Today I call that teaching Witness Thought Transformation™ and it is an amazingly simple practice that makes the movement of thought and the mind obvious. And I don’t just mean in the setting of meditation or some spiritual practice. I mean walking around in everyday life.
Our new age culture is full of people who think they understand what Krishnamurti is saying. This is intellectual understanding. But the fruit of actualizing this revelation comes in the form of better relationships, experiencing joy even when there are problems, and a personal quality of life that others enjoy about us. If we are instead still in the drama and the struggle then clearly there is no awareness of the movement of thought.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Conference Call
Saturday's Conference Call set a record for us. Not only did we have a lively group on the call, but we had an overwhelming number of people who asked for the download. So here is a link to download the call!
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Mastering Thought
The Buddah said, “All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, We make our world.”
Too many in our day have totally misunderstood what the Buddah is saying. What he is pointing to are the thoughts that are already there. But the ego mind wants to take this principle and rather than do the work of cleaning up the mind, it wants a new Cadillac or relationship, or more money so we need to learn the “Secret.”
This is not the truth at all. The Buddah says, “If a man's mind becomes pure, his surroundings will also become pure.” “We are what we think. A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering. We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” So the emphasis is to purify the mind, not layer goals onto an already polluted mind.
Too many in our day have totally misunderstood what the Buddah is saying. What he is pointing to are the thoughts that are already there. But the ego mind wants to take this principle and rather than do the work of cleaning up the mind, it wants a new Cadillac or relationship, or more money so we need to learn the “Secret.”
This is not the truth at all. The Buddah says, “If a man's mind becomes pure, his surroundings will also become pure.” “We are what we think. A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering. We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” So the emphasis is to purify the mind, not layer goals onto an already polluted mind.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A Stroke of Insight
Every now and then something really important appears on the internet. Sometimes it takes me a long time to find it. But when I do, I want to share it. You must watch this video and then think how it applies to Witness Thought Transformation. Click the title and have your life changed!
All my best,
Mark
All my best,
Mark
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Buddhists Blunder
There is a wide spread belief that Buddhists can do no wrong. This latest bunch of violence aimed at Tibetan liberation is wrong headed and potentially exposes Lama Buddhism as a fraud. But not so fast! The Dalai Lama has stepped up to the plate and shown wisdom in denouncing any form of violence. In fact he has threatened to resign if the nonsense doesn’t stop.
So what is going on here? Should we all want social justice? Don’t we have the right to fight for world peace? If you want to live from your ego, of course you have all kinds of rights. This reminds me of that well worn phrase; “Be the Change.”
Being the change means changing from the inside out. It does not mean rushing to the Chinese border and having a bloody confrontation with their army.
Shame on those Buddhists. They should know better!
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