This is a follow up to a previous post titled, Can You Remain. The intention was to point out that by trying to avoid difficult situations or feelings we actually strengthen them. As the old adage goes “what you resist persists”. Below is a wonderful quote from Alan Watts:
“To remain stable is to refrain from trying to separate yourself from pain because you know that you cannot. Running away from fear is fear, fighting pain is pain, trying to be brave is being scared. If the mind is in pain, the mind is pain. The thinker has no other form than his thought. There is no escape”……….Alan Watts
Watts is saying that if you identify yourself as the “thinker” or are identified with your thoughts to the point that you think you ARE your thoughts you trap yourself in an illusion. I highly recommend listening to some of his lectures as it has helped me a great deal in peeling away the layers of illusion.
Try a little experiment. Watch your thoughts. Ask yourself where is this thought coming from, or why did I so quickly move to this conclusion or that. As you do this over time you will see that many of your automatic responses to situations or ideas are just that an automatic response. You may find you are holding on to attitudes, concepts, and ideas that you have been conditioned to accept, but are not actually how you feel. This can be extremely liberating.