LISTENING TO THOUGHT AJAHN SUMEDHO
IN opening the mind, or alt39 letting goalt39, we bring attention to one point on just watching, or being the silent witness who is aware of what comes and goes. Wealt39re freeing the mind from
blindly repressing, so if we become obsessed with any trivial thoughts or fears, or doubts, worries or anger, we donalt39t need to analyze them. We donalt39t have to figure out why we have them, but just make them fully conscious.
If youalt39re really frightened of something, consciously be frightened. Donalt39t just back away from it. Bring up fully what youalt39re frightened of, think it out quite deliberately, and listen to your thinking. This is not to analyze, but just to take fear to its absurd end, where it becomes so ridiculous you can start laughing at it. Listen to desire, the mad ” I want this, I want that, Ialt39ve got to have – I donalt39t know what Ialt39ll do if I donalt39t have this, and I want that…”. Sometimes the mind can just scream away, ” I want this!” – and you can listen to that.
In this way … wealt39re deliberately thinking all the things wealt39re afraid of thinking, not just out of blindness, but actually watching and listening to them as conditions of the mind, rather than personal failures or problems.
One doesnalt39t want to be bothered with the trivialities of life; but when we donalt39t bother, then all that gets repressed, so it becomes a problem. We start feeling anxiety, feeling aversion to ourselves or to other people, or depressed; all this comes from refusing to allow conditions, trivialities, or horrible things to become conscious.
So whatever you are most afraid of in your life that you might really be, think it out, watch it.
Whatever it is. Wealt39re not concerned with the quality of it any more, but the mere characteristic that its an impermanent condition; its unsatisfactory, because theres no point in it that can ever really satisfy you. It comes and it goes, and its not self.
