Path to Peace with Todd Perelmuter

How to Observe Your Thoughts

January 03, 2023 Todd Perelmuter Season 1 Episode 67
Path to Peace with Todd Perelmuter
How to Observe Your Thoughts
Show Notes Transcript

We hear the phrase, "Observe your thoughts,"  but how do we do that? What does it mean? Aren't we always observing our thoughts? And what the heck are thoughts?!

Normally, we don't watch our thoughts, we think our thoughts. And we think, "I am the thinker." In spirituality, we dig down deeper. We recognize thought patterns and we observe how the mind really works. We discover the nature of thoughts and our own mind. We practice being the silent witness of our thoughts so that negative thoughts don't disturb our peaceful witnessing presence. This can transform our entire lives and I share exactly how to do that in today's podcast

Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

*****
If you ever feel like my words brought a change in your life, and want to show your SUPPORT for what I am doing, click here.

Find all of my BOOKS for wherever you are on your spiritual journey: https://www.eastwesticism.org/spiritual-meditation-books/

Want to gift a book to a prisoner? Go here.

0:02  
Welcome to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. I'm your host, Todd Perelmuter our world is a projection of our collective consciousness, the more peace we bring into our lives, the more peace we bring into this world. So let the transformation begin.

0:24  
Today, the question is, how to observe our thoughts. Most of the time, in our day to day life, we are lost in thought, we are thinking thoughts, we are not witnessing them. We are not watching or listening to them. And most of the time, if we were to ask ourselves, what was I just thinking about a minute ago, most of the time, unless we've been obsessing about something all day, we'd have no idea what we were thinking about.

1:05  
And this stems from the illusion that we are our thoughts that that voice in our head is who we truly are. And so there's no need to observe them, because we are them.

1:24  
And so it's like, if we all had a voice in the back of our head, that we knew was us, or we thought assumed and identified with it as us, then we would not need to keep an eye on it, because it is us.

1:47  
But as soon as we come to the realization, that it is simply the egoic thinking part of our brain, just another part of us, like our hand is another part of us.

2:03  
And that it is operating in a very specific way. And in a way that pulls from our subconscious, and unconscious parts of the brain in such a way that we cannot predict our next thought, and that we don't control what pops into our brain, it is completely outside of the real us. And everything that gets thought stems from our memories, stems from our emotional state, stems from what is happening around us that we may not even be aware of.

2:51  
And it stems from this unconscious, dark, mysterious place of the mind, which seeps into our conscious awareness through thought that we can become conscious of.

3:07  
And the more that we realize that this ego, the thinking mind, is focused mainly on avoiding danger, and survival, finding food and resources, then we can understand how it is rooted in fear, and how that it obsesses over these negative experiences, and causes all the suffering in our lives because in modern, safe society, it doesn't need to be so hyper vigilant, always looking for danger.

3:50  
And once we recognize that, A, it's not who we really are, that these are not the thoughts we would think if we were thinking consciously with our greatest intentions, which would be of course to think things that generate feelings of peace and joy, and loving emotions.

4:11  
And be that these thoughts do cause a great deal of suffering, and actually need to be watched, observed and monitored very closely.

4:24  
So the key to observing our thoughts is dis identifying with them, and re identifying with the witness. Because there isn't two selves inside of us. There isn't a witness and observer of our thoughts and the thinking mind, the thinking mind is a form that can be perceived by consciousness, our true self. And these forms, whether they are Since objects that we perceive with our fingers, and our eyes and our ears, such as anything we experience as we go about our daily life.

5:12  
Or if we turn our attention inward, close our eyes, observe our thoughts, observe our feelings, and sensations within our body.

5:23  
These are all things that arise within our conscious frame of awareness. And most of the time, while we are going about our day to day activities, we are putting all of our focus outside of us. And we are focusing primarily on whatever's going on in front of us, our attention is projected outward. 

5:53  
And we usually become unaware of our thoughts, unaware of how they are negative, often repetitive, often, and creating a narrative for whatever is happening around us, which in fact, makes us unable to see reality as it really is, because instead of letting whatever happens be, we create a story that what we are seeing is either good or bad.

6:31  
And often, we find the negative because that is what these survival machines inside of us that survival mechanism has done so that we could survive so that we would run away from tigers, and not go too close to cliffs, and be weary of any risks and dangers in the natural world. 

7:01  
So naturally, these thinking machines inside of us are going to fixate and obsess over anything negative that it can latch on to.

7:19  
And it will imagine the worst dangers, the most frightening scenarios. And oftentimes the worst possible imagined future.

7:37  
So we first have to become aware of the tricks that the mind plays. And we have to be aware that we're not in danger, that these fears are all in our head. And of course, if you're camping in the woods, or if you're in a dangerous neighborhood at night, you might need to listen to that inner threat warning.

8:10  
But most of the time, when we're relaxing, or we're at work, or we're stuck in traffic, that negative voice goes into overdrive, because it doesn't know the difference between stress from a job and stress from a tiger.

8:30  
And so we can easily find ourselves going down these negative downward spirals, of just a horrible train of thought that we can't get ourselves out of because our whole body state is in a stress response fight or flight mode. 

8:50  
And oftentimes, when we have prolonged fight or flight mode, and we're not fighting, and we're not fleeing, because there is no actual physical danger, this often turns into depression, which is kind of a third stress response, which is prolonged fight or flight can turn into this third stress response, which is kind of like when an animal plays dead. 

9:17  
This is the third survival mode instinct that even humans have hardwired into us. And this is why when we get depressed, we feel unable to get out of bed and unable to do anything, even though we know we should.

9:34  
Even though people are trying to get us out of it, nothing can because we are in this natural state of essentially playing dead as a survival tactic.

9:49  
When fight or flight hasn't been able to help us because that's not the correct response. And so before I get into what we can do about that

10:01  
A lot of people wonder, why are our brains wired like this? Are we defective? Why have we been made? So dysfunctionally? And the answer, of course, is we have not. The fact of the matter is when we were evolving when we became modern humans, and we were still living in the wild. This was an appropriate stress response.

10:31  
And we didn't have iPads, and smartphones, and TV and film and radio and card games and board games and all of these attention industries. No video games, there was nothing to distract us. And so we were able to naturally rest and relax and be witness to our thoughts. 

11:05  
In fact, it's believed that before modern agriculture, we would hunt and forage and gather food for only a few hours a day, and we had a lot more leisure time. Then, when civilizations and modern farming practices came about a lot less people, a lot less food was needed. And it grew on its own.

11:35  
So sitting around leisurely, meditating, was kind of a natural thing back then. We lived in tight knit communities, there was no crime, we would dance and sing around the fire. And we would, if there was a moment of stress, you know, an elephant nearby fire, a challenging hunt took place, there was plenty of time to allow the body to rest and recover from that stress response.

12:10  
And without magazines and books and iPods, there was no escaping their thoughts and their feelings. And so they were their own higher wisdom, and consciousness, they were witnessing presence for their thoughts and feelings. 

12:35  
And this allowed them a much more greater sense of peace. Because they were fully present being fully present fully relaxed, yet alert was their natural state of being. And it is also every animals state of being a deer may have a moment of stress if there is a predator nearby. 

13:01  
But it is always alert, yet relaxed, as its natural baseline state of being. And this is our birthright as well. And just because we live in the age of endless entertainment, endless distraction, we can get back to that state. So how do we observe our thoughts? 

13:31  
There are two ways. And really both are essential to maintaining a sense of peace and happiness, despite what ever our thinking mind is doing.

13:51  
And the first step, and the most powerful is to close your eyes and turn your attention inward for some period of time, every day, if you are able to, it can be a few minutes.

14:11  
It can even be as simple as leaving your phone outside of the bathroom like so many people are taking it in with them now. But any chance you get where you can have a moment of peace, close out distractions. Close your eyes, if that's possible. 

14:30  
You are able to block out all of the distractions and really turn 100% of your focus inward and simply watch your thoughts. Don't try to think anything specific. Don't try to do anything at all. And just allow for whatever comes up to come up. And you can if you like focus on your breath while you're doing this and any new meditator will not be able to do that for even a full minute. 

15:06  
But you can focus on your breath. And as your mind naturally wanders, before turning your attention back to your breath, just make a little note of what you were thinking about. And if you can remember, make a note of what distracted you and what your train of thought was. 

15:26  
See if you can remember and figure out how you got on to what you're thinking about now. Maybe you heard a noise like a bell, and it reminded you of microwave and you started thinking about what you're going to eat next. Maybe you were just thinking, this is so boring, I can't wait till I'm doing this next thing.

15:49  
It can even be something as simple as noticing how much you hate meditation. That is totally fine. Whatever comes up, allow it to be, we don't judge it, we simply make note. Because the thinking mind wants to judge and label everything. And awareness simply observes, with neutrality.

16:19  
So that it can see reality. As soon as a judgement is placed on a thought, or on any experience, we get further away from that experience. And while it's natural for the mind to judge, our greater wisdom knows that there is good and bad in everything.

16:44  
All you have to do is watch any debate, and know that people can talk for hours, about completely opposite points of view. And so it's not about what is true, what is right or wrong. It's simply about recognizing, which goes beyond the thinking mind.

17:08  
Recognizing that everything contains everything, that anything can be said about just about anything. Many newscasters on those 24 hour news channels know all about this, they can have almost no information about an event that just happened. And they will talk 24/7 Because that's their job. And so, that is like the nature of the mind, it will think it is a thinking machine.

17:43  
And the more we just watch it, the more we create a distance between the witness who we truly are consciousness itself. And the thinking mind, the one word at a time, train of thought, in our heads.

18:12  
Consciousness is able to perceive so much information at one time, the complexity of music, or all of the visual sights that we're seeing, you know, billions of pixels, such intricate sounds and smells and tastes all at once. But the mind can only think one thought at a time. It's very limited, and we have a higher wisdom. And that wisdom is the witness that observes those thoughts, and is able to choose which thoughts to act on, and which thoughts to ignore. That is what I mean by our highest consciousness and our highest wisdom.

18:58  
And the more distance we create between the witness, our true selves and the thinker. The quieter those thoughts become, and the more peaceful our life becomes.

19:17  
When we identify as the thinker, and there is no distance between us in the thoughts. It is like a screaming person in our head, and we become much more impulsive. And we are much more likely to act on every desire and every impulse that pops into our head.

19:39  
And the more distance we create, simply from observation and time spent witnessing, without judgment. We become wiser and we have great Your understanding, all scientific inquiry is about observation, to gather knowledge, and so what we are doing is witnessing and observing our mind to gain understanding, and wisdom.

20:22  
And the more time we spend with our eyes closed in meditation, and the more time we spend observing our thoughts, that distance grows and grows, and that voice gets quieter and quieter.

20:37  
And we become present witnesses. And just like how a child who's being watched, is on their best behavior, the more we watch our thoughts, and the more we make that a habit, the more it will stop acting out, unconsciously and unintentionally.

21:06  
And the quieter it becomes, the more peaceful it becomes. And the more because of our conscious intention, will generate peace and joy. And think more positively, for ourselves.

21:24  
The second thing we have to do, to observe our thoughts, beyond closing our eyes, and turning our attention inward, is to convert that into our daily practice, that becomes part of our everyday life. That becomes a habit when we're not closing our eyes.

21:48  
And the way we do that, is whenever we're doing anything, specifically things that are chores and laborious. But really, anytime we do a mindfulness, mental checkup.

22:04  
And this is simply with our attention, putting it on our thoughts, and emotions, and our physical body as well. You know, our, our faces scrunched up and we're looking really mad while we do the dishes, or cooking food, or are we relaxed, and joyful and peaceful on our face, and we don't need a mirror. To recognize this, we can just see if we're keeping tension in our face, we can see if our shoulders are hunched over and contracted, or if we're open and relaxed.

22:52  
And this is so important because so much of our mental state reflects in our physical body.

23:00  
And this is really where that mind body connection comes in. And our thoughts can create physical problems like chronic pain in our back, neck, shoulders, and joints.

23:13  
Or we can just give ourselves frown lines and wrinkles in our, the middle of our eyebrows from not liking the chores we have to do. And as we are checking our physical body and our emotional state, we also just check our thoughts, what are our thoughts doing. And this is, most importantly, I think today true for when we are on social media, or watching film and television. Because so much in the media is negative.

23:56  
Sometimes you're watching a horror movie and your body is in a stress response the whole time which can be joyful, but also we might want to relax so as not to give ourselves any back pain.

24:11  
And it's very important to spend as much of our attention on what we're looking at as ourselves. And if we can do a 5050 split, where we're looking through social media and we're scrolling, and we're paying attention and engaged. But we also have 50% of our attention on our own thoughts, how we're reacting, how our body is responding. 

24:39  
This is the key to not only maintaining conscious awareness through out our day of our thoughts and emotions. But this is really how we can remain mindful our whole lives and we can participate Pain in the world, we don't have to go live in a cave or the forest.

25:05  
And we can also reflect on our inner being as well.

25:13  
This is really that key to enlightenment, which is to live in the state of present moment awareness, where we enjoy the pleasures of the world, but we don't get lost in them. They don't consume us, and we instead consume them with mindfulness. And in this way, we can enjoy everything.

25:37  
We can enjoy the pleasures when they come. And we can even enjoy them as they leave. And things change, and even difficult, painful things arise. And we remain mindful during those times too. So it's vitally important that we both close our eyes and turn inward and give our 100% attention to the way these crazy things called brains work.

26:08  
And also, throughout the day, maintain that mindful present moment awareness.

26:18  
Thank you so much for listening. This has been path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. I'm your host Todd Perelmuter. Peace and love.

26:28  
You've been listening to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. Being here and putting in this important and noble work is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and others. If you found this podcast even a little helpful. Please make sure to leave a review so it can reach others who may be in need. And remember, the path to peace starts with a single step.