You are not your thoughts. You are the being that is witnessing your thoughts. Right now as you read these words repeat them again. Now, for a second notice the consciousness that is in your head reading these words. The words are not you, you are simply gathering them to interpret or invest in the world around you. This is the essence of meditation and it's the first step I usually take in beginning whatever stillness practice that I am invested in. Knowing that you are not your thoughts is one of the first steps to take in disidentification with the ego. Now I know the ego has gotten a pretty bad reputation over the years. We see it as the destroyer of lives but I've learned to take a different approach to it. I see the ego as the part of us that narrates this giant tapestry we call the present moment. It takes pieces of the puzzle and from that makes up a story based on what we have been taught and then uses that story as a lens to see the world around us. The problem came only when we thought we were the ego and nothing else. We gave it too much power. We completely ignored spirit.
When you view the world through the lens of the spirit you see love everywhere. You see peace, compassion, light and infinite potential. You see ego as the gift it is, as a platform from which to create. If ego were a canvas spirit would be the painter. We have convinced ourselves that we are what is painted instead of the being doing the painting. We need both. We love both. An artist without a canvas is easily bored and what is the point of a canvas without an artist. We are in a symbiotic relationship with ego. If we stop resisting it and simply learn to acknowledge it's place within us then we can much more readily learn to step away from it when need be. It all starts with remembering that you are not your thoughts. You are not your emotions either. You are not your memories or your tastes or your passions. These are all colours on the canvas. They are important, absolutely but they are still not you. You are infinite, you are a creator, you are life lived in human shape.
The good news about this is that if you don't like what's currently on your canvas you can repaint it. You can choose which colours influence the outcome. You can choose which pieces of your puzzle get to sit in the centre and you can decorate as you choose. It's all up to you. You just have to remember that you are the being doing the painting. If you are looking for purpose, be purposeful. Sit in the stillness of your own being and let that bleed throughout your life. Where can it take you? Try for a whole month to take regular reminders of this idea. Digest it. Play with it and see what changes it can bring. For me, finding this at 16 was revolutionary. It opened me to a whole inner dialogue that I would never have found otherwise. Let yourself be the vessel through which creation itself flows freely. Get out of your own way. Take a step away from the canvas for a second and step into the mindset of the painter.
Thank you,
Big Love,
Ryan James x
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