Simple Secret #1: Neutrally Witness
Do you know how mentally powerful you can be?
You can be so mentally powerful, that you can cause your mind to think when you want it to, you can cause your mind to think what you want it to, and you can cause your mind to stop thinking when you want it to.
This ability creates true peace within. The trick is to be able to notice what we are thinking. We don’t have full agency of when and what we think, until we know what we are thinking and when, and how it’s making us feel.
Simple Secret #1:
Be the Neutral Witness of Your Thoughts
If we stand back and look at our thoughts as an observer, we create distance from them. We see that we are not our thoughts. When we learn we are not our thoughts, we no longer identify with them. You are not your mind or thoughts. You are so much more than your mind and thoughts! By being a neutral witness to your thoughts, you are simply watching them and the effects they have on you. You can observe your beliefs, emotions, reactions, personality traits, motivations, and corresponding body sensations, all with a detached neutrality instead of seeing through the lens of judgement, shame, or blame.
Detachment is a powerful spiritual principle yet it can sometimes be a foreign concept for people. It can also be confusing or even scary. For years, I was perplexed by detachment. Thinking it was along the lines of closed-hearted retreat and withdrawal, I wondered, "How can this be spiritual?" But that’s not the truth.
One day, Lina Berntsen, a teacher of mine, explained it this way: "Withdrawal is stepping back with a closed heart, while detachment is stepping forward with an open heart. Detachment is the art of letting go while you keep your heart open. It is holding the spiritual perspective." And that made all the difference.
As a neutral observer, your thoughts will come and go. So will the effects they have on you. By simply witnessing, you will experience more relaxation and less stress. This in turn, enables you to approach situations with greater equanimity, and less reactivity, while responding more appropriately.
And as you grow your capacity to witness and watch with open-hearted detached neutrality, you realize you have the power and the freedom to choose. In each moment, we can choose again. We can choose when and what we think. We choose our thoughts and thus, our emotional experiences. There is immense power in that! And that feels so much better.
“Our true nature is limitless consciousness. As we see and understand the limiting patterns in the personality, so are we liberated from them and able to know ourselves as eternal, loving presence.”
As you quiet your mind by being a neutral witness, you are stepping outside the habituated, conditioned mind and it's dualistic nature. Your conscious awareness of your true nature begins to awaken. You create space for your superconscious awareness and increase access to your higher self. The peace, love, and joy within can be discovered, felt, and lived.
Therein lies a great deal of wisdom. Therein lies the answer to all of your questions.
“I love what I think, and I’m never tempted to believe it. Thoughts are like wind or the leaves on the trees or the raindrops falling. They’re not personal, they don’t belong to us, they just come and go. When they’re met with understanding, they’re friends.”
These might be "simple" secrets, but they aren’t necessarily easy! Remember, this is a practice. And Secret #1 is a precursor and solid foundational tool to many other skills that open your mind to its true potential. This free audio can help instill and grow your capacity to be the neutral witness and watcher: Simple Mindfulness Meditation
Warm Rays of Blessings From My Heart to Yours,
Lisa