New Awareness – Part 4 – Thoughts
“Quit Hitting Yourself!”
It’s annoying, no matter if it’s an older sibling, the neighborhood bully, or your “I-think-I’m-more-clever-than-I-really-am” dad pulling the prank. They think they’re funny, and you feel dumb as they grab hold of your wrists or arms and use them to literally hit your body while saying, “why are you hitting yourself? Quit hitting yourself!”
And yet, the longer I stayed with this week’s practice and teaching, the more I realized how I play both the annoying prankster and the passive sufferer of my own shenanigans: I all too often allow my unconscious thoughts to run the show, causing me to flail about, hurting and resenting myself in the process.
And that’s the bad news: I’m responsible for so much of my own unhappiness. But that’s also the good news, because it means that it’s fully in my power to learn another way.
It starts with recognizing the difference between our unconscious and conscious thoughts. (That’s a BIG step and Kriyananda tenderly helps us with it in this week’s teaching). Then, we can observe the characteristics of those unconscious thoughts, ask ourselves if they’re the fruit we’re wanting to reap…and then, if not, choose to sow different seeds.
