07-05-2010, 12:02 AM
Tiff wrote:Gonzo wrote:
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
I would say we are more then thoughts, we are body, sense, consciousness, and perception of these. So I would ask, why do you cancel out things such as your body as if they are not you or at least less you then your thoughts? Without a body to house thoughts, what are you? You could not post here certainly, without a body. Thought is part of your experience, but not all of it.
I like this statement because in three lines, it seems to me, all questions are answered. When he says "We are what we think" that means ALL that we are, including our bodies. Rather than cancelling anything out, I think Gautama is saying exactly the opposite: we are responsible for the creation of ALL, implied also by the quote from "Illusions".
Further, the process of spiritual evolution is purely a matter of thought, imo. First, there is the urge to evolve, which is a thought, then perhaps we acquire the data others have gathered (philosophies, teachings, etc), and this too is a thought process.
The application of teachings (disciplines, meditations, etc) are likewise a thought process - seeing the applicability of notions in our daily lives. The most important process of recapitulation is a thought process, as is shamanic journeying, as is lucid dreaming. It's all thought, and we always have the choice whether to actualize those thoughts or not.
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
I would say we are more then thoughts, we are body, sense, consciousness, and perception of these. So I would ask, why do you cancel out things such as your body as if they are not you or at least less you then your thoughts? Without a body to house thoughts, what are you? You could not post here certainly, without a body. Thought is part of your experience, but not all of it.
I like this statement because in three lines, it seems to me, all questions are answered. When he says "We are what we think" that means ALL that we are, including our bodies. Rather than cancelling anything out, I think Gautama is saying exactly the opposite: we are responsible for the creation of ALL, implied also by the quote from "Illusions".
Further, the process of spiritual evolution is purely a matter of thought, imo. First, there is the urge to evolve, which is a thought, then perhaps we acquire the data others have gathered (philosophies, teachings, etc), and this too is a thought process.
The application of teachings (disciplines, meditations, etc) are likewise a thought process - seeing the applicability of notions in our daily lives. The most important process of recapitulation is a thought process, as is shamanic journeying, as is lucid dreaming. It's all thought, and we always have the choice whether to actualize those thoughts or not.