Climbing out of Rigid Thought

Posted on December 24, 2007
Filed Under Awareness |

One of the tasks I am constantly applying myself to, is removing the rigidity which has been conditioned into me over the years. Most of us suffer from rigid thought patterns – and although our mind doesn’t necessarily work in a linear fashion, we nonetheless still attempt to instil a sense of linearity onto our thoughts. We live in a society of linear action – where the belief in cause and effect is paramount. Spontaneity is frowned upon, and even hammered out of our children at an early age. What is left is an automaton which understandably views itself in a somewhat robotic fashion.

Rigidity: Conforming to set parameters of society, and applying such structures to our internal thought and external actions.

Some people are more conditioned to this rigidity than others. In all cases it is a form of ego domination; that is the false I, which has been created by ourselves, our environment and circumstances comes to dominate our beliefs, actions and even our feelings. So for a long while I have been working at removing that rigidity from my thinking.

Years ago, when I was very young, I struggled with understanding the reactionary nature of people. Although I myself often reacted (and still do) in an unconscious (i.e. knee-jerk) manner, the majority of the time I was aware of my own thinking, and my own actions. I unquestioningly believed this is how everyone else thought. It took me a long time to understand that I had a different approach to many. What I had been doing, was watching myself; that is to say, one I within me was watching the other I.

I slowly evolved this into a sort of self-analysis, whereby I would apply psycho-analytical techniques and other such nonsense; self study as it where. Over the years this became so ingrained into me, that it became a natural recourse, and developed its own rigidity.

But it also led to other areas of my mind and consciousness; I saw very early on that thoughts were how we identify with the world. That how we see things and the manner in which we react is determined by what we believe. Of course what we believe is determined by how we are conditioned…

So I was stuck for a time without recourse to much explanation to what I was seeing; that is until I discovered Zen, Buddhism and the Tao.

At any rate that is old history, albeit still part of a process which is continuingly unfolding. But interesting things are happening now, as my ego releases its grip on my mind – even if for only briefs moments at a time – I find myself in an entirely different realm of awareness. In those moments, my thoughts become very flexible, almost like balls which float about and can be played with. Different thoughts interplay with each other, as one bounces of the other, or at times one intermingles with the other.

So in a way, thoughts certainly are things; living objects of energy, we create some, whilst others are simply already present or arrive from “elsewhere”. Yet at the same time these thoughts are not our identity, they simply reside in the same realm as our mind.

In either event, as a people we certainly give too much gravity to our thoughts, and by extension, take ourselves far too seriously.

Anyway, the journey continues…