Thought Is a Cosmic Event

GP Walsh
Aug 16, 2022
4 min read

I'm sorry, I could have sworn that was MY thought

"What are thoughts except evanescent ripples in the still, limitless ocean of pure Being-Awareness-Self." - The Ribhu Gita

Our hair grows, our hearts beat, our food is converted into energy and our bodies transform from infant to old age, all without any input from us and with no need of our participation.

So why then, do we insist that somehow, we create or control thoughts?

Isn't it interesting that the notion of "my thought" or "I thought that" always follows the appearance of the thought that we are about to take credit for. What if thought was no more under your control than that relentless growing of fingernails or the onset of sleep?

Well... it isn't. Thought, like sunshine, the spinning of planets or clouds gliding past in the sky, is a cosmic event.

ree — The first thought appears followed by a cascade of thoughts, none of which did you create

The thought "I thought that" or "I chose that" or even "I want that" is just that... a thought. The thought that you thought, the choice that you chose, the want that you wanted, all arose as an inner experience and then the thought that takes ownership appears.

Please, pause for a moment and ponder this. You can't make a choice before it is made. You can't own a thought before it is thought. Look carefully at the point at which a thought first appears and, no matter the subject, you will not find yourself creating it. Don't take my word for it. Look for yourself. It is a spontaneous happening, a cosmic event.

You can never say "I think I will think this thought now." It just happens. You can't decide in advance on a creative idea. Nor do you even have any idea what your next thought is going to be. You may be the first to know, but you are not even given a hint in advance. The entire creative process follows the appearance of the creative thought. You can't create what you are about to create.

The almost universally accepted notion that thought is a personal creation and thus a personal possession and, as a result, subject to personal will, is a prolific cause of suffering. It binds us to beliefs, attachments and difficulties and all of the residue of conditioning that runs through every life. Which is why trying to control them is a fool's errand. That's like believing you are organizing a city of 10 million people because you manage to keep your closet neat.

So that begs the question, "Well, if I am not creating these thoughts, and I am not controlling them, then where are they coming from and what IS controlling them?"

Well the short answer is no where and no one.

What regulates your body temperature?

What sets the speed of your heartbeat?

The Master put it succinctly, "A thing is as it is because the universe is as it is." - Nisargadatta Maharaj. It is simply the nature of things, nothing more, nothing less.

Given this, how do we then disport ourselves? How do we undergo such a dramatic shift in our relationship to... well... everything.

At first, it will feel awkward, strange and even scary. I mean, we have comforted ourselves for so long with the illusion of control, how then do we come to peace at having absolutely none.

Well it isn't as bleak as that.

Thought, like everything else in the universe is intimately connected to and a reflection of the environment in which it exists. The plants in the cool, moist Northwest are very different from the plants in the arid Southwest or balmy Florida. They take the shape of the environment in which they live.

ree — You are a garden in which thought takes shape

In the case of thought, the environment in which they live and which they reflect, is you. A loving inner atmosphere will inevitably produce loving thoughts. A calm, contemplative environment will produce calm thoughts. But make no mistake! This is not control. It is self-awareness. When our focus of attention moves from trying to control thoughts to finding inner peace, mo matter what the thoughts, the thoughts change to reflect that. They, like every other aspect of your life, are a reflection of the invisible and silent inner energy of self-awareness.

So I can abandon my official job of shepherd of cats and take up the new career as surfer on "the still, limitless ocean of pure Being-Awareness-Self." How to accomplish this is what i call the Yoga of Allowing. It all starts with simply allowing yourself to feel your feelings and learning to do so without judgement.

How does that create this inner environment which produces better thoughts? Because this act of allowing feelings is the essence of self-acceptance. This takes you out of conflict with yourself and into a space of self-compassion. This is the space that will then be reflected in thought, deed and life.

This shift in your relationship with yourself will eventually get quite comfortable with the fact that life has been getting on quite well without you all all along. This cultivates a state of equanimity and imperturbability. You will find eventually that nothing bothers you and that you have access to inner resources you didn't know you had.

The real blessing of spiritual growth is not having more control over your fate, but the absolute confidence that, no matter what comes your way, you are its equal. And you find that seeing life flow without needing your involvement, it flows with beauty, purpose, ease and benevolence.

The love in your heart becomes the law of your life.