Lift Up Your Thoughts And See What’s Possible

—Translated from the Dhammapada* by Eknath Easawaran, originator of passage meditation.

‘I gave you a diamond.’

 – A short story on how the unseen world transformed my thinking.

‘Everything is going wrong’, I said to myself. The business I co-owned was in financial trouble, and to make things even worse, my relationship with my business partner was at rock bottom. I was frustrated and felt sorry for myself. But that night, in an incredibly vivid dream, God was about to grant me an amazing grace when He gave me perspective regarding my troubles.

In the dream, I saw suspended scales, just like the iconic scales of justice. On one tray were my business problems, including my predicament with my business partner, which I had been obsessing over. On the other tray was a stunningly beautiful, almost unearthly diamond which easily weighed down my troubles in the ‘unfair’ tray. Then I heard a voice say: 'Look, I gave you a diamond! ' I realised immediately that the diamond He was speaking about was my late wife, Cushla. I also was fully aware that the adversity and ‘bad luck’ I was experiencing amounted to nothing compared to having her in my life.

The dream was so powerful and vivid that I had no problem remembering it after I woke up. God had sent me the dream to enlighten me about my situation. He wanted me to focus on the positive and be grateful for my blessings, and not obsess about everyday annoyances and problems. I vowed to change.

You Can Start All Over Again By  Elevating Your Thoughts

‘The past is unreal’, Cushla used to say to me. She didn’t just mean that the past is dead and gone —she meant it in a more positive way: that no matter what happened in the past, you can start all over again. This knowing** of hers inspired me to wonder how even just one thought can transform us and to appreciate much more one of the most thrilling verses I have read in the bible, where God says:

 ‘Behold, I make all things new.” —Revelation 21:5.

Cushla especially reminded me of her saying when she sensed that I was ruminating over a bad memory or was racked with guilt because of a row I had started with her over some imagined slight. I invariably felt better when I realised the significance of what she had said and reminded myself that I could begin to live a new life full of hope and promise regardless of the mistakes I had made up to this point. It's an insight that can apply to all of us.

 Isn’t it comforting and hopeful to remind yourself that ‘the past is gone’ or the ‘past is unreal’ and that you can’t do anything about it, but from this point forward, you're going to improve your life by improving the quality of your thinking? And that regardless of who you are or what you have done in the past, you can choose the quality or level of your thinking right now.

We are thinking thoughts all day long and are not conscious of how powerful they are in directing our lives. What is so tragic is to realise that millions of people could have much happier and more meaningful lives if they only realised the power of raising their thoughts.

 Beyond Thought

If the quality of our thoughts determines not only our happiness but our destiny, the next question you might ask  with some eagerness is:  ‘What thoughts  should I  be thinking?’

Firstly, it’s important to realise that not all profound and wise thoughts originate with our own thinking. As Fulton J Sheen says in his essay  ‘The Nature of Our Minds’ :

‘Man may learn from nature alone, which makes him a scientist; or from men, which make him a humanist or an intellectual; or he may learn from God, Who alone can give him wisdom’

It's true. —we all know clever, well-educated people with no wisdom. You can’t acquire wisdom from books, studying for a PhD or hanging out with intellectuals. Human knowledge is finite when compared to the infinite universe. Besides, even the greatest secular minds don’t know what it’s like to be anything besides human, so their thoughts and perspectives are almost entirely earth-bound. A proud man might even ask why he should believe that there is anything else in the world to see or know except that which the natural powers can comprehend. His pride prevents him from being curious about mystery, especially the knowledge of other dimensions outside the sensory world. But as Fulton J Sheen says: ‘Mystery does not mean an idea which is opposed to reason, but one which transcends it. Mystery is like a telescope of the eye. The instrument does not destroy vision but opens new worlds hitherto unrevealed.’

 When I try to raise my thoughts or seek wisdom, I often turn to spiritual texts, especially the scriptures and writings of the mystics who were given insight into divine mysteries and whose insights and teachings have stood the test of time. Nonetheless, I realise that reading cannot be substituted for experience. The lives of the mystics themselves reinforced this awareness in me. They learned from their own mystical experiences that there is a vast realm of intelligence beyond the mind and that human thought is only a tiny aspect of intelligence. Most importantly, they learned that what matters in life, such as meaning, beauty, love of God and fellow man, creativity, joy, and inner peace  — arise from beyond thoughts and the mind.

'No Mind'

 Occasionally I have been granted graces regarding the realm of intelligence beyond thought. One example is when I experience a state of mind called  ‘No Mind’, which is consciousness without thought. It happens when I wake up in that half-awake, half-asleep zone. I have an awareness beyond my mind, but I’m not thinking. Then, a thought or insight that didn’t arise from within me rushes into my consciousness. I’m usually given a higher truth about something I wouldn’t ordinarily think of. For example, ‘No Mind’ usually tells me something completely different about somebody or a situation that hitherto never crossed my mind. A neighbour or colleague might have annoyed me with behaviour I perceived as thoughtless, but ‘No Mind’ shows me a more innocent motivation behind their actions or shows me that I’m entirely wrong in my assessment of the person.

In Zen Buddhism, the term mushin no shin is an expression meaning 'the mind without mind' and is also referred to as the state of ‘no–mindedness. That is, a mind not fixed or occupied by thought or emotion and thus open to everything. It is also called ‘Amani-Bhava’ in Sanskrit and used in Vedanta (one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy). As a Christian exercising spiritual discernment, I believe that my 'No Mind' experiences are from God or one of His agents in the spirit world. They are usually accompanied by a voice or locution, which always makes me feel lighter, happier and at peace (one of the signs they are from a good spirit). Nonetheless, as they only happen very occasionally, I don’t depend on ‘No Mind’ experiences or any supernatural happenings to elevate my thoughts. Instead, I try to regularly practice spiritual discipline and specific habits, which I will expand on in the article, Keep Your Thoughts Elevated To Reach Your Destiny.

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Notes:

*The Dhammapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best-known Buddhist scriptures. 

** Knowings. I don’t mean knowing in the ordinary sense of the word. Cushla’s knowings were, instead, a higher form of knowledge she drew from deep within her soul. It was a gift she shared with well-known mystics.

***A locution is a form of private revelation, similar to an apparition, but rather than being seen, a locution is heard or received internally. As with all claims of private revelation, it is important to be certain that a locution is authentic before any recognition or significance is determined.