It is rare that I embrace poetry. As much as I appreciate a well-turned phrase, I’m about as unpoetical as a braying cat on a hot winter’s night. (See what I mean?)
But the poem below managed to catch even my unrefined eye. The author, who I won’t identify, was kind enough to allow me to post it. At first glance, it may appear to be about suppressing or controlling the mind. Much of Western psychology advocates for that. But no, this poem is about something different: accepting what the mind has to offer, without fighting it, and with full understanding that we don’t have to yield to every little thing the mind gives us.
I’m Experiencing a Thought
A thought is not to be feared,
A thought is not your cowardice,
A thought is not your punishment,
A thought is not your endeavor,
A thought is not reality,
A thought is not your existence,
A thought is not your demise,
A thought is not You.
A thought is a flash,
A moment, a cursory notion.
A thought cannot torment,
A thought cannot impair,
A thought cannot wound,
A thought cannot oppress,
A thought cannot ravage,
A thought cannot contaminate.
Unless you allow a thought
To denigrate, to devastate,
To permeate, to effectuate,
To Become.
You are not
Your thoughts.
My posts are typically much longer, but there’s not much I can add to that.
Though what is said may be true whenever that thought is even slightly mentioned aloud EVERYTHING changes…..
E.-L.
Howdy E.-L., this is not to say that some thoughts aren’t true. “Everything changes” is a fact of life. I forgot what famous psychologist said that one of the hardest things to accept in life is that things change and people leave.
I often see minds responding to those facts of life with thoughts like “things change and people leave because I am intolerable.” That thought has never been true in any of the people who have reported it to me. (They were all likable people.)
Maybe it works like this: “Things change” is a fact. “I’m intolerable” is a mental response to a fact that is better of ignored. Not suppressed, just noticed and accepted for what it is: just something the mind does.
This concept can be hard to comprehend considering what most of us have been taught about how to deal with difficult and uncomfortable thoughts. Perhaps, a thought can seem more real–and more frightening–when said allowed but it is STILL a thought. You do NOT have to believe something just because a thought went through your mind. You don’t have to feel guilty about a thought either.
For example, if a child is angry with her mom and thinks and says aloud to herself, “I hate my mom. I wish she was dead!” then her mother is in a tragic car accident and dies, the child’s thought had nothing to do with that. She will feel guilty about it–probably for the rest of her life–because of how we think about thoughts: we think it therefore it must be true, even just a little bit.
Obviously, you can see from this example that a thought didn’t cause someone’s death. I encourage you to consider looking at your thoughts and your mind differently. The liberation you feel when released from the grips of your thoughts, is life changing. I know because I used to not believe it–or understand it–but now find peace and freedom in this concept.
“The liberation you feel when released from the grips of your thoughts, is life changing.” – Well said!
“A thought is not reality”
True. A thought is simply a story (made of a string of words) that our minds tells us at a given moment. Hence validating it’s content (whether true or false) is not useful or necessary
“A thought is not u”
i like this. Any neg. judgement or self evaluation it brings with it, u don’t have to believe it as the absolute truth. It does not prove anything about u.
“A thought cannot torment….unless u allow….”
True…while we have not much control over what thoughts come and go, we can control whether we choose to allow em to influence our actions or not. Ofcourse the impact of a neg. thought will be there, however being mindful and realizing once again that this is nothing but just a thought, will instantly reduce the influence and impact of neg. thoughts.
“You r not your thoughts”
yup. U r WHO U CHOOSE to be. u can’t choose ur thoughts. Hence u r NOT ur thoughts, U R UR BEHAVIOR!
great reminder. Jazakallah Khair for posting it!
ws
Hi Guys, I believe thoughts have a basic evolutionary function that is necessary for survival, however we can lose the run of ourselves with this function perhaps due to our ability to create or derive arbitrary relations between stimuli in our environment (as I understand it).
A possible example: Since my son was born I sometimes get horrible thoughts about things that could happen to him anytime such as accidents etc. However the thoughts can be pretty graphic and distressing, for example when driving.
I just think that these unpleasant thoughts are necessary to keep me on my toes, more alert and mindful regarding dangers to look out for, or from becoming complacent as accidents and mistakes can lurk at every corner. So are these unpleasant thoughts designed to prevent a person from making potentially disastrous mistakes?
Hi GabeDude, I could have written that comment myself, it rings so true. It’s astounding what having a child will do to one’s mind. I don’t know of any data on the matter, but I would imagine that that kind of forecasting of tragedies fits well with the survival-driven mind wanting to keep us on our toes.
A bit like the film minority report where “precogging” is done to forecast and hence avoid or prevent crime and murders
I often use that “thought” in my work counseling combat Veterans. I find it useful in understanding that thoughts are not actions and sitting with distress, which some thoughts can certainly be especially considering ptsd, without acting can help distress pass.
Would you ask the author if I can use this poem?
Hi Patrick, the author allowed me to post it, which means it’s open to anyone who wants to read it. I am certain the author would be happy to know that you find it useful. Thanks for supporting our veterans. Shawn