The Veil of Thought (Sam Harris)

The following is a quote from Sam Harris. It’s a lesson called “The Veil of Thought,” and it’s one of many lessons about mindfulness, free will and consciousness available on his “Waking Up” app. (I’ll post more about the app, which I highly recommend, at another time.)

And now I give you…Sam Harris:

When you sit down to meditation, you will find yourself assailed by thoughts. Thoughts about what you need to do later in the day; Thoughts about the things that worry you; Thoughts about things you want, or don’t want. The moment you attempt to pay attention to your breath, or to the sound of the wind in the trees, you will meet your mind.

And your mind is the most rambling, chaotic, needling, insulting, insufferable person you will ever meet. It’s like having some maniac walk through the front door of your house and follow you from room to room, and refuse to stop talking. And this happens every day of your life.

It is possible to get him to stop talking for brief periods of time, and that can come with greater concentration in meditation. It’s possible to pay attention to the breath, for instance, and to be so focused on it that thoughts no longer arise–and this can be an extremely pleasant experience when it happens. But it’s a temporary experience.

Real relief comes when we recognize thoughts for what they are: mere appearances in consciousness. Images. Bits of language. The fact that a thought has arisen does not give it a necessary claim upon your life. It need not have any implications, psychological or otherwise. Of course, you’ll continue to think and to be moved to act by thoughts.

But meditation gives you a choice: Do you really want to follow this next thought wherever it leads?

Meditation #66: Keep some things to yourself.

The other day I posted about taking a little impromptu boat ride. One more note about that:

I found myself wondering if I should take pictures of the beauty I was seeing, but I quickly dismissed that idea. I don’t need to share this with anyone else, I thought. This is just for me.

It sounds simple, but it was kind of a revolutionary thought. Obviously I did end up sharing the experience with people (I blogged about it, after all). But the idea still stuck with me of keeping some experiences to ourselves.

I wonder if we underestimate the value of keeping good things to ourselves? Obviously it’s good to share things, especially good things. But maybe every now and then it’s good to remind yourself that you are your own best friend, by having some happy secret with just yourself. Some special moment or inside joke or beautiful sight that is for you and only you.

Meditation #14: Be a friend to yourself.

Be a friend to yourself. The last thing you need is the person you are closest to telling you you aren’t good enough, or that you screwed up again.

In meditation, you’re told not to punish yourself when you notice your mind wandering away from your breath. The same goes for every day life. If you have made a mistake, or wandered from your intended goal, or haven’t lived up to some expectation you placed on yourself, just gently bring yourself back to where you want to be and continue from there. Don’t use harsh words, don’t think nasty thoughts, don’t treat yourself less than you would treat a friend who was in the same position.

Be a friend to yourself.