So I have mentioned in the past that we have a "true self" and that this true self is not our mind. It is very common in our society to be ruled by our thoughts and our feelings, in fact it is so common that it is seen as normal to be deeply attached to our thoughts. The reason our thoughts are so dominant in our lives is that we have identified so strongly with them that we believe them to be who we are and we have been made to believe that if we quiet our mind then we aren't being our genuine selves.
This is not the case. Our true self is what we feel when the mind is quiet it's that deep sense of peace and joy that we feel within that doesn't come from an external source. It is actually a higher state of awareness above our thoughts. So when we learn to observe our thoughts we feel a different presence one that is actually free of the pain that excessive thought brings about.
We are "the witness" and "the witness" is a silent watcher of everything that goes on in our lives it doesn't get attached to thoughts or feelings it doesn't feel things that are temporary such as pleasure or pain. It doesn't judge others or ourselves it is just a never ending well of love joy and peace that never goes away and can never be taken away by anyone or anything. Our ego can hide it from us but it is ever present and we can access it at any time.
Sounds pretty amazing right? So how do we start to create space within to allow more of our genuine selves to shine through? Well meditation is one way, even just focusing on our breath, but i have discovered another technique which is a useful tool to easily practice everyday.
Recapitulation: essentially this is a technique to utilise right before you go to sleep. What you do is run through your day in your mind from when you woke up to the present moment, only spending a couple of seconds on each event. Its like pressing fast forward on your day and watching it like a movie. Spend five minutes on it in total. Don't judge any of the moments in your day just move through them. If you find yourself stuck on an event, feeling it assessing it, judging it just keep moving. Keep going till you get to where you are right now. Doesn't matter if you spend more than five minutes but do move through it quickly. If you are someone who falls asleep easily I would suggest you do it sitting up otherwise you'll never get to the end!
So what does this process do for us? Two things, it allows us to process what has happened to us during the day and let it go, we will then have a lighter load to carry throughout our lives.
The second thing it does is encourages us to live more consciously. By playing our day in fast forward for five minutes we will naturally gravitate towards more nourishing choices and we will become a witness to our own lives. We will gently encourage ourselves to recognise the silent witness within and we will begin to understand who we are on a much deeper level. Such a powerful yet simple tool! I have been practicing this every day for a few weeks now and I have really noticed a difference in my day and have found it much easier to detach when I am experiencing certain emotions and negative thoughts.
Lastly if you would like to meditate on a regular basis i would encourage you to join up to the chopra centers 21 day meditation challenge. There is a new one starting in early 2012 and they send you a daily mediation for free for 21 days and it is great to get you in the habit of practicing mindful thinking. Website is: www.chopra.com
Love, light and gratitude to those who read my words
Lucy x
Thanks Lucy, what a great post- Love it! I think one of my biggest challenges this lifetime is to overcome detachment from certain emotions and thoughts. I've not yet tried recapitulation before..I will do. See how this goes... Light n Love x
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