My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
This idea
is, of course, the reason why you see only the past. No one really sees
anything. He sees only his thoughts projected outward. The mind’s preoccupation
with the past is the cause of the misconception about time from which your
seeing suffers. Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time
there is. It therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in fact, understand
anything.
The one wholly true thought one can hold about the past is
that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to think about
illusions. Very few have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the
past or in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does
this, because it is not really thinking about anything.
The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train
your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. While thoughtless
ideas preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked. Recognizing that your mind has
been merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is
the first step to opening the way to vision.
The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed.
This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize
that no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing
anything. With as little investment as possible, search your mind for the usual
minute or so, merely noting the thoughts you find there. Name each one by the
central figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. Introduce the
practice period by saying:
- I seem to be thinking about ______.
Then name
each of your thoughts specifically, for example:
- I seem to be thinking about [name of a person], about [name of an object], about [name of an emotion],
and so on,
concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:
- But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
This can be
done four or five times during the day, unless you find it irritates you. If
you find it trying, three or four times is sufficient. You might find it
helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion that the idea for
today may induce, in the mind searching itself.