thoughts and you

Staying In the Present Makes For True Happiness

To stay in the present moment is of monumental importance for true happiness and contentment. The mind is in a constant state of thought. The thoughts can take a person out of the present and into past situations, or future scenarios which have not happened. The mind likes to think about future events and put a negative spin on them. The “What if this or that happens” is played over and over again and causes the person to suffer. That awful tragedy that the mind wraps around rarely if ever occurs. Sometimes the mind thinks about future events with enthusiasm and joy, only to be let down because of preconceived notions. When something is expected to happen and doesn’t this also causes suffering. So what can you do? When you are thinking about a future event, the important thing to remember is- this future event is only created in your mind (It doesn’t exist). The only reality that exists is what is going on at that present moment. This moment is the only reality.
The past can be a great enemy as well. The mind can live in the past for years. All of the resentments and disappointments circle around in the mind and the “what if I would have done this or that” takes over. The person thinks that if certain past events could just be changed their life would be perfect, and happiness abundant. To dwell on the past is a waste of time. The past should be used as your greatest asset, never as a place to live in self-pity. Past experience is a great tool to help with future decision making, or helping others through their life experiences.
People like to put every situation, person, thought, into categories. The categories are usually really simple- either good or bad. When a person thinks about the future or past, a category is then picked. Instead of categorizing everything you come into contact with, just make the thought, situation, or person neutral. Neutral is neither good nor bad, it just is. When you do this there is no category placement.
There needs to be separation between thoughts and the real you. When a person and a thought become one there is no separation. They become one entity. This is why a person cannot stay in the present. The thought about future or past events take over, and you become the thought itself. The thought needs to be recognized for what it is, nothing more than a thought. The mind is a never ending place for random thoughts to appear and they wait for you to give them attention. The thought craves this attention from you. If the thought waits for you- who is you? The you is the real you. This you I am talking about is the present moment you. This is the you which needs to be separated from the thought. Thoughts will come no matter what. In fact the more one tries to suppress a thought the stronger it becomes. The key is to recognize that a thought should always be observed for what it is, which is nothing more than a thought. Thoughts are not real. You cannot see, feel, touch, smell, or hear them. The trick is you have to come into contact with the real you and be the observer of the thought. A good analogy would be like observing a sporting event. You are the one watching from the stands. You are not the participant. To elaborate, it would be like watching a sporting event, and becoming so entangled in it that you actually become a participant yourself. This is impossible of course, but isn’t this what we do with our thoughts?
When you become the observer a whole new world opens for you. The thoughts are just witnessed as mind junk- nothing else. You can then start to live and experience the present moment. This is the only reality we have. We need to fully experience this reality and not become entangled with our thought patterns.