95% Rubbish?

[joelchigliak]

I think I'm finally starting to make some progress with integrating mindfulness into every available moment of waking life.

However, I've come to the realisation that most of my thinking processes are vain, arrogant, hypocritical, status-seeking, petty, jealous etc etc (constantly comparing myself with the more talented meditators on here for example! ) even though most other people would outwardly probably describe me as 'nice' or even 'kind' etc.

Is this true to other peoples experience? Is this why looking into the mirror of mindfulness (and seeing what your preoccupations really are) is quite hard? Is 95% of what people think really just rubbish? Or is it just me and I'm a bad person?

Lastly, and I feel I should know this by now, but is there any danger in 'suppressing' thought by noting it as it starts to arise in working/daily life?

Thanks

[Bill H]

Right there with you. Im thinking closer to 99% for myself

Whats even funnier is if you do any practice that allows you to see how the thoughts arise in the first place and it makes them seem even more meaningless - its just a result of suble craving/clinging to pleasant or unpleasant sensations that seems to cause all those extra thoughts! Like the ramblings of a baby that doesn't know what the sounds even mean or something..Its so silly to see how a thought about something totally random and unrelated to the present moment can arise simply by resisting some small sensation somewhere - kind of puts it in context (for a while at least)

[Bill29ish]

Yes, it is just you. And yes, you are a bad person;)

My guess is that our preoccupation with thoughts has to do with biology and evolution. Really, without abstract thinking to do things like build weapons, tools and shelter, as a species we're fucked. We're not fast, we have no claws, or sharp teeth. It was probably terrifying to be a human on the plains of Africa before abstract thinking came into being. Can you imagine?
I have also heard and found in my own experience that after periods of deep opening or expansion there is an inevitable rise in discursive thinking that occurs. One way to think of this could be that it is a reaction to a deep seeing of annata. Again, biologically, where survival of the organism is key, annata is terrifying. The vajrayana view is that these are parts of ourselves that have been rejected and have heard the call of the awakened state and are appearing so that we can bring them home and heal.

Do you think your thoughts say something about you? Do you pick them autonomously and then they arrive, or are they appearing on their own? Also, where do they come from? Where do they go?

My opinion would be that noting thoughts isn't bad, but if there is an aversion to thinking or you're using it as a way to control or push away that might be worth noting as well.

But it's an interesting question.

[joelchigliak]

ok - thanks Guys! - glad to hear it's probably not just me! Really interesting responses - thanks.