Can We Function Without Thinking?

Master Tim, of the Twinsburg Academy of Self-Defense, has dedicated his last couple of BLOGs to the mind.  He’s been talking about the thinking mind and the universal Mind.  In this BLOG, he poses this question; can we function in the world on universal Mind alone without the thinking mind?  When Master Tim asks this question of his students most either say “Not Me,” or “Maybe some can, but I can’t.”

What the students don’t realize is that they do function, every minute of the day, without the thinking mind.  Pure Awareness is ever-present.  The trouble is the thinking mind takes over so rapidly from the universal Mind that they miss that the universal Mind actually was first to respond.  The universal Mind is recognized in the gut reaction, the epiphany of a new idea, and in the awe felt witnessing the wonders of life.  These things happen before we think, don’t they?

Functioning at the level universal Mind reduces reaction time; critical in self-defense or life-threatening situations.  Can you imagine stepping out onto the street and immediately jumping back out of the way just before the bus hits you.  What if the thinking mind was actually in charge here?  After you realized the bus was about to hit you, you’d consider your options, you would worry about whether the bus would kill or severely hurt you, you’d worry how your family would survive without you, you might feel mad that the bus driver didn’t see you, etc.  And, most likely, you would not have moved in time to save yourself.

The great spiritual teachers tell us to “just be.”  The thinking mind responds “just be what?” and we’ve lost our connection to Pure Awareness.  The spiritual teachers are telling us to just be aware - stop thinking so much.  Be the ever-present Awareness before thought.

What if we functioned from the level of Pure Awareness more often in our lives?  We wouldn’t judge others or ourselves.  We wouldn’t worry about situations we find ourselves in.  We wouldn’t regret decisions that we’ve made.  We’d listen more closely.  We’ve love more completely.  We’d feel the bliss that is life.  We’d find we’re living NOW, in the present moment.

So, clearly, most would agree that we think too much.  What do we do about it?  The problem is thinking about the problem only exacerbates the problem – thinking of a solution is not the answer.  A solution that does not require thinking is the answer, we tap into Pure Awareness.  (Remember, Pure Awareness is there before we start to think.)  So, just be aware that you had or are having a thought and consciously cease the thought.  Allow yourself to bathe in the Pure Awareness instead.  This may last only a few seconds before another thought occurs, but we continue to repeat this simple but powerful process.  Over time the number and frequency of thoughts decreases. 

When our state of Pure Awareness becomes more prevalent than our thoughts, spirituality tells us we’ve Awakened!