Addicted to Words

[Michael Bergman]

hey group,

i just want you all to know how much fun i had writing this...i hope you
enjoy the channeling of cookie monster :)


raise your hand if you are addicted to words, if thinking obsesses your
every waking moment. what does an addiction or an obsession really mean?
in my understanding an addiction or an obsession is when you have no control
over something, when you can?t stop yourself from doing something as if you
have no choice in the matter, when you feel that you are a victim to any
given circumstance. so i ask you again, ?are you addicted to words, are you
obsessed by thinking, are you being held captive by a captivating mind??
are you in control of your ego, can you get it to stop thinking words at a
moments notice or have the words you thought you possessed started to
possess you, the thinker? isn?t it funny how the very things that you
believe you own end up owning you.

how many words do you consume on a given day? could you even count? no
wonder our egos are so inflated, how can they not be after getting fed
servings of words all day long? words are deliciously enchanting i know but
thinking is not exercising the mind like some would have you believe;
thinking only makes the ego more plump. the only way to truly exercise the
mind is to enter into the expansion of silence, to listen to the listener,
to practice the presence of the creator. now this may be painful to stretch
and open the mind as you practice entering the silence for the mind has
become very stiff with the words, opinions, and beliefs that are assumed to
be facts. you may even think that you are going crazy when you first try to
meditate and calm the mind and you know what you are right. you are losing
your mind when you begin to exercise it for silence is the only work out
that is guaranteed to keep the ego fit as you lose the heavy weight of
judgment and the comparison of words.

now don?t get me wrong words are a gift, language is a wonderful tool of
shared expression where we attempt to describe the indescribable, to name
the unnamable, to give a voice to the silence. words can also be a terrible
burden; however, especially when they start to take over and rule your life
leaving the peace of quiet nowhere to be found. so what can we do about
this overgrown monster with such an appetite for words? perhaps it is time
to go on a diet of mantras, to turn off the distracting televisions and
radios and computers and cell phones, to go outside and listen to the sounds
of nature, to go on a fast from words as we abide in silence.

you all know the quote i am sure in the bible, ?in the beginning was the
word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. the same was in the
beginning with god. all things were made by him.? well i think it is time
to go back to that primary word, to that original thought of god from which
all of creation springs into being. what do you think that word is? what
is the source of every thought?

imagine an entire day without hearing a single inner or outer word. that is
pretty hard to imagine isn?t it? all right so how about imagining a whole
hour of not hearing one word? is that too much to ask as well? okay so let
us just imagine one complete minute of peace with the absence of any word.
can you do that or did the word monster eat another word? we have all
turned into cookie monsters and words are our cookies.

how about we try this starting from right now instead? right now before any
word is being consumed you are one with silence. how long can you remain
quiet before you want to eat another cookie? how big of a gap can you make
between each bite? find out who it is that wants to eat another cookie. it
is not the cookie monster, it is the ?i? thought monster. by the way seven
never ate nine, the ?i? thought monster ate seven, eight, nine and every
other possible word that can be eaten.

i got an idea to get rid of the ?i? thought monster that just might work.
what would happen if the ?i? thought monster only had the word ?i? to eat?
why the ?i? thought monster would turn into an ouroboros eating its own tail
would it not? why the ?i? thought monster would turn into a friendly donut
where silence would prevail in the peaceful center. how do you transform
the ?i? thought monster into a friendly ouroboros that eats its own donut
self? by only thinking the word ?i?i??i???i????i?????i??????i!? as the gap
between the words continues to increase so does the peace of silence until
only the gap remains. the length of the gap between two thoughts is your
measurement of peace. when words come to a halt, silence is forever
awakened and sleep is no longer needed.

peace,
mikey

[Charlie]

> from: michael bergman <bergmanmichael@... (/group/asc2k/post?postid=b1csf8hn1okwxw7uoyrbnmzis3a-gl7mmsdl-txixjoh7vh8nfodkkerrppmebjrg0ymoqa9nymmlu8-cecy)>
>
> the only way to truly exercise the mind is to enter into the expansion of
> silence, to listen to the listener, to practice the presence of the creator.

interesting essay mikey but i think this line above is inaccurate
(disclaimer: this has nothing to do with you or the rest of your essay but i
am trying to use it as a way of introducing different ideas to the group)
and has actually been a hindrance to may beings development especially in
eastern traditions such as zen where that practice has been taken to the
extreme.

i don't think this meditation expands consciousness but retards the thinking
mind so that it is easier to connect with the subtle, not that that is a bad
thing but it can be taken to far, e.g. a lifetime of sitting on a cushion
not doing, not allowing divine will (spirit) to act through us in this
plane. will is the doer of consciousness.

i think expansion of consciousness has more to do with developing powers of
concentration and focus than quietning thinking.

see www.astromind.com for practical exercises as to how to do this and even
test your current powers of focus and concentration. i think once these
faculties have been developed, reaching that subtle place will be much
easier as distractions will be reduced if not eliminated at all. this is one
of the reasons why meditating in a lucid dream is so much more effective
than in "waking life" because the dreamer creates the environment to
meditate in.

aloha
charlie

ps. keep up the writings mikey