As soon as we immerse ourselves in a thought-free space, even if it is only for a few minutes, our brain calms down and with it our organism. All relaxation and meditation techniques, regardless of their cultural background, seek this place of stillness. Nature offers us this place for free. Whether it is the vastness of the sea, the massive dimension of the mountains or the endless space when gazing at the star-studded night sky, the sublime beauty of nature helps us to realise the meaninglessness of our own thoughts and dramas. It puts our mind games about life and its problems into perspective. If we analyse more closely what happens when thoughts stop demanding our attention for a moment, it becomes clear that pausing – in addition to relaxing – also creates a moment of self-forgetfulness. In these moments, the inner dialogue simply stops and with the temporary disappearance of the inner dialogue, self-reference also disappears. We become not only thoughtless, but also self-less. It is the end of the inner world or, neurologically speaking, the end of the narrative mode in which we constantly refer to our thoughts about the world instead of perceiving reality unfiltered as it factually is.
When the automated, narrative mode loses its fascination, the significance and attractiveness of one’s own world of thoughts also dwindles: judgements, comments, beliefs and self-talk that the brain continually produces. “No self, no problem” is the shortest definition a Buddhist monk once gave to a seeker who wanted to know what the essence of Buddhism was. When one no longer loses oneself in one’s thoughts (=narrative mode), i.e. can let them pass by with a certain ease without continuing to identify with them, one attains mental freedom. Mental freedom, however, is at the same time freedom from the ego. For the ego is a mental construction of our brain, the conglomerate of billions of impressions stored in our neurons and in our body. The end of the inner world is the beginning of a more intense perception of unfiltered reality as it actually is. As soon as we perceive reality directly, we recognise the beauty of being not only in the majesty of nature, but in every human being, every living being and every moment that life offers us. It is not for nothing that neurology calls this mode the direct experience mode. Access to this direct experience of reality is simpler than we think. You cannot think your way into it, you can only glide into it if you stop your thoughts for a moment. Just try it out, now. And then just stretch out this thought-free space, this now, by concentrating completely on your senses: Seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting. No matter which sense you take, even if you give your undivided attention to several senses at the same time, you automatically end up in direct experience mode and all your problems cease to exist. For they exist only virtually in their narrative mode as thoughts about something. Take this most important step out of being lost in your thoughts now. Step out of the circus of thoughts. Don’t let yourself become the clown of your brain.
I know it’s the end of your inner world, your much-loved self-reference that you think you are because you are convinced it makes up your identity. But believe me, this identity is completely fictitious and mostly problem-laden. Just look around at their contemporaries who are always “hanging out” in their minds and making life miserable for themselves, even though they have almost everything you could ever want and certainly have everything you really need in life. I admit it’s easier to see it in the other person than in yourself.
But the next time you are sitting or sitting across from someone who is lost in their thoughts, do the Byron Katie check on yourself. Is what you are thinking really true? Can you say with absolute certainty that what you are thinking is true? How do you feel when you think that? How do you feel when you just let that thought fly like a kite and cut the string that connects you to that thought? Allow yourself to become free of yourself. Now.