In on a regular basis language, we speak primarily about “the physique,” by which we imply our bodily physique, and “the thoughts.” That is typically referred to by some academics and traditions as “the pondering thoughts,” “the human thoughts”, or “the ego.” To make use of the analogy of the ocean, the pondering thoughts, when in comparison with the depths of consciousness, is just like the small waves on the floor of who you’re.
Your deeper nature is ready to observe each your physical body and your thoughts, all ideas and feelings; subsequently, it’s extra basically and primarily you. It’s the deepest, probably the most core facet of who you’re.
The deep self is consciousness, the a part of you that’s conscious of every thing else: conscious of each feeling, each thought and each notion that you simply ever expertise in your life. All ideas, emotions and perceptions come up, unfold and dissolve in consciousness like waves coming and happening the floor of the ocean.
Some individuals on a private improvement or religious path make their thoughts into an enemy to beat, subdue or get management of. They might even wish to “destroy the ego” or do away with sure elements of themselves. In my expertise, this angle units up an interior battle with ourselves that aggravates the thoughts, brings pressure and stress into our system and blocks our capacity to get up to our deeper nature and better potential as human beings.
Intelligence Vs. Knowledge
Deep resilience is an method that befriends the thoughts, treating it, and all elements of our selves, with understanding, respect, and care. The thoughts/ego is a helpful, beneficial, and important a part of our human system; nonetheless, the deep resilience mannequin asserts that the pondering thoughts shouldn’t be the lead of our system. Deep resilience is the power to entry after which act from our deeper nature and let it lead our system. With the deep self because the guiding power, we’re higher capable of stay guided by consciousness and in ways in which align with our values. We’re higher capable of stay from love and knowledge, not from confusion and concern.
The pondering thoughts has items and has labored so exhausting to assist us survive and hold us secure. It’s good at what we’d name mental intelligence: logic, planning, drawback fixing, memorisation and setting objectives. It’s expert at manipulating the surface world, utilising the exterior surroundings to remain secure, get sources, entice a mate, make issues occur and to use the teachings from the previous to the current. As now we have seen, nonetheless, it additionally has primal survival-based wiring, and if left within the lead and working unchecked with out knowledge, it’ll play out its conditioned patterns, typically to the detriment of our well-being, happiness and general high quality of life. This is applicable each individually and collectively.
The pondering thoughts simply doesn’t know the right way to make you actually pleased. It could lead you towards pleasure, nevertheless it is aware of nothing about the right way to lead a significant, fulfilling life. It is because it solely has survival-based logic and conditioning to observe.
It additionally lacks knowledge, which is a special type of intelligence. The American writer and blogger Mark Manson neatly described why a pondering thoughts alone (what he calls “intelligence”) will not be sufficient: “Knowledge with out intelligence can nonetheless result in an excellent, easy life. Intelligence with out knowledge is a particular (and harmful) type of stupidity.” Coaching our thoughts to be deeply resilient entails tapping into our inherent knowledge, the intelligence of our deeper nature, whereas additionally nonetheless having the ability to heal, harmonise and harness the unimaginable items of the pondering thoughts.
Understanding Our True Nature
One of many assertions of the Deep Resilience Technique is that everybody has a deeper dimension of themselves past simply the content material of the conditioned thoughts. In essence, this deeper self is who we actually are, past or beneath our pondering thoughts and bodily physique.
This deep self is inherent inside every of us and may be seen as our true nature, our seat of consciousness and a spot of deep interior “realizing.” Some consult with this facet of ourselves as our spirit or religious facet. It’s the a part of you that continues to be fixed. Regardless of what’s going on within the pondering thoughts or the world, your deep self is all the time the identical, and stays untouched by exterior influences or experiences, simply because the depths of the ocean are unaffected by the waves on the floor.
The world’s knowledge traditions have their very own method of speaking this facet of human nature. Some name it the “true self” or “greater self.” In Buddhism it’s your Buddha nature; in Hinduism it’s “Self” (with a capital “S”), or Atman; some merely name it the soul. No matter they title it, these and plenty of different traditions and teachings all acknowledge the trifold nature of human beings: physique, thoughts, and spirit.
Likewise, varied present cutting-edge, evidence-based psychotherapeutic frameworks acknowledge and make the most of this deeper a part of human nature (together with different complementary abilities) to assist individuals overcome every kind of psychological struggles, discover therapeutic, make constructive modifications and drive private development. Fashionable mindfulness coaching, which has confirmed extremely effective in decreasing stress, anxiety, depression, and dependancy, and enhancing general psychological well being, additionally cultivates and makes use of this deeper consciousness.
We’ve seen how our pondering thoughts is conditioned by primal patterns and private conditioning. In distinction, consciousness is unconditioned: it’s unchanging and ever current, and its qualities are all the time accessible. It’s the silent consciousness inside that may observe ideas, feelings, behaviours, and all different experiences. It’s earlier than and beneath them. Deeper than them.
This isn’t an summary idea however one that may be accessed first-hand pretty simply through a short meditation. You may take a second to note {that a} deeper a part of you may observe ideas and emotions somewhat than being caught up in them.
Excerpted from Deep Resilience by Melli O’Brien, printed by Rethink Press. Copyright © 2024 Melli O’Brien. Reprinted with permission.
