I AM

[rva_jeremy]

Good find! Thought is really the one thing we have absolute control over. We can't control our emotions. We can't control the outside world. Sometimes we even have limited control over the physical realization of the body. But we are utterly sovereign over our thoughts; the frontier truly is there, especially to the extent that it is thought that creates blockages in the first place.

I read session 49 or 50 recently, which discusses how adepthood is largely defined by the ability to hold a single thought or visualization for minutes at a time. Even after 2 years of daily meditation, I'm not capable of doing that. I would say, however, that I think I appreciate why that would be so valuable now. Meditation is a constant exercise in forgiving myself for a wandering attention span; to be able to simply hold attention on the object of choice is quite a delicious prize. It would mean that I could really train my will on precisely what I choose.

The first step is simply noticing thoughts, though. I think this is where we all begin: we develop an experience of calm and quiet, practicing the stillness of thought. Then all the activity of our daily lives and the way the push and pull reactions out of become more and more obvious.