Notes from The Mirage Of Memory by Robert Saltzman

Notes from The Mirage Of Memory - by Robert Saltzman

• Repression is not letting go. And no-one can let go of anything.
  • Some seemingly good activities can still be about repression (of unwanted thoughts and feelings).
• The next time you feel compelled to do something, don’t do it.
  • Just sit quietly. Observe the flow of thoughts. Don’t try and control anything.
• Thoughts about the body may arise. The body doesn’t need thoughts to survive.
• Thoughts just keep on arising whether you like it or not, whether you like them or not.
• “You” are beliefs, memories, opinions, fears, desires, and the awareness of these things and more.
• Thoughts flow like the water in a stream. One thought appears, then another, and another, without stopping. The flow of thoughts is beyond your control.
• If we could control our thoughts, we’d never be anxious (for example). We could just choose to stop those thoughts, think something else instead.
• “Me” is a thought. Even the (supposed) observer of thoughts is a thought.
  • You can notice this directly by trying to maintain the observer and seeing it fade in and out, uncontrollably.

Copy, Paste notes

As I see it, no one can let go of anything. Once you have seen or heard something, it’s there. You may be able to repress some of it, but repression is not letting go. Repression just sweeps things under the carpet.

Some distractions may even appear to be “healthy choices”—perhaps a workout at the gym or a jog around the neighborhood—and on the physical level, they may be healthy. However, at root, such behaviors still aim to maintain the repression of unwanted ideas and feelings.

…the next time you feel compelled to do something, try not to do it and just sit, letting your thoughts go where they will, without trying to control anything. You may be surprised at what comes up.

Surrender is, I say, neither necessary nor possible. Life is already “just happening” and will continue to happen as long as the body is alive.

Thoughts about the body may arise—including some anxious and fearful ones—but the body does not need those thoughts. The body needs air, water, food, and shelter, not thoughts. From the standpoint of the body, thoughts are largely superfluous.

… thoughts just keep on arising whether you like it or not. And those thoughts are you. That’s what “you” is— beliefs, memories, opinions, fears, desires, etc, plus the awareness of all that.

Just sit quietly and, without trying to control anything, observe the flow of thoughts as they arise. If you do this earnestly, even if only briefly, you will see that thoughts flow like the water in a stream—the stream of consciousness. One thought appears, just to be replaced by another, by another, by another . . . and there is no stopping that process. That flow is beyond your control.

If you could control that flow of thoughts, anxiety would never be a problem, for when an anxious idea appeared, you would simply erase it and replace it with one you liked better. Then you’d hold on to that happy, happy thought for the rest of the day. But it doesn’t work that way, does it?

If you get this, you will see that you are not standing apart from thought. “Me” is a thought. Even the supposed observer of thoughts is a thought. How do I know that? Simple. Try to maintain that observer for the rest of the day or for even ten minutes, and you will notice it fading in and fading out uncontrollably just like the thoughts it claims to be observing.

This right now is it and all we ever have.

Added 2024-08-22.