"A Space for Thought" by Tim Bunce

A copy of the lightning talk I gave at OSCON 2012
I'm dropping it here before I get around to updating
the older version at http://blog.timbunce.org/2012/04/08/a-space-for-thought/


- What is the difference between thought, and the quiet awareness in
  the gap between thoughts?
-
- I want to share with you the single most important thing I've learned
  in my life
- It's a simple change in perspective that has revealed answers to many
  mysteries - so much more of the world makes sense to me now
- It's a shift in how I relate to myself and the world around me
-
- I really want to share this with you, but I have a problem
- The key idea is so simple that, if you're not familiar with it, you
  may not believe me
- Or you'll dismiss it as obvious and of no value. You'll miss the
  depth and implications of it.
-
- To persuade you I could quote countless great examples of life's
  mysteries from literature, science, art, and everyday life. Showing
  you how they fit together and make sense when viewed in this light.
- But I don't have time.
-
- I only have time to give you a starting point, to plant a seed,
- and some suggestions for how to nurture it
- in the hope that it can grow and blossom for you too
-
- Before I share this simple insight, before I plant this seed,
- I need your help to prepare the ground.
- I need you to experience something for yourself.
-
- So please join me in a simple exercise in awareness.
    - In paying attention.
- Start paying attention now, to the feeling of your left foot
    - just experience your left foot for a while
    - without thinking about it
-   ~pause~
- What you're paying attention to is your foot
    - what you're paying attention with is elsewhere
- ~pause~
- We'll do that again now but this time I'll say something to prompt
  some thought
- I want you to notice what happens to your attention when you start
  thinking
- Return your attention to your foot now
-   ~pause~
- Nine plus seven
-   ~pause~
-
- Did you notice your attention move away from your foot when you
  started thinking?
- The focus of your awareness moved from your foot into your mind
-
- Your full attention can't be on a thought and something else at the
  same time.
- You need to be aware of the thought, just as you need to be aware of
  the feeling.
- Awareness is primary. Thinking and feeling are secondary.
-
-
- So here's the seed I want to plant:
- You are not your thoughts, just as you are not your feelings
- You, the essence of who you really are, is the awareness
- The conscious awareness within which your thoughts and feelings arise
-
-
- That's it.
- It's so simple, and yet so delicate
- Easily crushed by the weight of your own thoughts, that are
  constantly seeking to define you
-
- Having planted that seed, I want to give you three tips for nurturing
  it, that I have found very helpful
-
- 1st. Give your thoughts and opinions some space
    - view them from a little distance
    - note their contents but don't judge them
        - judging involves the thinking mind and you won't break free
        - Simply note their contents and let them go
    - Treat your thoughts as suggestions from a much loved friend,
        - but a friend you know is vain, insecure, and untrustworthy
    - Noticing how this friend reacts to situations in your life
        - is a fascinating and rewarding pastime
        - There's no need to watch a soap opera on TV
        - when you can watch the one going on in your thinking mind!
    -
- 2nd. Practice taking your attention away from thoughts
    - whenever they're unhappy, unproductive or unhelpful
        - which, let's face it, can be much of the time
    - Simply bring your attention to your breathing, your foot
        - or anything else in the present moment
    -
- 3rd. Slow the momentum of the mind by bring moments of stillness into
  your life regularly
    - the phone rings - take a conscious breath with a quiet mind
      before answering
    - get in the car - take a few breaths before starting the engine
    - Look at nature, birds trees flowers people,
        - without labeling, judging, or other mental activity
-
- The more often I remember to do these simple things
    - the more my sense of Self shifts
    - from the noise and turmoil of the thinking mind
    - to being rooted in the peace beyond it
    -
- So what is the difference between thought, and the quiet awareness in
  the gap between thoughts?
    - That's for you to discover in your own way
    - but you won't find out by thinking about it.