Whyshouldwebeaddictedtothinking?
Because you are identified with it, which means that you
derive your sense of self from the content and activity of
yourmind.Becauseyoubelievethatyouwouldceasetobeif
you stopped thinking. As you grow up, you form a mental
image of who you are, based on your personal and cultural
conditioning. We may call this phantom self the ego. It
consistsofmindactivityandcanonlybekeptgoingthrough
constant thinking. The term ego means different things to
differentpeople,butwhenIuseithere itmeansafalseself,
createdbyunconsciousidentificationwiththemind.
Totheego,thepresentmomenthardlyexists.Onlypast
andfutureareconsideredimportant.Thistotalreversalofthe
truthaccountsforthefactthatintheegomodethemindisso
dysfunctional. It is always concerned with keepingthe past
alive, because without it — who are you? It constantly
projects itselfintothefuturetoensureitscontinuedsurvival
andtoseeksomekindofreleaseorfulfillment there.Itsays:
"One day,whenthis, that,or theotherhappens,I am going
tobeokay,happy,atpeace."Evenwhentheegoseemstobe
concernedwiththepresent,itisnotthepresentthatitsees:It
misperceives it completelybecauseit looks atitthroughthe
eyes of thepast. Or it reduces the present to a means toan
end, an end that always lies in the mind-projected future.
Observeyourmindandyou'llseethatthisishowitworks.
Thepresentmomentholdsthekeytoliberation.Butyou
cannotfindthepresentmomentaslongasyouareyourmind.
Idon'twanttolosemyabilitytoanalyze anddiscriminate.I
wouldn't mind learning to think more clearly, in a more
focused way, but I don't want to lose my mind. The gift of
thought is the most precious thing we have. Without it, we
wouldjustbeanotherspeciesofanimal.