Be the Bowl

You have fish in the bowl.

You have water.

Then you have the bowl surrounding it all.

Be the bowl.

Picture this in your head, but do so with awareness or the ego is going to take over.

We identify with nothing in our lives but the fish.

The fish are the thoughts in our brain, going in circles, and running all around us.

If we step back and observe this, we become the water.

If we understand there is a such thing as having fish, having water, and observing that with no reaction – we become the bowl.

We are the bowl, we have always been the bowl, but we think we are the content of that bowl.

If you took a pill right now that slowed down a cortex, boosted your GABA system, and killed your cortisol, do you think you would give a shit about the fish?

No. Thats why people take so many pills.

But when the pill wears off, its back to square one.

So what does that tell us?

It tells us that nothing “outside” of us is doing anything, WE are doing it all by identifying with what is not us at all.

You really think you are these thoughts? You are ready to give up your freedom (which you have lost by being a slave to your mind) because of a thought?

We don’t even know what the problem is anymore, we just know the thoughts about it.

Specifics are now gone, everything is based off of an emotion, a feeling, and the thoughts that follow it.

There is a reason all the “spiritual” books talk about awareness, talk about meditation, because it builds a space between you and your mind so for once you can actually SEE the content of your mind and not BE the content of your mind.

This is a tall order for most people, but its the only way to get out of your head.

I know people read my writing and have no clue what I’m talking about. They think its me telling them to move to the mountains and do nothing.

Nope, not at all. Im telling you to look at your daily experience and tell me that its not all in your head. Most of it is.

Think about when you drive in a car; are you actually watching whats around you?

Nope, you are just reviewing the day.

We have to understand how much this happens, or we will never admit it and never fix it.

I love when people think they are calm and don’t need to study this stuff, yet they are in their mind 24/7.

To be clear, this is not some teaching where you “stop” your mind. It’s simply being more than your mind.

My mind still runs, but it’s not part of me. If it runs I let it run, I’m not attached to it. There is a difference between your mind and your brain. The mind is the part that never shuts off, it’s the part that holds you back due to fear, it’s also the ego. We don’t the constant chatter.

Being the bowl means you can watch, you can observe. You can take a few seconds to observe and say “thats interesting,” then respond (not react) the way you want to. This is the key.

So next time you overreact, think of being “behind” it all. Being the watcher, being the bowl. Being what is before thoughts.

That change in view point will allow you to “pop out” of your situation for a second in order to see whats really going on.