Comment to 'Mindfulness Intercepts Thoughts'
  • inSelf Yoga™ has this practice as well even though it is defined in a different way and is stressed differently. Patanjali also has this practice in the Yoga Sutras where he wrote of the blank place in the moments between the rendering of one thought and then another.

    व्युत्थाननिरोधसंस्कारयोरभिभवप्रादुर्भावौ निरोधक्षणचित्तान्वयो निरोधपरिणामः॥९॥

    vyutthāna nirodha saṁskārayoḥ

    abhibhava prādurbhāvau nirodhakṣaṇa

    cittānvayaḥ nirodhapariṇāmaḥ

    vyutthāna – expression; nirodha – suppression; saṁskārayoḥ – of the mento-emotional impressions; abhibhava – disappearance; prādurbhāvau – and manifestation; nirodha – restraint, cessation; kṣaṇa – momentarily; citta – mento-emotional energy; ānvayaḥ – connection; nirodha – restraint; pariṇāmaḥ – transforming effects.

    When the connection with the mento-emotional energy momentarily ceases during the manifestation and disappearance phases when there is expression or suppression of the impressions, that is the restraint of the transforming mento-emotional energy. (Yoga Sutra 3.9)

     

    It seems that Michael Beloved is the only teacher who stresses location of the thoughts and the realization that this location is itself the instrument which generates thoughts. That may be why my explanations appear different.

    Is there really a difference?

    Perhaps there is.

    If I ask someone to focus on the images and sounds from a television, is that different to if I requested the person to ignore the images and only think of the gadget, the television.

    Saying cease the images or saying pull the plug from the television? Is there a difference?