The Suffering of Self

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This article highlights a number of things worthy of reflection.

 

Habitual thinking is an interesting phenomenon. We have no memory of our bringing into this existence we call the waking world; life. A sense of self develops in the early years and all of a sudden we are. The nature of our surroundings, and the long period of growth before becoming full fledged adults, give the sense of self more than enough time to imbed itself.

 

In fact, it is arguably necessary for it to exist if we wish to communicate effectively. Without definitions of objects and feelings, communicating would be almost meaningless. As such, there is a need for an individual to construct an 'I'. A holder of emotions and a receiver of information from our senses.

 

It is due to our habitual thinking that we attach our minds to a sense of self. It is due to our ignorance that we cannot see beyond it.

 

Habitual thinking implies that we are caught in a loop that we will forever travel in our minds, without any independent thought after these habits have been formed. It's as if you build a road in a vast desert and only travel along that path oblivious to your surroundings. You fall blind to anything other than your own creation. You fall into ignorance.

 

Ignorance cannot know itself. For all I know, this enquiring and probing into concepts and ideas that my mind regularly does is, in itself, habitual thinking on my part. Alas, I cannot know the answer. There are no flashing lights, no alarm bells, no warnings in which the mind knows it is being ignorant. Only through our communication with others can we occasionally think, "I am being ignorant." We thus change our behaviours accordingly.

 

If we cannot know our own ignorance, then we can assume that we are always in a process of habitual thinking.

Edited March 23, 2008 by .broken.

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whoops... accidentally posted the last thing twice...

Edited March 23, 2008 by .broken.