Thanks Kiki,
kiki wrote:As inadequate as it is, thought is pretty much what were stuck with in sharing this with others.
Hmm. My sense is that an approach that looks upon thought as something inadequate that we are stuck with could be a self induced limitation, an unnecessary weight we carry from 2,000 years of conditioning.
Let's put thought to work, and see what it can do.
First, we'll analyze an extensive millenia long field test. We'll observe that the classic method of sharing has a profound effect upon a few, a positive benefit for some, and is generally lost upon the majority.
As scientists, we are estatic to have so much data, because this makes it so much easier for us to escape the limits of our own preconceived ideas, conditioning etc.
Listening to the data is a form of silence. Observing what is.
Seeking the biggest bang for our buck, we address ourselves to the needs of the majority.
As scientists, we observe these students objectively, and find them to be fully engaged in ego. Observing our historical data, we see the classic method of sharing has a low probability of reaching this group.
So we come up with a different lesson plan we hope will reach these students, where they are.
A hypothesis arises. If we give the student's ego something to chew on, will this help bring them in to the experience?
We don't know. And we won't know until we run the test, and measure the results.
We reach in to the trash can, and retrieve the graph paper the classics teacher so hastily disgarded.
We'll tell 100 students to use a timer to count how many minutes a day they meditate, and graph it. Whichever students logs the most hours, wins some ego inflating award in front of of all their peers. Thank you B. F. Skinner.
After a few months of this, we poll the students to see if they report positive results. 35% report positive results.
So, we go back to our lesson plan and make some changes. We run the test again. This time 39% report positive results. Ah, maybe we're on to something. Let's tweak the lesson plan again, and see what the next batch of data tells us.
Please note we've made no mention of space conciousness, the role of the ego, Oneness, or any other dogma. We've simply given the student's ego a reason to experiment with an experience.
If we used thought in a systematic analytic manner, we could group all the students in a similar situation, and provide them with field tested teaching methods that have been proven over time to most effectively reach that group.
Silence is still the experience we are sharing. We haven't wavered from that an inch.
But because we have liberated ourselves from a 2,000 year old "thought is bad" dogma, we are now perhaps in a better position to share this teaching more effectively, with more people.
PS: This post has _nothing whatsoever_ to do with my personal situation, which is an immeasurably tiny matter compared to the
effective sharing of silence with millions.
Thanks for listening.
No bloviating, that's our job! 
