What is the best off button for the brain ?

weichen · Post by **weichen** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:43 am

ET offered several powerful off buttons for the brain. One of my favorate is asking self the question "I wonder what my next thought would be". Everytime I tried this technique, I always create immediate soothing sensation in the body.

I would like to know other people's favorate off button. This "I wonder what my next thought would be" trick seems better than inhabitate the body trick when I am having physical pain.

Facing physical pain, I ofen caught myself using other old escape methods such as food, watching TV and browsing internet. Sometime when I am too tired to watch TV, my response to physical pain was apathy (giving up), allow my brain to go at blazing speed of negative thinking (worsening my illness). But as soon as I caught it, I would immediately push my favorate off button of the brain.

My illness would last until I master this off button. In a strange way, long serious illness (chronic illness non curable from simple medication) is a blessing as it force me to keep practicing this. Life is a mystery, you don't know what will happen next.

Stop involuntary thinking may be the number one spiritual principle. All the other spiritual principles (such as ego see self as individual separate from the whole, etc, etc) will automatically be realized when thinking stops. So instead of spending many hundreds of hours listen to ET's CD, or working hard to learn spiritual principles from other spiritual teacher, all we need to do is master the off button of the brain. The rest will be automatically be realized from inside.

din · Post by **din** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:20 am

Hi weichen,

ET says that unfortunately you can't stop yourself from thinking.

But he says the quickest route to stopping thinking is to be aligned with the present moment. To fully accept the present moment.

He says the reason so many thoughts come, is because the ego resists what is.

So, accepting what is takes away the need to think, and thinking is replaced by peace.

Hope this helps.

mccpcorn · Post by **mccpcorn** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:27 am

I can't seem to find my off button. I keep checking my brain's manual but it's all in Japanese...

weichen · Post by **weichen** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:43 pm

Din,
I am not sure what ET meant you can't stop self from thinking. He said clearly that he is now capable of siting in a room with no people for hours without thoughts.

When I do experience physical pain, I often found myself in a state of apathy (which is very different from acceptance, apathy means giving up for this moment and for the next many moments; Acceptance means accepting this moment with a sense of power and wonder). When I ask myself "I wonder what my next thought would be", there is not a thread of resistance to the present moment, but there is intention of taking charge, taking guidance from expert, and experimenting. The fact that I get immediate soothing result (from stomach discomfort) may not be applicable to other people suffering from other illness.

Once pain is soothed, I can use a different portal such as inhabitate the body to stay in peace.

weichen · Post by **weichen** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 6:26 pm

mccpcorn, when you say "I wonder what my next thought would be", say you like you mean it, put a little emphasis on the word "wonder", experience the sense of wonder, curiosity.

This should wake up the watcher.

make sure you try it when having stomach discomfort. If there are thoughts rushing in after you said this, then it means the watcher is still asleep, say it again, say it out loud.

Chelsy · Post by **Chelsy** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 12:36 am

weichen, I very much liked your first post- excellent.

And I can relate to the post as well.

I have had more trouble staying present in physical pain, than in pain body. It's an attention-grabber.

I can be still, and even no thought, but pain is still there. (stomach too)

I have found when I surrender completely, total acceptance, as giving in to the pain, okay, okay, hurt... often no pain follows, or at least my attention is no longer being dragged to it. But it's like I have to go to the very end of my rope for this kind of surrender.

Thanks for sharing your off button. I'll try it.

weichen · Post by **weichen** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 12:42 am

Chelsy wrote

okay, okay, hurt...

Thank you Chelsy for showing me that apathy to pain (and even allowing mind to race inside) has its positive side. That's something I did not realize before, your feedback is much appreciated

Shaz · Post by **Shaz** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:23 am

Weichen

According to some teachings, physical pain is the most challenging obstacle to overcome when trying to become present. I have found it to be very true for me. As Chelsy said, more so than pain body. However, it sounds as if you are mastering this challenge.

My best to you

Luvs

void · Post by **void** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:37 pm

some stupid ones here,
a sledgehammer
a bottle of whisky
a guillotine
but dont try because the thing that is trying so hard to turn it off is the brain itself.
the mouse runs on the exercise wheel, but is soon pulled around by the wheels momentum.

weichen · Post by **weichen** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:37 pm

Shaz,
thanks for the feedback.

I think stomach discomfort (assuming it is not due to hunger, cold, food poisoning etc) has a lot to do with overthinking. Some other physical pain may respond not as quickly to "I wonder what my next thought is" trick. But it is still worthwhile giving it a trial, what do you have to lose ?

If one has not mastered this off button, my guess would be that she had not had nearly the same level of stomach discomfort as I did (in the past two weeks, I had non stop stomach discomfort including dull pain, wanting to throwing up, extremely hungry but can't take any food, to the point of contemplating suicide for many times). The magnitude of discomfort gives me an opportunity to see the huge positive effect of the off button, the long duration of discomfort let me experimenting this off button many times in combination with various other factors.

There are some interesting aspects about this off button (and maybe also true to other off buttons)

1. "I wonder what my next thought is" is like saying "watcher of my fuel store, can you wake up now and take a look to see if there are any people stealing my fuel and burning my house". Involuntary thinking has two aspects: it steals my precious energy in huge quantity (brain is the fastest computer, and when it goes into infinite loop, it does trillions of calculation per second), it creates huge damage to my body, mind, and environment (including other people).

2. I often did not realize how noisy my brain was until I hit the off button because I got so used to this involuntary thinking in the past. So I recommend you to push this button or other off button as often as you feel like, almost always you will catch the involuntary thinking.

If you happen to be in productive thinking, thinking would also be stopped by this off button, there is no harm in giivng the brain a few seconds of rest and enter a meditative state. You can witness that indeed this is the off button, it also make your thinking even more productive when you return back to productive thinking.

3. after I pressed this off button more offen, pressing becomes easier, sometime I don't even need to say the sentence "I wonder what my next thought is", my intention to say this sentence already stopped the thinking.

4. this off button has immediate short term effect on stopping thinking and soothing the body, but it also has a tremendous long term impact in stop thinking (because thinking to find a solution to my health problem stopped now that I found the solution), just like a person who struggles to be rich stopped struggling after winning a lottery. More importantly, this off button is actually the portal to the power of now, so all other struggling also greatly diminished.

Chelsy · Post by **Chelsy** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:36 pm

Weichen, you have a private message.

(but don't tell anyone)

weichen · Post by **weichen** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:34 pm

Chelsy,
thanks very much for the private message.

I am glad you like the analogy of watcher of the mind to be watcher of my fuel store. I think it is scientifically proven that brain is by far the biggest energy spender in the body, so this may actually be more than just an analogy.

I am glad the seed ET planted inside me is flowering. I hope it flowers inside everyone on this planet. I am thankful to ET (and his spiritual teacher).

Pressing the off button should not preclude anyone from seeking medical attention from doctors.

JedEye · Post by **JedEye** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:45 pm

I think turn off button to the mind isn`t needed at all. Like sailor Bob Adamson said or Papaji. Just keep quiet for 5sec and in that time there is no mind. In the moment when we think about mind or ego or how to ...- then it exists. The moment we are silent, even just for couple seconds, there is no mind, no ego and no past.
So the good question about enlightenment should be - do you really like just to be quiet for 5seconds, not making any effort to do that. And if yes, then you may stay there longer if willing to.

weichen · Post by **weichen** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:57 am

Jedeye,
Thanks for the comment.

Instead of say "I have a favorate off button for cancer", say "I have a favorate portal to perfect health", or just say "I like perfect health".

Instead of say "I have a favorate off button for turning off racing brain thinking when I have physical pain", just say "I have a favorate portal to the power of NOW", or just say "I like peace".

By mentioning the negative word cancer, you tend to lock self in that negative state. Same flaw might exist in the label "brain off button".

Did I understand your point correctly and completely ?

Chelsy · Post by **Chelsy** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:39 am

What a post!

Wow Weichen.

Wow!