Look from a different angle at what was discussed in the previous post, “As the Present, You Have No History.” Again, in these posts the term thought is now used in the broad sense, meaning all that appears to be “mental.” This means both the thinking of the intellect and the sensing of all so-called “items” such as this computer screen, which, as shown, really is not a separate solid (or gross) object, but entirely “mental” or “made out of” mere thought.
One of the points in the previous post is that the seeming nature of every would-be thought is to always be found only in this “current” thought. Even that which seems to have been a “previous experience” or any “previous thought” actually never occurred “back there”—for it always would be found only in this thought. What seems to have been a “previous” thought never really was before.
See for yourself. Even the very instant that “a current thought” seems to arise—what is going on? The instant a thought seems to be noticed as such, does it hang around? Does the thought age? No. It is impossible to find a so-called “previous thought” as if it had already occurred, and now is hanging around somewhere, waiting until it is thought of again.
What seems to happen is that there is a new thought which includes what seemed to have been the just-prior arising thought. The thought may seem to have similar content, but it’s a new thought. To say, “Aha! Yes, here it is; I’ve thought of it again”—that’s not really a repeat of an old thought. At most, it always seems to be a brand new thought, seeming to arise now, with nothing having preceded it—for all the so-called “preceding thoughts” would be found only in “this” thought, and nowhere else.
It seems as if there had been an initial arising thought that already is gone or dissolved into what is now “this” thought. But not even the “initial thought” really happened “back there” because it only seems to be here, now. And so on, for “every” thought. The only “status” of any thought is that simultaneously as it seems to be arriving, it seems to be leaving, being not-present! Trying to hold a thought is like trying to grab a handful of time. Good luck!
Of course, what this means is that never is any thought actually present. Never has any thought been before—because in the Pure Present there is only the Present and no “before.” The Truth is, this Present Awareness never has had a single prior thought! Not one! And as there have been no prior thoughts, there can’t have been any prior emotions that supposedly accompanied those thoughts! As Present Awareness, You are absolutely pure, fresh and pristine. NOW, You are baggage-free, and completely mentally/emotionally “uncluttered”! It’s not that such things have been gotten rid of—they haven’t occurred!
The foregoing is undeniable, even on what appears or seems to be a relative basis. It would be a “relative truth.” Now for a Reality check: of course, in Infinite Reality there is no need for, no possibility of, any such discussion as this. Yet for what still may appear to be “daily living” it has huge implications.
All of what appears as “daily living” supposedly is based on cause and effect. The supposed occurrence of one thing or event in time, supposedly leads to or causes another, in what is mistakenly assumed to be a long sequence, a sequence of time.
It seems to work the same way with thought. Each thought makes it seem as if there have been many other thoughts preceding it—other thoughts that “led up to” this current thought—BUT THERE HAVEN’T BEEN!
Supposedly, “this” thought is the result, or product of, other thoughts that preceded this one. For example, it seems as if, “I had the thought about what to eat for dinner. Then while eating dinner, I had the thought that I’ll get on the computer afterward. So now here I am at the computer, as a result of having had those previous thoughts.”
That may be how it seems if ignoring the Truth of Total Present-ness—but from the standpoint of Pure Present-ness everything is seen in a different light.
Again, on the so-called ignore-ant basis, supposedly the preceding thoughts were the cause that led up to this thought—which is said to be the effect of earlier thoughts. This is an example of the “law of cause and effect”—which all of human finite experience would appear to be based on. Yet, from the standpoint of Pure Present-ness—if one were to even talk about any of this—all of it now is seen as being completely backwards!
As said repeatedly, all that is present, eternally, is the Present Itself. To the Present, there is only Present-ness, wherein no time or history occurs. So, if it were possible for the Present to ignore Itself and talk about thought (which really isn’t possible), at most, all there ever seems to be is this “current thought.” And it would be only in this thought that all other so-called “previous thoughts” are found—which means they aren’t really previous at all!
So cause and effect is turned completely around. It would be this current thought that seems to “cause” or be the “source” of what are mistakenly called all the “previous thoughts”—for this thought would be the only “place” they could be found, their only “source.” No so-called thought ever really happened or was thought before, because as only Present-ness is, there is no “before.”
From CIA p. 232
The “sense-mind’s” thinking may keep trying to insist there really was a long past that happened “way back there.” It would try to say there was a yesterday, and before that, a week ago, and before that, a year ago, and so on, in a long sequence. But what’s really going on?
What is called a year ago isn’t any farther away or older than yesterday, because all there ever would be to both is only thought images, and both are simultaneously being thought now. Apart from what appears as those current images, neither “yesterday” nor “a year ago” had any other prior existence. As all there is, is Consciousness, there has been no prior physical world. And as Consciousness, All, is Absolutely Present, there has been no prior time, no prior thinking.
That’s the so-called “illusion”—this thought makes it seem as if there have been many other prior experiences and other thoughts that preceded this one—but there couldn’t have been because none of it has any seeming existence anywhere apart from this thought.
This appears to turn the so-called law of cause and effect upside-down—and all of the science and education that seem to have been based on it! From a so-called human, finite point of view, this is incredible. An entire book could be written on this point alone.
Yet to the history-less Present that is present NOW, where is there a previous existence in which there were some mistaken notions about cause and effect? Where has there been a long habit of the Present ignoring Itself? Not even that has occurred, for only the Present is!
What else does this mean—especially that, to Pure Present-ness, there are no solid, material objects, nor even the thoughts about them? It means there NEVER IS A SINGLE OTHER “MIND” OUT THERE TO TALK TO! NEVER! To the Pure Present, there is no time in which another “mind” could have started. In Present Infinity there equally is no so-called body-object, no “place” in which to locate such a mind.
The very notion that there could be another mind to talk to would itself be a mere thought, a thought, which, to the Pure Present, never arises or occurs. How often do we just pay “lip service” to this–or is it a matter of actually operating on the basis of truly being ALL? One may be “saying” all the right words, but if one has another out there to talk to, the “message” is not pure–but tainted with belief of otherness.
The point is, it is directly Self-evident that only Present-ness can be.
The very notion that there even can be thought, that anything can arise, would itself be a thought. But to Pure Presence here, now, not even this seeming thought ever happened before; no such thing is.
So, to Pure Presence, this entire discussion, even the notion that thought has now been “seen through” would equally be a thought that never was.
Only Pure Presence is.