Thoughts and Emotions

by Friends of Godwin

I would like to suggest we might try to practise with our thoughts, to work on our thoughts. There is always a connection between thoughts and emotions. An interesting question to reflect on is: Can there be suffering without a thought? Can there be emotion without a thought? So I feel that in our practice we should really understand, penetrate, and work with our thoughts. From the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep there is this continuous thinking going on in our mind.

See the connection between thoughts and emotions; and then try to make discoveries about our thinking, especially concerning the area of giving plusses and minuses. So if you catch yourself giving minuses, observe it, catch it as soon as possible.

Just find out what you are thinking. It is a very interesting exercise, that during the day we ask ourselves: Now what is the thought I am having? Let us make an effort just to know, just to understand, just to explore, just to learn, just to discover about our thoughts, about our concepts.