Thinking about Thoughts

Thoughts are mental constructions.  They are made up of dynamic, subtle mind-energy. Neuroscience describes thinking as a process of neurons and their dendrites patterning fluid cognition. Look at what’s inside a thought. Can you see its energy, not its content?   Look beyond the image, or the narrative.  Look beyond the story thoughts are telling. 

 

Imagine a mango, a very ripe, warm and juicy, sweet-smelling red mango.  Focus your attention on this mango in your mind. What does the mango feel like when you hold it? Is it soft and giving to the touch? Or is it firm and resistant? 

Pause for a moment. Consider that the mango in your mind has is insubstantial. It is without texture, touch or taste. This mango has no solid substance at all. It's made of energy the mind shapes in a particular ‘mango’ pattern.  

 

Now, as you prepare to work in the kitchen, take a moment to close your eyes. Sense the energy of thoughts flowing through the mind.  Now, relax, and intentionally create a thought—a well-crafted menu, perhaps, or the name of a dish your particularly enjoy. Hold the thought for a few moments, and focus on its substance.

 Can you sense the energy thought generates? Does this energetic space in your mind change as you focus on it? Can you expand and open to inspiration, to creativity? Pause, and then let the thought-forming energy dissolve back into its underlying formless substance. Move mindfully into kitchen activities. Notice the almost magical effect this zen-cuisine practice has on your creativity.