First of all, what is a fact ? Unlike an idea which is an abstraction, the fact is indisputable, it makes it a truth. Ex. The sun is a fact, the conditioning of the individual is another. And the question asked is the following, how not to make of a truth an idea, an abstraction do you see? How do you observe anything ? In general, the individual operates from traditional thought, which is a reaction from memory. The content of the latter is the past : knowledge, experiences, memories, certainties, ideologies, culture, education, traditions, fears, pleasures, sensations, traumas etc. Thought is therefore conditioned by all our accumulations. And these accumulations condition. The past conditions.
Thus, we evaluate, judge, criticize and distort the facts according to our conditioning, through thought. The latter acts as a multitude of successive layers, filters deforming according to our needs. Because to stick to the images, the ego identifies and strengthens itself by making a truth its truth, that is to say another abstraction.
The function of the ego is to bring everything back to itself by interpreting, thus giving rise to the arbitrariness. The question which now arises is the following : Is it possible to observe a fact without the movement of thought, without distortions ? Have we ever watched a blissful sunset, without the shadow of the self that wants to make a memory, an image, an idea? When we are totally attentive to something what is going on ? Well the ego disappears. It is only when we say "oh how beautiful this sunset is..", by describing with words (which are images), we make it a thing of the past, a memory. has it happened ? thought has taken hold of it.
Another example : I am about to cross on the pedestrian crossing when suddenly a car appears at full speed threatening to crush me. What is happening right now? I move away from it.. At this precise moment there is only the fact of avoidance, without the reaction of the ego. It is only then that the thought takes hold of it and says "wow, I almost died .."
So the instant turns into an image, into a memory and the fear arises. So we observe that the fear is also a reaction of memory, of the past and of thought. We can therefore say this: that in the absence of the "me", of the "I" and therefore of the ego, it is possible to perceive an indisputable fact without distorting it, without involving thought, and this: by attention.
Attention is now, traditional thinking is a thing of the past. Attention is no different from what is observed. Total attention is the thing observed. It is only when thought takes hold of it that it gives birth to the ego by creating an observer and an observed. The observer is arbitrary. The observer embodies the conditioning and the deformation of what is.
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