Einstein famously conjectured about what it would be like to chase a beam of light and then to catch up with it and ride alongside it.
From musings like this,
He came up with the theory of relativity.
Just imagine if today you and I could play with a similar conjecture and arrive at a new place of understanding,
If not even a higher level of overstanding.
Just imagine this.
From the moment since you first became self-aware,
In both your waking hours and even in your sleep,
You have been riding along on a stream of thought.
Now some,
If not most of these thoughts will be your internal dialogue and your dreams.
Some will have involved you listening to the thought forms of others,
Your teachers,
Friends,
Family,
And acquaintances speaking to you.
Some thoughts will impact upon you and influence you when you watch a TV or a film or listen to the radio or nowadays a podcast.
On occasion,
You may simply be listening to music or admiring an artwork or a stunning view.
Occasionally too,
Perhaps when otherwise engrossed,
Your thoughts may abate and go silent.
This is especially true for those who regularly meditate.
But let's catch up with that thought stream right now.
It will probably be populated by my voice,
So I'm just about to stop talking and invite you to recall the stream of your thoughts since you first awoke today until you made the decision to listen to a meditation and chose this one.
So go back a little way in time now and recall as many of your thoughts as you can,
Noting that this is not a test of your short-term memory,
But an opportunity to ride on your most recent stream of thoughts.
So how did that feel for you?
Did it change your mood?
Did you notice that by recalling a thought,
The thought you were having dissipated and was replaced by that earlier thought form?
Did you recall a fleeting thought that had gone away that may be useful to you for later today?
Did recalling your earlier thought stream take you in an entirely different direction?
So let's go right back in time to the first time you jumped onto your thought stream.
Be gentle with yourself here as this is potentially a deep dive.
Focus if you can on the positive.
Can you recall any of your earliest thoughts or maybe feelings?
Can you remember how you used to think,
Be,
And do?
What about words that you heard from others that most influenced your stream of thoughts?
Did any of your thoughts influence others when they were spoken out loud?
What times in your life did your thought stream change its course,
Perhaps diverging,
Widening,
Or even flipping itself on its head?
So where did these reflections on your stream of thoughts take you?
Do any of the thoughts from your past still play on your mind?
Were you reminded of any thought patterns and eddies in your mind that you no longer get trapped up with?
Let's now have some fun directing and even deflecting the course of the stream of thought that lies ahead of you.
I will ask you to muse on three ideas and my voice will go quiet so you can enjoy floating and riding along on your own thought stream until the music fades.
Take three deep in and out breaths and we'll begin.
Think on this.
As a result of dipping your toes in the stream of your thoughts today,
How do you imagine you will think about your thoughts tomorrow?
Over the course of the coming day,
What new thoughts would you like to come your way?
If for each day for the rest of your life you become more mindful of your stream of thoughts,
Where do you hope it will take you and where would you like to end up?
