Hi Paul,
Yes I do, they appear at random, sometimes connected to previous thoughts, sometimes not, I can't control what comes up and neither can I control my reactions to them, usually negative bodily reactions like tension and contraction, this is the frustrating part, like the train station analogy I climb on board instead of watching them come and go
Good. You just exposed the core mechanism:
thoughts arise, body reacts, and Paul jumps on the train before it even stops at the platform.
Let the next thought come. Any thought. Don’t try to make it spiritual or relevant. Just let whatever arises, arise.
Now
freeze.
Where did that thought come from?
What was the very first bodily response?
Where was it?
How did it move?
Was it a contraction, a heat, a tightness, a rush?
Don’t interpret.
Scan the body. Stay with the sensation like a detective at the scene of a crime.
Now tell me:
Did the thought cause the reaction—or did the sensation simply
appear alongside the thought?
And
who is the one "climbing on board"?
Can you find them?
Or is there just a thought claiming, “I climbed aboard,” after the fact?
Report back now, exactly what you noticed in direct experience.
No theory. No delay. What happened?
Labelling seems inevitable, a description of the experience is still a label so I can't see the difference?
Perfect. You just nailed the trap—but now you’re standing in it.
Yes, description is a label.
But description happens after. And you’re being asked to go
before the label, not remove the label itself.
Try this now:
Let a physical sensation come up—anything. Tension in the jaw, pressure in the chest, tightness in the gut. Don’t search. Just pause and
notice what’s already happening.
Now,
before the word “tight” or “anxious” appears—what’s actually there?
Not what it is.
Not what it means.
But what it feels like.
Like sticking your hand in cold water:
What does that feel like before you call it “cold”?
Go there now. Describe it—using pure, raw sensation.
Not labels.
Not explanations.
Just texture, pressure, movement, rhythm.
You say labelling seems inevitable—fine.
But was the sensation there before the label?
Did it require a label to be real?
And who exactly is the one applying that label?
Can you find them?
Report back: What did you find before the label kicked in? Describe it physically, now.
Other people experience things differently to me so they must be a separate self from 'me'.
There it is. The subtle bedrock of separation:
“They experience differently, so they must be someone else.” But that’s just another assumption, another uninspected thought pretending to be obvious.
Try this right now:
Picture someone else—someone specific. Anyone.
Now notice: what’s actually present?
There’s an image.
There’s a memory.
There’s thought.
There’s maybe a feeling.
Where is that “other person” right now?
Are they outside you?
Or is everything about them happening *in* this experience—*in* you?
Now flip it:
When someone else thinks about “you”… where are *you* for them?
Are you out there somewhere, or just a thought-image arising in their mind?
So now tell me:
What part of “you” is actually separate?
Where does “you” end and “them” begin—physically, right now?
Don’t give an idea. Look in the moment.
What’s the actual border between self and other?
Describe what happens in your body when you try to locate it.
Stay with the question.
Don’t escape to intellect.
Where is the line?
What happens in you when you try to draw it?
Report it now—direct experience only.
Remember the laughing exercise? Celebrate the moment of recognition. with a laugh. THIS WILL CHANGE THINGS
Actually I don't remember
no worries, here it is..
Laugh with recognition
This is important. You can't stop thoughts from occurring, but you can
learn to not engage with them.
This is how...
Here’s a story about getting lost in the content of thoughts—and how to short-circuit it without resistance.
You
Laugh when recognition happens.
This is about how thought entanglement becomes habitual—and how to interrupt it in real time.
In the brain, synaptic pathways strengthen with use. Repeat a pattern, and it becomes default. But these patterns can change.
There are two ways old mental grooves fade:
- They can be
pruned,
- Or they can
atrophy from disuse.
You don’t control this directly, but you
can influence it.
Here’s the method:
1.
Notice the moment you want to shift.
2.
When awareness catches that you’re lost in thought—LAUGH.
- A big laugh, a smirk, or a silent “ha.”
-
It stops the story’s momentum and drops you into the
now.
- It also releases feel-good hormones—dopamine, serotonin, endorphins. This drives out the stress hormones that were present as a result of being entangled in thoughts.
3.
Imagine the new path forming—the one that sees through the
illusion of
thought-content.
The Realization:
At first, awareness dawns
after the spiral ends.
But over time, it appears earlier—until
recognition itself becomes the
interrupt.
Eventually,
laughter replaces
identification.
Why it works:
When you catch the loop and laugh, brain activity shifts—from the rigid, analytical left hemisphere to the spacious, pattern-breaking right.
Recognition during the loop =
short-circuit.
Recognition after =
training for next time.
This is habit reconditioning. It’s not instant, but it’s inevitable.
Bonus: Celebrating each recognition with laughter reinforces the new wiring—and ends judgment about ever believing that thought content was real.
