Thoughts go through the mind in a flash and then are gone if we let them go especially those of anger, guilt, fear, and insecurity, noticeable when we are anxious. They take us away from the present and what is going on right now.
Throughout the 48 tapes and workshops there is reference to opinions, conclusions, beliefs and facts.
Dr. Bob mentions that the only thing that cannot be argued about is facts. If it’s raining, it’s a fact. Facts dwell in the present moment. Facts change quite quickly without notice. At the present moment a dog is barking. And as I write this, the dog is not barking.
I’ve observed that whenever I say or hear the words, “I think”, it refers to an opinion from a mind that has not or cannot check it out. I’ve observed long arguments over opinions.
Whenever I say or hear “I know”, it refers to a conclusion that is rigid and unchangeable. When one comes to a conclusion, one stops checking it out or is no longer open to more or different information.
When was the conclusion accepted and from what? Are conclusions facts?
Whenever I say I believe, it refers to something such as the internet, or someone I’ve made into an authority. Authority simply means author of, and another idea from the teaching is that authorities tell us what to think; and we’re grown up now and we have the ability to think for ourselves using experimenting, observing and ultimately re-evaluating anyone or anything we’ve accepted as authority.
It is well to remember that we are 100% subject to suggestion 100% of the time. So it behooves us to pay attention and listen for these three red flags not only from other; but also from our own mind and mouth.
Fact is fact, and fact cannot be argued over, it defies opinion, conclusion or belief.
Another set of arguments and dickering can result from something Dr. Bob called personal taste. Ah ha, we each have personal taste in activities, nutrition, friends, music. The list goes on and on. I do notice everyone loves to share their personal taste with me and all they want is for me to agree with them, so I just coo and say “okay”. That’s usually enough.
Think about it. What if everyone liked country music—what would happen to classical music, jazz, ragtime, reggae, rap and the like. What an interesting experiment it could be to listen to the news. Without opinion, conclusion and belief; the news would have to go back to the old days when it was about 15 minutes in the morning and a half hour at night. Perhaps we all would be a lot less anxious.