Food for thought

There is more "food for thought" to be mined in just the one topic, "human conversation", than in all other so-called "spiritual teachings" combined.

For example, why do you keep reading and posting to these "spiritually-based" email lists, and in some bizarro cases, MULTIPLE times per day to the great consternation of many, day after day after day? It is not for you to determine why others do it, or don't do it, or do or don't "do it" correctly in your view, but only why it is that YOU DO IT.

The primary, and secondary, and tertiary, and so on, reason why everybody engages, willy nilly, in "human conservation", is that it gives them another opportunity to experience between their own ears, the "sensation of agreement" so that they can then "think 'alike'", or the "sensation of disagreement" so that they can then "think 'differently'". Both, are nothing at all - you can't think LIKE or DIFFERENTLY anyone else, or any thought, if you can't, FIRST, THINK without quotation marks.

Ordinary "thinking", is not THINKING, it is reacting from mechanically-recalled and organized - by various built-in language paradigms - previously stored memory tapes.

The first time you EVER heard/read anything about Zen, or Taoism, or Fourthway, or Christianity, whatever, you EITHER agreed with all you read, or disagreed with all you read, or waffled like the general status-quo does who doesn't really know/understand enough already to make a qualified judgment. But you still haven't learned to Think without quotes, until you can get to the bottom of the question, "Why is it, that YOU continually engage in conversations about so-called 'spiritually-based', so-called 'higher' matters?"

Now, don't suggest something like,
--"I know why, and if you press me, I'll TELL you why.", or
--"Human conversation, just 'occurs', because, that's why - it just does.", or
--"Conversation about these matters, is really the ONLY WAY for one person to find out, work out, figure out, what these matters are all about, after all.", etc.

Why?
Because you don't know why you continue to do it, except that you suggest to others that you enjoy it. To actually know WHY, would require THINKING without quotation marks.

In this regard, for those who would care to know:
The only 'method' is, get to the bottom of your OWN "thinking" in you.
The only 'practice' is, Think more than you have to, more than you CAN, about everything, especially, what's going on with your OWN "thinking".

And, of course, if you think THIS was a cheap shot at ordinary conversation on email lists - its "life's blood" - or that it doesn't even apply to you because you are not a "regular", then the question never asked but should be - with even more to be discovered when you get to the bottom of it - is "Why do you talk to yourself?"