You take your identity from…?

The mind…? What is that? Can you locate it anywhere? Can you control it?

So you can’t answer these questions, yet…

…You believe what it produces ?

“You listen,” said the Master, “not to discover… but to find something that confirms your own thoughts.

You argue, not to find the truth… but to vindicate your thinking.”

And he told of a king who, passing through a small town, saw indications of amazing marksmanship everywhere.

Trees and barns and fences had circles painted on them with a bullet hole in the exact center.

He asked to see this unusual marksman. It turned out to be a ten-year-old child.

“This is incredible,” said the king in wonder. “How in the world do you do it?”

“Easy as pie,” was the answer. “I shoot first and draw the circles later.”

“So you get your conclusions first and build your premises around them later,” said the Master.
“Isn't that the way you manage to hold on to your religion and to your ideology?”

Anthony De Mello, SJ

What is your next thought going to be?

It is a simple question, but the answer is profound. The answer carries with it ramifications that
will undo core beliefs about who you think you are. With just a little watching, you may discover

that the answer to the question is not known until the thought arises. If this is true, what does
that mean for who you think you are?

Because the next thought is not and cannot be known until it is already present, some questions may arise….

If I don’t know what the next thought is going to be, who comes up with it?

If I don’t know what the next thought is going to be, how can I know what
choices are going to be made?

If I don’t know what choices are going to be made, who does?

If I don’t know what choices are going to be made, am I making them at all?

If I didn’t make the choice, where did it come from?

Have I ever made a choice about anything?

If I have never made a choice, is there any responsibility?

John Greven

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