We should always be able to withdraw ourself from thoughts. If we are following any train of thoughts and see that it is not leading us anywhere that is conducive to our spiritual progress, we should immediately leave it by bringing our attention back to ourself.
There is a game that children used to play. From a broken
mud pot they would make a disc, on top of which they would place a colored piece
of paper of the same size and shape. They would then throw the disc up in the
air, so up to a certain height it would push the paper, until it began to fall
back to earth, whereupon it would leave the paper floating in the air.
As ego, the first thought, we are like the disc, and all
other thoughts are like the piece of paper being pushed upwards by the disc. So
long as we rise as ego, we allow our attention to go outwards, away from ourself
towards other things, so we are thereby pushing thoughts in front of us, like
the upward-moving disc pushing the piece of paper. However, as soon as we turn
our attention back to ourself, we begin to subside, sinking back within towards
the source from which we rose, being drawn back there by the pull of grace,
like the disc that has lost its upward momentum and therefore begins to fall
back to earth, being drawn back there by the pull of gravity. Just as the
falling disc leaves the paper drifting in the air without any support, the
inward-sinking ego leaves all other thoughts behind, so without the support of
our attention all other thoughts drift away into oblivion.
That is, what impels other thoughts to rise is only the
attention we give them, so when we seem to be following any thoughts, we are actually
driving them with our attention, like the rising disc pushing the paper
upwards. Therefore, when we turn our attention back to face ourself alone, we
thereby deprive all other thoughts of our attention, and since they seem to
exist only in our awareness, when we thereby cease to be aware of them, they
cease to exist.
If other thoughts rise, without trying to complete them it
is necessary to investigate to whom they have occurred. However, many thoughts
rise, [so] what? Vigilantly, as soon as each thought appears, if one
investigates to whom it has occurred, it will be clear: to me. If one investigates,
who am I [by vigilantly attending to oneself, the ‘me’ to whom everything else
appears], the mind will return to its birthplace [namely oneself, the source
from which it arose]; [and since one thereby refrains from attending to it] the
thought that had risen will also cease. When one practices and practices in
this manner, for the mind the power to stand firmly established in its
birthplace increases.