The Book of Life

Understanding Your Own Thinking Imagine you have a little voice inside your head, constantly chattering. It's your thinking mind, and in "The Book of Life," Jiddu Krishnamurti talks about how to understand and work with this inner voice. He says that most of our problems come from this thinking mind – not from outside things, but from *how* we think. Think of your mind like a busy marketplace. Lots of different thoughts are shouting at once: "I want that candy!" "He doesn't like me!" "I'm not good enough!" It's noisy and chaotic, and it's hard to hear anything else. This is what Krishnamurti calls "the chatter of the mind." This constant noise keeps us from truly experiencing life, from seeing things clearly. Krishnamurti uses the example of looking at a flower. Most of us don't really *see* the flower. Our mind immediately starts comparing it to other flowers, judging its beauty, maybe remembering a similar flower from a past experience. We're so busy thinking *about* the flower that we miss the flower itself – its colour, its scent, its delicate petals. We're caught in the net of our own thoughts. He says that this thinking mind is constantly creating problems. It judges, compares, and labels everything. It creates a "me" – a separate person – and this "me" is always worried about itself, about its image, its reputation, its future. This "me" is always comparing itself to others, feeling jealous or superior, creating conflict and unhappiness. Imagine two kids, Maya and Leo, playing together. Maya has a beautiful doll, and Leo wants to play with it. His thinking mind immediately starts: "She won't let me play! She's selfish! I'm going to be sad!" This thinking creates a wall between them. Instead of simply asking Maya to share, Leo lets his thoughts build up negative feelings. He misses the opportunity to connect and play because his mind is too busy judging and comparing. Krishnamurti suggests that we need to become aware of this thinking process. We need to observe our thoughts without getting carried away by them. Think of it like watching clouds drift across the sky. You can watch the clouds, observe their shapes and movements, without becoming one of the clouds. Similarly, you can watch your thoughts without identifying with them. You can see that they are just thoughts, fleeting and impermanent. They come and go. They are not you. To do this, Krishnamurti encourages observation – watching your own thinking without judgment. It’s like being a scientist observing a fascinating experiment. You're not trying to change the thoughts, just to understand them. Notice the patterns of your thinking. Do you tend to worry a lot? Do you judge yourself harshly? Do you compare yourself to others constantly? Simply observing these patterns can help you understand the nature of your thinking mind. He also emphasizes the importance of understanding that our feelings are also part of this process. Our emotions are not separate from our thoughts; they are intertwined. If you're feeling angry, observe the thoughts that are fueling that anger. If you're feeling sad, observe the thoughts behind that sadness. By observing your thoughts and emotions, you start to see how they create suffering. Consider a child feeling jealous. They might think: "She got a better toy than me, I'm not as good as her". This thought creates a feeling of jealousy and unhappiness. By observing this thought process, the child can start to understand that the jealousy arises from their own thinking, not from the other child's possession. This process of observation is not about suppressing your thoughts or emotions. It's about understanding them, seeing their nature, and realizing that they are not the whole of you. You are much bigger than your thoughts and feelings.