| When taking a test, why do people always tell us to | | | | the best designs or a fix to a nagging bug come to me |
| trust our first answer? Why do we remember some | | | | in the shower or when throwing a ball around for 15 |
| person's name that was elusively on the tip of your | | | | minutes at work. |
| tongue earlier, in the shower or before we drift off to | | | | Throughout time, many great artists have known the |
| sleep? Why do we have some our greatest creative | | | | powerful role that knowing plays in the creative |
| ideas in the shower? When we are doing a | | | | process. It has been described in many ways, the inner |
| crossword puzzle and get stuck on a word for an | | | | voice, listening to God, and divine inspiration, to name |
| eternity, why do people suggest that we put it down | | | | but a few. And, in the end, it all distills down to the idea |
| for a while? And, why is it that when we pick up the | | | | of knowing/listening to the soul. |
| puzzle a little later the letters practically jump into the | | | | "When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a |
| boxes? The answer to all of these questions is | | | | good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is |
| "because that is when we are not thinking" or "we | | | | on such occasions that ideas flow best and most |
| stopped thinking so much". | | | | abundantly." - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
| The complete title of this piece should be "Stop | | | | The great jazz guitarist, Pat Martino, on the topic of |
| Thinking and Just Know" or, even better - "Don't Think | | | | improvisation, once said, "Try to learn everything you |
| with Your Brain, Know with Your Soul". When you | | | | can, and then forget it." i.e. stop thinking with your brain. |
| know that God is part of you - in your soul (what | | | | Great improvisation is instantaneous - from the soul. |
| Hindus call Atma), you also know that God's infinite | | | | Sometimes you might just be noodling around on an |
| knowledge - or if you prefer, the infinite knowledge of | | | | instrument. You look up unknown minutes later not |
| the Universe - is also in your soul. Those moments | | | | even remembering what you just played and your |
| when you are in the shower or drifting of to sleep or | | | | friend is just staring at you. One of you eventually |
| even driving you car, are moments when you are | | | | says what the other one is thinking, "Where the (blank) |
| knowing with your soul. You are not consciously trying | | | | did that come from?" That, my friends, is a beautiful |
| to think and in doing so, you brain is left out of the | | | | moment! |
| process. The great Yoga master Swami Sivananda | | | | When things in your day are clicking or flowing, when |
| put it in a very simple yet profound way when he | | | | there are truly no problems and just solutions, you are |
| referred to this as "knowing without thinking". | | | | knowing with your soul. This is sometimes referred to |
| So, why is thinking and knowing so different? | | | | as "just being" or the "I AM". God has already provided |
| First, thinking with your brain is not a bad thing. In our | | | | the answers for you. You don't "access" them. They |
| daily lives, we use our brains all of the time to do | | | | are already there - you just have to know it. When |
| analytical thinking, to store and recall names and dates, | | | | you are consciously aware of this, you can readily |
| remember the size of our paycheck, to do basic | | | | apply it to any aspect of your life. More and more it will |
| problem solving, and to do our taxes - ugggh. The soul, | | | | just happen, and you will be aware of it. You will |
| on the other hand, provides answers to things that we | | | | observe it happening. You will become fearless, |
| may not have stored in our brains - no matter how | | | | because you will know that all of the answers are |
| many analytical processes we draw on to attempt to | | | | inside of you. |
| connect the dots. The soul provides us with solutions | | | | In your spiritual endeavors, be willing to try things you've |
| that we never even would have considered with our | | | | never done before. You grow by taking chances and |
| brains. The soul gives us creative ideas and what we | | | | not worrying about making mistakes, the outcome, or |
| call "thinking outside of the box". It is an always open | | | | what others will think. Whether it be astral projection, |
| door to God's infinite knowledge, which is really in our | | | | healing, talking to Gautama or God or and Archangel |
| soul. The soul points out that we already had the | | | | (true stories), just know that there are no right or |
| answer, but our brains stomped right on it by | | | | wrong ways. Any real truth or skill can be distilled |
| over-analyzing. When just one strand of lights goes | | | | down to the exquisitely simple. |
| out on the Christmas tree, the brain tells us to run to | | | | The trick is then to take the concept of knowing from |
| the hardware store and buy some more, but the soul | | | | the conceptual to the experiential. To listen to what is |
| tells us how to fix the problem. If we just ask for the | | | | inside of you or to believe that you have it all inside of |
| solution (true story). | | | | you is daunting for most people. Our egos, thinking, put |
| Second, you need to realize that knowing with your | | | | the doubt, second guessing, etc... inside of us. We find it |
| soul is instantaneous and thinking with your brain takes | | | | easier to look outside for answers. |
| time. Think of your brain as a computer that you ask a | | | | Here is one little exercise to use to nudge you in the |
| question and it does some processing - some analysis | | | | right direction. It will help you get comfortable with |
| - and gives you an answer. No matter how powerful | | | | knowing that you have access to the infinite |
| the computer is, there is still some amount of time | | | | knowledge of God/the universe. Over time you will |
| elapsing between asking the question and having the | | | | start to realize that it is all inside of you. When you |
| answer. That wee bit of time, now matter how brief, is | | | | have a question or problem, visualize the question |
| the problem. Even one millisecond allows the | | | | being written down on a fine piece of square |
| destructive ego to slip in and muddy the waters with | | | | parchment. Say the question in your mind. See the four |
| its various forms of doubt, second guessing, and pride. | | | | corners of the parchment folded in to meet in the |
| Some people like to distill this phenomenon down to | | | | middle and then sealed with red wax and a stamp. |
| cutesy cliches like "paralysis by analysis", but these | | | | Now visualize the sealed question being sent floating |
| phrases do nothing to explain why this occurs. | | | | off into the universe. Then forget about it. Let it go |
| Our souls always have, or have access to, the infinite | | | | from you mind so that you are not thinking about it. At |
| knowledge of God, the universe. When we come | | | | some point, often very quickly, an answer will come to |
| back into the physical world as babes, our souls have | | | | you in some form. It may just pop into your head, or be |
| all of that knowledge and our brains are virtually empty | | | | triggered by a song, a TV add, or something someone |
| except for our basic survival instincts. This explains the | | | | says. Don't be looking for it to come, but when it does, |
| sometimes extraordinary spiritual abilities of children, | | | | you'll say, "Ohhh." Don't second guess it or doubt it. Go |
| even the very young. There is lots of knowing and | | | | with it and thank God/the universe for the blessing i.e. |
| very little thinking. Our brains start out as empty | | | | express gratitude. Practice this often and over time |
| sponges and as we grow, our brain fills with all kinds of | | | | you will transition to just asking the question in your |
| knowledge, experiences, societal values and dogmas. | | | | head without the need of the visualization. You will |
| As our brain fills with these things, the ego also grows. | | | | know that the answer is inside of you. |
| Gradually, our ego draws us to the thinking side, often | | | | The reality is that you don't need me or anyone else to |
| destructive thinking, and we are drawn away from | | | | help or tell you how to do this. Be your own guru. Just |
| knowing/listening to our souls. | | | | know that you are already doing it. So start thinking |
| I have been a computer programmer and system | | | | less often and start knowing more often. |
| designer for over 20 years and know all too well that | | | | |