Chapter 46- Don’t Judge. Just Witness.
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“Ahh… huh. And?” asked Emma

“And what?” Mikhail asked back.  

“Well, what to do after observing?” asked Bold. 

“There is no after. Meditation is not complicated. In fact, it is the simplest thing in the world. It has to be because all complex and complicated things are mind related. But I have to remind you. It’s not as easy as it seems. The monkey mind will always find a way to distract you. And you will get identified with those thoughts, forgetting completely that you were supposed to observe your breath and be in the present moment.

When thoughts come to your mind, do not be angry, do not be grumpy, observe them with no judgement. And when those thoughts go away return back to the observation of breathing.
   
This is the technique I learned about three years ago. And it is pretty effective”.

“Aanhan. Look at the thought. Riiight. Hmm” contemplated Emma. 

“Ask if you have any questions” said Mikhail.

“Isn’t looking well, kind of a thought?” asked Emma.

“No. It is not. Looking is not thinking. Because the very look can look at all your thoughts and all your feelings. You can observe your body, observe your mind, observe your feeling. Because the witnessing is your true being, not a thought. Observation is simply natural” said Mikhail elegantly. 

“True being? Seriously?” asked Emma.       

“Look, Just try it. Try to look at your thought. And remember not to judge. Judging means fighting. And when you fight something you cannot be a simple onlooker. You’re too close, too involved. And secondly, judging means your identifying yourself with the exact opposite thought.

Judging a murdery thought means you're identifying yourself with the saintly thoughts.
Judging an angry thought means your identifying yourself with calm thoughts. And remember. You can look at thoughts because you are not your thoughts. Because the observer is separate and different from the observed.

Thoughts can only exist because you were fooled into feeling that you were thinking those thoughts.  They made you feel you are the master of that thought despite the fact that you are not. And not a single thought is yours. When you realize that and look, the thoughts cannot persist. Now the technique. Observe the breath going in and going out. When a thought occurs, look without judgement and when there are no thoughts, become attentive of the breathing again” said Mikhail and ended his long speech. 

The three of them closed their eyes and began their meditation. The birds chirped and the wind blew but the three sat there silently like statues. Bold could feel certain ease and calmness descending upon him as he observed the breath coming in and his belly rising. Then the breath going out through the nostrils and his belly becoming empty and thin.  

This is nonsense. Nothing awesome is happening.

Bold observed the thought. With no judgement.

Wonder what the others are doing. It has been pretty long since I started training.

Bold looked. And there were no other thoughts for a moment. So he observed his breathing. Breath coming in and going out.

So boring. I would spar with Thompson right now

The look.

Come on, we’re just wasting time. We have to train to get stronger

He looked at it again. Surprisingly, he could look at his very own thoughts without judgement. It was certainly a strange experience.    

He did not know how long it lasted. Neither did he pay attention to time. Perhaps the thoughts that entered in his head did. But he did not. But then again if the thoughts, the mind was not him. Then who was he?

“That’s enough, I think” said Mikhail and got up to his feet. He pressed the button on his shoulder and opened up his user menu.

 “Mikhail. You just said that you think. Didn’t you say that every single thought was not your own? And nobody actually thinks?” asked Emma.

Mikhail made a rueful smile and spoke:

“Yeah, I said that and it’s true. But language. It is a hard thing. Really, I did not think at all when I said that. In fact, there was no  “I” to it. The words just come out on their own. From the brain or from somewhere within. But just for the sake of not making a misunderstanding. We use the words I think. But really, it is factually wrong. No one thinks. Thoughts come and go and they aren’t your products”.

Mikhail sat quietly for a moment, then looked at Emma and Bold carefully.               

“Bold!” shouted Mikhail.

“Hmm?”

“Do the technique now. You can do it. You have to. Otherwise, I might be so mad I will beat the shit out of you”

But Mikhail said the last sentence with a smile and a sarcastic tone.

“O-okay, fine. You didn’t have to be so darn demanding”

Bold got up and typed a few codes on his wristboard and slammed the ‘ok’ button.

“You only got one shot” said Mikhail.

His voice was stern and frightening. Bold could not understand what his deal was. But at that moment of raising his fingertips, he realized something. There were no thoughts in his mind. He snapped his fingers and that moment a great surge of wind rose from the ground towards the sky in front of him.

With amazement, Bold winced and hopped on the ground with delight. Mikhail gently tapped Bold on the shoulder. Bold typed the codes again and snapped his fingers. A Gust of wind blew from the sky towards the earth. The refreshing breeze made them all smile.

“Mikhail, why did you say he only had one shot?” asked Emma but before Mikhail said anything Bold smiled and answered. 

“It was to create tension, right? I never actually thought that it could be related but when I actually managed to master shagai shoot, it was in midst of a life and death crisis. I was cornered by an AI monkey beast at the edge of a mountain top. Seriously thought I was going to fall to my death. At that moment I just thought…no, to be frank, I did not think at all. There was anger within me and I just typed the codes” said Bold.

“And what happened?” asked Emma with concern.

“I did it. With ease too. When I inputted the codes, there was a feeling that I could do it. The shagai simply appeared when I imagined it and I just…nailed it towards the beast when It lunged at me. And because of that instance, I managed to learn that spell within just two days. Yet I was struggling with this spell for five days”

A wide smile appeared on Bold’s face. Mikhail nodded and spoke:  

“During a moment of crisis, all random thoughts cease to be in the head. The breathing stops and one’s awareness sharpens. It’s the perfect moment for meditation and to execute a spell. In fact, there are some meditation techniques that tries to fool the mind into the thinking that its host is going to die” said Mikhail.

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