I love alliteration, so it follows that I love “Flashback Friday.” It’s in the “Way Back Machine” that I found this Grasshopper nugget: “Discover Yourself In The Arc Of A Thought.”

“Who Am I?” is a question we have all asked and there is only one answer, and it’s only found in one place: in the arc of a thought.

Thoughts are like breaths; they have a beginning and an end – an arc. Did you ever notice that there is a tiny little space between your out breath and your in breath? Just monitor your breathing for a few seconds and you’ll find that space. There is also a space between thoughts. It comes as the arc of one thought ends and another begins. It’s in that space that you’ll find you.

First, you’ll have to discover that that space exists. Once you become aware, you’ll always know it’s there. Then it becomes a matter of attention. Begin to give attention to that space. When you begin to focus on the space, it elongates. That space is you.

When you discover that space and elongate it, you’ll instantly know the real you – the one that sits between your thoughts. You’ll finally discover that you’re not the drivel that normally fills up your head; you’re the space instead.

The answer to “Who am I?” is the space between your thoughts.

It’s in this space that you’ll discover your own innate wisdom. The constant ongoing chatter in our mind crowds out that wisdom and we continue to play the role that our thoughts tell us we are. The real you can’t be put into a thought; it’s separate and apart from who we think we are.

When you discover yourself in the arc of a thought, you’ll begin to think more clearly and have less clutter in your mind. You’ll also discover that you’re not the character that you dress up and display for public consumption. Unlike your image of yourself, you’ll never have to defend the real you because it never takes a position. That’s because it contains them all, and all in that tiny little space.

When you get tired of pretending that you are who you think you are, begin to notice the arc of a thought and find that refreshing space that feels like home. Spend some time there and rejuvenate yourself with you.

Build your own ark and escape the flood of your thoughts just by finding yourself in the space between them.

All the best,

John