In Chapter 2, I talked about how you have an image of yourself, which you present in front of

the world. This image you strive to uphold in all areas of your life. You uphold the image of being a hard
working serous individual at work, an image of a being a helpful, kind and funny person with your
friends and yet another image elsewhere. The struggle to protect your image prevents you from living a
free, easy life. Similarly you have images about the world. These images are crystallized in the mind as
opinions. Through these opinions the mind interprets the world.

“The mental images I have about the world are very strong. I cannot seem to rise above them to
see clearly what the reality is. I understood what you said about Self-Image last time and how it stops
me from being at ease, relaxed and happy, yet, I do not seem to understand why the opinions I have of
myself and the world still exists?”

“I think it is very easy to understand if we begin at the basics. For example, what opinion do you
have of me? Just answer it.”

“Well, about what you are saying or about you as a friend or…?”

“Yeah, as a friend, what do you think of me?”

“Well, I think you are a g…”

“STOP! Now before you continue let me interrupt and point out that you have some opinion
about me which you were about to speak out, right? Good or a bad opinion, necessary or unnecessary,
but you have something to say about me right?”

“Yeah, I guess. Why is that so important?”

“It is important, because that is exactly how you have an opinion about yourself. Take a minute
to understand it. If I ask you to describe what kind of a friend you are, then you would have some
opinion as well. Is it not? That opinion is your self-image. We find it very difficult to understand
ourselves because we think it is a very complicated matter. It is not true; the mind understands any
person in exactly the same way. You understand yourself, just as you understand me, just as you
understand your parents, your girl friend etc. Am I making sense to you? The mind knows itself, just as it
knows a different person. The only exception is, the mind loves what it knows about itself and values it
more than its knowledge about others. So, it is very easy to find out what it thinks about itself or others
if you look at it without separating the two.”

“I understand what you mean. I also know what my opinions about myself are, but I think I
cannot change them. I also cannot change what opinions I have of someone else. For example, I try to
change the way I feel about some horrible people in my life, but I cannot change the way I think about
them.”

“You mean to say that you cannot change your opinions. If you want to change your opinions,
then we must examine the question of why you have opinions in the first place. Right? Any person has
an opinion because he sees some value in holding that opinion. Because, one thinks that this opinion
reflects the fact, the actuality. You associate some value to your opinion, and you believe that this value
helps you live a decent, safe, good life. So your opinion is important in the sense that it represents
reality for your brain.”

“You are right; I know my opinions of some people reflect some reality about them. But then is
that not why opinions are important? They reflect the facts. Not only my opinions about the world, the
people, but also my opinions about myself are based on facts. So opinions are important.”

“Look, we are not dealing with facts. Leave the facts aside entirely. We are talking about just the
opinion. We are only concerning ourselves with finding out if the opinion exists or not. Are you getting
me? Keep it simple. We will deal with the facts later. Opinions may be factual, or they may be illusory,
we don’t care. We only care about the existence of an opinion for the time being. This is the only way to
stay focused on the opinion. Right?”

“I see. So I have an opinion about my boss. I am holding it in my mind. Now what?”

“Now what….. that’s a good question. ”

I thought long and hard, and then decided to engage him a sub conversation. It was necessary to
take a deep breath and take a plunge.

I continued, “Alright, hold that question in your mind, the question was, what should be done
once you are holding an opinion in your mind’s eye, delicately. You agree that was the question?”

“Yeah, that’s my question. What should be done with this opinion, once you are aware of it?”

“Right. Now bear with me for a while. I am going to ask you some very simplistic questions. Just
go with the flow for a while. Okay?”

He nodded, and I continued….

“If I may ask you, is this café, where we are here, familiar to you? Before you say yes, please
look at what you know about this room. I see the tables are clean and shining, the sunlight entering
through the blinds. I see the cup of coffee on this table, which I am pretty sure, will leave a stain behind.
I am aware of the magnificent chandelier. So I am aware of these things. So I am asking, is this place
familiar to you?”

“Yes, this place is known to me. I have come here a million times. What’s your point?”

“If you have come here a million times, then tell me what kind of a painting is hanging on the
wall behind you?”

He was surprised by my question and began searching his memory.

“I don’t think I remember, but what’s your point?”

 “Wait! Now do you remember any specific incident about this place? Anything that happened
which you can say is worth remembering.”

“Yes, there was a waiter who used to work here. He was pretty rude; I think that’s why they
fired him. I got into a very bad argument with him once.”

“Do you remember his name?”

“Peter”

“Okay, so you are telling me that you don’t remember those things which are useless and
remember those which are useful. You forgot the painting on the wall, but remember the waiter who
mistreated you. Right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Why? Do you think the portrait is less important than the waiter?”

“I think because, the waiter directly affects my life. It’s up to the waiter to ensure that the
customers have a good experience in this place, and he was irresponsible and incapable.”

“So you remember him because he affected your dining experience, right? He treaded on your
comfort zone. What do you think this means?”

“I don’t know. I guess it means whatever harms me I tend to remember.”

“Exactly! In other words, you as a living thing are concerned about survival. Every small thing
which can assist your life, you tend to remember. Whether you remember it exactly as it was, is a
different matter, but you remember anything even remotely affects your survival or well being. The
photo hanging on the wall is not essential, so you don’t remember it.”

“Yes, I understand what you mean.”

“The mind abstracts the reality around itself for the purpose of survival. It has been doing it for
millions of years. Abstractions may be in the form of mental images, experiences, fears, likes, dislikes,
quirks etc. It could be anything that you remember. Rather, the whole memory exists as layers of
abstractions. The mind in its need to survive compresses the immensity of reality and compresses it into
small fragments of easily understandable units. This process is extremely subtle and fast. It will also be
obvious now that the past abstractions decide what future abstractions will be. The mind continues to
see the world in abstractions, while reality, in all its infinity stands neglected. Now look around and see if
you can observe this room without any abstractions or images, as it actually is. Look at it as if you have
never been here before. It will seem as if you are seeing this room for the first time. It is fresh, vital and
intensely alive.”

He looked around. After a while he replied.

“I understand what you meant when you said that facts are not important. Only the opinion is.”
 “Yes, the fact is the newness of this room, while the opinion is your memory or abstraction of it.
This brings us to the original question. What do you do when you realize you have an opinion about
something or someone? When you catch it instantly and realize that you are carrying an opinion about
someone, when you become aware of it.”

“Yes, let us get back to it. What can I do if I know I have an opinion about my boss?”

“Do you see that an opinion is nothing but an abstraction of reality? Isn’t it? It is not reality, but
a reduction of it, an interpretation of it. So, when you created this abstraction, this opinion about our
boss, there was a certain reality about it. Based on that reality, you created an abstraction, so that you
can remember it, preserve it, and reuse it for protecting yourself, of ensuring your security, wellbeing
etc. Right?”

“Right.”

“So, what would you say is the ‘state’ of that reality from which you derived this opinion or
abstraction about your boss or whoever? Where is that reality at this moment in time? Go slow.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, exactly what you heard, where is that reality now, this moment?”

“That reality is past. It is no more, does not exist. I created that opinion a long time ago.”

“Yes, so the reality, the fact, the truth of the matter is now dead. Would you agree? And all that
survives is a measly abstraction, an interpretation, an image, an opinion.”

“Yes. I think that is true.”

“So now, what is the relationship of that reality, which is now gone, to the opinion that exists,
that survives?”

“The opinion still represents reality?...”

“Does it? Or is there no relationship between the two at all! The opinion is now independent of
the fact. It got disconnected and divorced from the fact right at its creation! This happened because the
reality at that time was living, moving, alive with an immense amount of information. The birth of the
opinion happened when the mind took a snapshot of this reality and stored it in the memory. A
snapshot which is based on what the mind values or is afraid of at a particular time. Surely there are a
million things in this room, which are of no value to you, but of great value to someone else. Opinions
may sometimes have encapsulated some part of the truth, but that encapsulation is completely
immaterial. That captured truth is useless since the existence of an opinion constantly curtails the
current, moving reality, and sees the new reality as the old abstraction. The abstraction forces the mind
to narrow down and become stupid. It forces the mind to gather only limited information based on old
mental photographs. So even if my opinion represented any fact, I would drop it entirely, because it
stops me from understanding the current unfolding reality of this room. So opinions may or may not be
the facts, but essentially, opinions are a complete waste. Abstractions are a complete waste of mental
energy right? They drain energy. They are contradictory, unclear, and severely limited. Recollecting
them takes great effort, maintaining them takes more effort, and sustaining them completely ruins the
joy of living, and any prospect of spontaneity and brilliance. Apart from obvious places where we need
abstractions, like using them in the technological aspects of living, abstractions are mere posters of the
reality! It is like being satisfied with the photograph of Niagara Falls. But Niagara Falls cannot be
contained in any painting or a movie or a photograph. The photograph may show you Niagara Falls, but
it is so puny, so inconsequential, and so immaterial compared to the real thing. The whole river as it falls
from a great height. The immeasurable enchanting beauty of it! What can a mental image, a memory
know of it? Zilch! Nothing.”

I was completely exhausted, but he was listening. Then he spoke.

“Momentarily I can see without abstractions. Everything is so new and alive.”

“When abstractions come to an end, the mind is reborn. The past is dead and the present comes
to life. It is only then, that you can see………the pristine and untouched beauty of the new world.”