A Reflection on Thoughts and Awareness

For many people, the noise of inner thought can feel constant, loud, and authoritative. If a thought is anxious, shame-filled, or compulsive, it often feels like evidence of truth about oneself. Over time, this identification becomes exhausting. The mind can begin to feel like an inner critic, judging our every move.

But there is another way to understand the mind; one that is both liberating and deeply practical.

 

The Sky and the Storm

Imagine the sky during a storm. Dark clouds roll in. Wind and rain dominate the horizon. Yet the storm does not damage the sky itself. The sky remains open, vast, and unchanged; even when the weather is violent.

It can be helpful to view our inner experience in the same way.

Thoughts, emotions, urges, and memories are like weather patterns. Some are calm. Others are turbulent. Instead of taking these patterns on as personal labels, consider what it might look like to allow them to move through your awareness.

Try taking a moment to contemplate what it feels like to live as the storm and notice what arises.

Take another moment to contemplate what it feels like to live as the sky and notice what arises.

Can you name what you are noticing?

 

Thoughts as Events

Generally, we find that our minds are producing automatic thoughts, possibly in reaction to fear, memory, habit, or conditioning. While thoughts are attempts to explain our experiences and protect us; they can oftentimes be inaccurate or unhelpful.

Michael A. Singer, in The Untethered Soul, describes this inner process clearly. He explains that most suffering comes not from external events, but from identifying with the constant internal voice – the mental narrator that comments, judges, predicts, and replays. Freedom begins when we step back and recognize that this voice is something we hear, not a conclusion about who we are. For those in positions of responsibility, this distinction often marks the difference between reactive leadership and grounded judgment.

In other words:

  • Thoughts arise.

  • Thoughts are noticed.

  • Space opens to respond.

Think of this not as denial or suppression, but as clarity.

 

When the Mind Insists on Urgency

This is especially visible when the mind says things like:

  • I need to react now.

  • I need to protect myself.

  • I need relief.

These thoughts can feel authoritative; but authority does not equal truth.

The Bible says “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

Whatever one’s faith background, this verse captures a psychologically vital truth: condemnation collapses the person into the problem. Separation between identity and experience allows action to come from choice, rather than reflex.

 

Emotions and Identity

Strong emotions often bind identity to thought:

Shame, for example, might say:

  • I am my worst moment.

  • I am my mistakes.

  • I am bad.

But it is possible to acknowledge harmful thoughts without becoming them. When one learns to say, “This is a thought I’m having,” rather than “This is who I am,” a small but powerful space opens. That space allows patience and support to enter.

Storms pass. Even intense ones. 

Observing Without Obeying

One of the most important skills in emotional maturity is learning to observe thoughts without acting on them.

Instead of: I am anxious.

You might notice: Anxious thoughts are moving through right now.

Instead of: I need to escape this feeling.

It can be helpful to notice: My mind is searching for relief because discomfort is present.

This shift does not make the storm disappear. It reminds you that you are not inside it without shelter.

 

Stillness Is Not Silence

Inner freedom doesn’t equal absence of thought. The mind will continue to produce weather.

Freedom is not silence.
Freedom is non-identification.

The sky does not argue with the storm. It allows it to pass.

 

A Gentle Orientation

At times, it may be useful to pause and notice:

  • What thought is most present right now?

  • Can I name it simply as “a thought”?

  • What remains when I do not engage it?

 

Often, what remains is something quieter, steadier, less reactive than the noise.

That presence is not something you create.

It is what you notice when you stop mistaking the weather for the sky.

Considering the Relationship Between Thought and Self

By Ginger Tudor Taylor

Further Reading

Singer, Michael A. The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself