One function of thought appears to be creating continuity– the sense of a solid me, traveling through time. You, your life, the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that arise, often feel familiar. We feel stuck in repeating patterns, saying things like “I’m back here again” and “This always happens to me”. 

At the same time, when we really look, is anything ever truly repeated? 

In a very real way, despite the sense of continuity created by the mind, have you ever really felt this exact feeling before? Has this experience ever actually happened? 

The implications of this realization are profound. Suffering happens when we think we know. But if everything that arises is brand new and therefore unknown and unknowable, is there suffering? 

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