The speaker, a former atheist who struggled with mental suffering, shares their journey to discovering a method to silence their mind. They were introduced to the concept of "persistent non-symbolic experience" (PNS) by a friend, Ben, which led them to research Dr. Gary Weber, a scientist who developed a secular way to stop thoughts using Sanskrit phrases. The speaker, being a "memory guy," memorized the phrases and found that they helped neutralize their thoughts. They discovered that the key was not to focus on the Sanskrit itself but on the pattern of the phrases, which helped to neutralize the mind's noise. The speaker shares their personal experience of using this method to achieve a state of pure bliss and recommends it to others, suggesting that simply asking oneself "are my thoughts useful, how do they behave?" can be a powerful tool in quieting the mind.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The speaker had struggled with mental suffering for years.
2. The speaker had tried to quiet their mind by taking antidepressants and antipsychotics with alcohol.
3. The speaker was a committed atheist and didn't believe in spiritual practices.
4. A friend, Ben, introduced the speaker to the concept of Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience (PNS).
5. The speaker was skeptical at first but decided to try it out.
6. Gary Weber, a scientist, had written about PNS and how to achieve it through memorizing Sanskrit phrases.
7. The speaker ordered Weber's books "Happiness Beyond Thought" and "Evolving Beyond Thought".
8. The speaker started memorizing Sanskrit phrases and found that it helped to neutralize their thoughts.
9. The speaker realized that the English translations of the Sanskrit phrases were not necessary, and the phrases themselves were what was important.
10. The speaker found that the phrases helped to neutralize their thoughts and bring them to a state of pure bliss.
11. The speaker still has thoughts, but they are no longer overwhelming.
12. The speaker has developed a simple tool to deal with intrusive thoughts: asking themselves if the thoughts are useful and how they behave.
13. The speaker quotes Aldous Huxley, who said that people are often blind and insane due to their thoughts.
14. The speaker believes that people can change themselves, but not others.
15. The speaker recommends trying to neutralize thoughts rather than destroying or chasing them away.
Note that I've excluded opinions and focused on extracting factual information from the text.