Thought is not the Self

Thought is something foreign, alien, to the true Self.

Thought pretends to be the Self.

Thought is not the Self.

Thought is an imposter.
Thought believes that it is a real entity, and that it is a real self.

Humans, are slaves to an imposter “self”.

Thinking that thinking, or thought, is your self, is a delusion, a dream-like illusion.

Thought is suffering

Realizing that suffering arises from nothing other than thought,
dropping all desires one rids oneself of it, and is happy and at peace
everywhere.

First of all I was averse to physical activity, then to lengthy
speech, and finally to thought itself, which is why I am now established.

-- from the Ashtavakra Gita (Song of Ashtavakra)

Watch your mind

Watch over your thoughts, feelings, words and actions. This will clear your vision. You must watch yourself continuously -- particularly your mind -- moment by moment, missing nothing. This witnessing is essential for the separation of the self from the not self.
-- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That

See also this.

Stay in silence

Nisargadatta Maharaj: It is the mind that tells you that the mind is there. Don't be deceived. All the endless arguments about the mind are produced by the mind itself, for its own protection, continuation and expansion. It is the blank refusal to consider the convolutions and convulsions of the mind that can take you beyond it.

Q: Sir I am an humble seeker, while you are the Supreme Reality itself. Now the seeker approaches the Supreme in order to be enlightened. What does the Supreme do?

Maharaj: Listen to what I keep on telling you and do not move away from it. Think of it all the time and of nothing else. Having reached that far, abandon all thoughts, not only of the world, but of yourself also. Stay beyond all thoughts, in silent being-awareness.

Q: So you say I should try to stop thinking and stay steady in the idea: 'I am'.

Maharaj: Yes, and whatever thoughts come to you in connection with the 'I am', empty them of all meaning, pay them no attention.

QOTD (AG)

5. Realising that suffering arises from nothing other than thought,
dropping all desires one rids oneself of it, and is happy and at peace
everywhere.