How to manage your thoughts?
Thoughts are like waves in a river. Every second they take birth and leave. Some thoughts stay in the mind for longer duration. It is here that one should be careful. Your all past experiences, good or bad will come into picture. Then comes your analysis of the present chain of thoughts in context with the past experiences. At Last comes your decision about what you are going to do with your thoughts. You may decide to put them into action or disregard it and soon they will be replaced by another chain of thoughts. The more the person is wise and knowledgeable the more he would be able to manage his thoughts like a master. Here, he should be able to watch his thoughts impartially. If he is carried away then the action resulted out of thoughts would produce harmful results. Do not allow negative or antisocial thoughts to prevail in your mind for long. That is why good company and “satsang” is advised for good behavior. Also do not get afraid of negative thoughts, they would not be able to do any harm as long as you do not give them importance. Always give more time to ponder over positive and constructive thoughts and ideas. Move away from bad company and sad people, they will drag you down. Do not waste time in frivolous and trivial talks and activities. Think less but better.
It should not be this way that your right hand does not know what your right hand is doing let alone your left hand. Awareness is the key word. When we are full of jealousy, greed, anger and carnal desires we are bound to forget right way of thinking. We will be engrossed most of the times in thinking about fulfilling such desires which would make our life miserable. Most of the times such ambitions are not realized then the person becomes sad and feels dejected and a failure. This would lead to a long chain of negative thinking. Take failures in your strides, embrace them and move ahead. Man is prone to make mistakes. Not all men/women are evolved enough to be objective in judging themselves or others. We are not meant to be perfect because evolving does not stop and will never. Even so called masters are not perfect. Learning and improving is a lifelong process for everyone. Therefore, think objectively and selectively. Human brain has evolved considering thousands of years of experiences to be able to survive under extreme conditions. People give undue importance to fear and usually thought process revolves around worries and unfounded fears. Fear is necessary for survival but it also harms thinking process when its overdose is taken. Your source of fear is your ghost. Your source of faith is your God.
Everybody must be more or less spiritually advanced in order to overcome fear and to be able to manage thoughts. Sometimes simple techniques like yoga would work wonders for you. Your body, mind and soul are energy. The whole universe is nothing but a vast sea of energy. You may find many components functioning in a visible way. Mind is more subtle, however still you can close your eyes and watch it functioning, and you can see your thoughts moving rapidly from one objet/place/topic/idea to the next one. At one moment you are at Kashmir and at the next moment you will be at some place with somebody else. You will feel that from nowhere thoughts are emerging. However each thought has a source of its own to exist.
For thoughts there are no boundaries of time (past, present and future) and also of distances. They are faster than light. You can see your thoughts but nobody else can. The others can only guess looking at your face and eyes. For any machine to work properly it’s all components/parts must perform. If all your energies don’t function in harmony you are unhealthy. You are not complete, you are not whole. To be whole is to be holy and sane. Most of us have developed inherent or acquired defects in our mental wiring. Our attitudes and beliefs are confusing and wrongly placed. I am confident that many of us if checked would require treatment from a good psychiatrist. The house (body, mind and soul) must be in order. We have no value for values. Then the task of managing thoughts and mind would become more and more difficult. We often create problems and waste energy in solving them. Gentlemen and ladies, I have often observed, seen, heard or read that for trivial issues life is taken away. Life is hard for most of us these days but that does not mean that you throw away your arms. Our mind is an excellent weapon if its edges (thoughts) are sharp.
Faster, higher and stronger is the motto for Olympic Games, the motto for life should be steadier, calmer, healthier, self-aware wiser and peaceful. These are preconditions for excellent thought management. Let the river water flow it will remain pure and fresh. Always engage in new and fruitful activities, this will help in keeping your mind away from useless and destructive thoughts and in bonus you would enjoy happy state of mind.
Do not spend sleepless nights thinking about problems over and over again. Even during day time we often get carried away in thinking hatred, jealousy and financial situations. Sometimes our thoughts are about the future and we start day-dreaming. Lot of energy is spent while doing this, save energy. We need positive energy to do the right things. Do not give much importance to the hated; it is unwise to give him more time and space in your thoughts. If you cannot love him/her, just ignore him/her. That much you can do. But in any case do not make him/her the controller of your mind and thoughts. Let nothing happen outside you, take control of you. Lastly, Kabir has said “Just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things, and stand firm in that which you are.” Once you learn to take control of your negative thoughts half the job is done, because most of the time our thoughts are revolving around negativity.
Sometime we are faced with huge life threatening problems, under such conditions no matter how we try mind is in turmoil and one may take suicidal steps or may get into nervous breakdown. Immediately no help can achieve the desired result. Home work is never done. Only god or some doctor can save.
Pradipkumar Raol
