MANAGE THOUGHTS TO MANAGE LIFE !

'What you think you become' - Buddha.

'For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he'. (Proverbs 23:7)

'As you think, so you become' - Bruce Lee.

'Thoughts become things' - The Secret book / movie.

Let's understand why it is so. The world began as a thought of God. 'Ekoham bahusyam' ('I am One, may I become many') say Upanishads about the cause of this creation.

In Genesis 1:3-5, we read : God said, Let there be light ; He willed it, and at once there was light.

Quantum physics says consciousness is the ultimate reality. Thought becomes energy, energy becomes frozen as matter.

So thought is the origin of everything. By changing our thoughts, it is obvious, we can change our lives, and thereby change the world as we experience it.

Thought is movement in the mind, it's a mental vibration. The vibes go to the ether and do their job. My Master, Paramahansa Yogananda who authored the famous spiritual classic 'Autobiography of a Yogi' says :

"Mind is the creator of everything. You should therefore guide it to create only good. If you cling to a certain thought dynamic will power, it finally assumes a tangible outward form. When you are able to employ your will always for constructive purposes, you become the controller of your destiny."

How to control thoughts ? : The trouble is thoughts are tricky, the more you resist them, the stronger they persist. So we have to outwit them.

One common mistake is to focus too hard on thoughts we don't want to think in a bid to avoid them, and this becomes counter-productive because in the process we only affirm them. We should divert the mind in the opposite direction or just focus on something else.

Mind is the interface between body (the matter) and Soul (the Source of Consciousness). At the lower level, between body and mind is the brain - the processor - that is fine, super-sensitive matter and gets hardwired by the things we habitually do and the thoughts we habitually think.

At the upper end, between the mind and soul, are two interfaces : the intellect ('Buddhi') - the discriminative or reasoning intelligence, and even above it, the heart. Here heart is not the blood pump that modern medicine knows, it's the feeling instrument that according to PNI / neurocardiology research actually thinks, intuits and gives critical feedback.

Thought management is a multi-dimensional super-science. We think on an average about 60,000 thoughts a day, and most of these are so subtle that we are not even aware or mindful. So, are we lost ? Not necessarily. There is a clue.

Thoughts leave behind positive and negative feelings : thoughts of love, of being in control of oneself, of success, of sharing and serving, of hope and trust, etc., leave behind a positive happy feeling. Thoughts of doubt and anxiety, of spite and hatred, of fear and jealousy, of doing harm and taking revenge, etc. leave behind uncomfortable, negative feelings.

If we keep aware and ward off all thoughts that make us restless and uncomfortable inside, we can be in much better control.

But there are three 4 actionable things we can do to enhance this awareness and aptitude :

1. Right living : Daily exercise, right eating, regular sleep, sunlight, etc. help us. Remember the body and the mind work on each other, and while the effect of the mind on the body is more subtle and enduring, the body does influence the mind too. Exercise helps generate positive feelings ; healthy diet of fruits and seasonal vegetables help make the mind calm, and calmness induces positivity - it is the condition in which happiness thrives.

2. Deep Breathing : Breath is the energy link between the body and mind, it an important carrier of Prana, the life force. Restless breathing induces restless mind, and vice versa. Slow, deep, rhythmic breathing can do wonders in mind management. Yogic pranayama is an incredibly great help.

3. Power of the Heart : Nothing heals as love does. When we love selflessly, when our feeling is not driven by attachment, desire for sensual pleasure etc., it creates the mental environment where good, positive, creative thoughts can flourish.

4. Mindfulness & Meditation : It is the most comprehensive and ultimate panacea. When we meditate regularly, we can live better, love better, feel better, think better - everything improves. Meditation is not just a technique where you sit with closed eyes (and struggle to grapple with the mind that is in turmoil like dry leaves in a storm !). What we do, how we behave with ourselves and others between two meditations, decides the quality of how deep we can meditate and how peaceful we can come out of it. Meditation can and should last far beyond that posture, to eventually become 24x7 mindfulness.

If we don't even know and recognize our thoughts and witness their nature, we can't even begin managing them. So mindfulness is the key, but this witnessing has to be gradually anchored at deeper levels. 'The mind witnessing mind' isn't easy, but the body, the intellect, and the heart under the able leadership of the soul can do a great teamwork !

So what do you do if bad thoughts come even when you sincerely don't want them ? Just witness calmly and ignore, refuse to identify with them. My Master says, they are in the ether, Maya is doing a real hard work. What can you do if birds fly in the sky above your head ; you don't have to bother about them - they come and go. But if they land and perch on your head (please see the picture in the title above) and if they start building nests, you should surely prevent it ! So it is with thoughts. Temptations will come and go, negative thoughts can visit even saintly souls. But such thoughts should not be allowed to build a 'nest'. We should not yield to them, and quietly divert and lead the mind in better directions. We should not engage in a turf war with them.

Managing the mind which otherwise is like a drunken monkey, is important to building focus without which nothing worthwhile - material or spiritual - can be done ; it is also vital to conquering durable happiness which is life's ultimate quest. A mind in control is our best friend - and as we all know, a restless, negative mind is the worst, trickiest, in-house foe !



- www.hansyoga.com // Holistic Leadership Coaching & Motivational Training for Personal & Professional Excellence.