Mind - It is a very controversial subject. Makes me think about a book written by Mr. Napoleon Hill – ‘Outwitting the Devil’, in which Mr. Hill is interviewing the Devil and forcing it to share how it controls human mind through negative thoughts and fear. This book was written by Mr. Hill in 1938 but was only published in 2011 (and it’s very expensive) as it was considered too controversial to be published.
It is important for me to clarify the difference between Mind and Brain. Brain is a physical part of our body where Mind resides and is made up of our thoughts, emotions, memory, perception, imagination etc. Mind is not physical, our Brain is. We earthbound (as Mr. Hill calls us in this book), are controlled by our minds. It rules upon us and makes us do / not do the things that we do / don’t do. YES / NO / MAYBE?
Let’s say that the above statement is True; what can we do to ensure that our mind works in the best of our interest, or in other words, instead of our mind controlling us, can we control it. Is it possible?
To succeed in controlling our mind it’s very important for us to know what does our mind feed on? Our thoughts or our deeds? Actually our thoughts because our thoughts become our deeds. Our thoughts is the food for our mind and it drives us in the direction that we are thinking. I can validate this easily by asking you to imagine doing something that you enjoy. For me they are playing cricket, driving while listening to my favourite songs, coaching sessions with my team etc. It very interesting to note that while you are doing what you enjoy, your thoughts are restricted to that moment, meaning our mind doesn’t wonder in different directions.
I use a different technique – I treat my mind as a 3rd party. I check my thoughts and suggestions before reacting / acting upon them, as if they are not mine but suggested by my mind. Though I must admit that I am not always successful, however, I try my best to practice it. I observe my thoughts consistently.
Think about it. All of our body’s vital organs (heart, liver, kidney, gut etc.) are not controlled by our mind. WHY? Because the ‘maker’ knew that if it gives this power to our mind, ‘mind’ will not do justice and the system will collapse. Also, there are various decisions we take in which we do not apply our mind – pulling out our hand from the fire so that it doesn’t burn, applying brakes when the car in front of you stops, saving someone from falling. All this is done as a quick reaction without using our mind, or I must say without analysing the situation.
Now do you still think MIND is very important or difficult to control? A simple exercise can get you the answer – put an alarm on your mobile for every 15 minutes and when it rings, check what were you thinking; was it positive, helpful, constructive. If not, change it. It’s possible but needs lot of practice.
Mind is a very good servant but a very bad master – Swami Vivekananda
