Words From The Master: 14 Feb 2008

Entering into Meditation
(continuation from earlier post)

Step 2: Work on your thoughts

Thoughts are the most whimsical things in our life!

Most of the time, we have no control of our thoughts. Our thoughts lead us wherever they want. If you just start speaking all your random thoughts aloud, you will be ashamed to hear your own words! Because our thoughts have no connection to each other, no relevance to the present, they don’t even make any sense. Yet we trust our lives to these thoughts. We live by these thoughts!

A small story:

In a kingdom there was a wise man who could foretell the future. One day, the king of the land heard about the wise man’s powers and decided to test him. He took the wise man to the country’s busiest harbour, where hundreds of ships sailed in and out every day.

Can you tell me how many ships are going to sail into this harbour today?, the kind demanded.

Only three, my lord!, answered the wise man. And not just today, but every day only three ships enter and leave this harbour!

What do you mean?, asked the king, startled. Which are those three ships?

The ships of Money, Power and Sex, my lord! All men, including you, spend our lives sailing on these three ships!

This is true. Most of the time we are all thinking about money, power or sex. We may give our thoughts different names – but finally it boils down to one of these three things. Here sex is not just sex, but indulgence of any kind.

If you are working at the office, you are ultimately doing it for money, for power.

If you are taking a holiday, your thoughts are focused on indulgence.

Just consider: what do you think about all the time?

It is sure to be one of these three things!

How often do you reflect on truth, on beauty, on goodness?

What is the need?, you may think, Does my life depend on truth or beauty? My life depends on how much money I can make, how much power I can acquire!

But thoughts have the power to alter your life. When you reflect on something constantly, it can alter not only your state of mind, but also your state of life. When you constantly think about beauty, your life becomes more beautiful.

Above all, be aware of what thoughts are entering and leaving your mind. Right now your mind is a ‘free-for-all zone’. Any thought is free to enter, fight with other thoughts to occupy maximum space, stay as long as it pleases, and leave whenever
it feels like. You have no control over the thoughts that are entering your mind and influencing your life.

Just watch your thoughts.

Watch what is happening inside you when thoughts of a certain kind enter.

You will notice that whenever thoughts related to anger, lust or greed enter your mind, they create a certain discomfort in your system. Whenever your ego is awakened, you feel uncomfortable. See what thoughts leave you feeling joyful, peaceful. Retain those thoughts and throw out the rest!

Become the watchman of your mind. Become aware of the flow of thoughts. See how deeply you identify yourself with your thoughts! You will find that your thoughts arise from your deepest unconscious mind. If you can alter the thoughts in your unconscious mind, you can alter the flow of your conscious life!

Try this: if you want to transform some aspect of your conscious life – for example, if you want to get rid of your anger or your prejudice – simply give instructions to your mind to make the change, just before you go to sleep.

You will be amazed to see, with repeated instructions to the unconscious, your conscious life too changes in the same direction!

(to be continued)
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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "Meditation is for You" -- an introduction to the science and art of meditation