Control Your Thoughts
Before we can change and use our creative power of thought in a conscious way, we first need to be able to bring our thoughts under control. Very often we allow our thoughts to roam freely, being as negative and destructive as they like. We forget that we are meant to control our thoughts – to put them on a tight leash so that they only go where we actually want them to go.
Developing this sense of control is something that we all need to work on and deliberately cultivate. A lifetime of undisciplined thinking cannot be overcome with a mere decision to become more disciplined. That is why I will now present a Thought Cultivation exercise that will help you to develop the ability to control your thoughts and concentrate in a focused, single-minded way. This has the effect of making the ‘magnetic attraction’ properties of your thoughts stronger and more effective.
This Thought Cultivation exercise is based on the ancient Zen practice of sitting and focusing the mind on a single point of focus and involves just a few simple steps:
Step 1 – Choose A Focus Object
Start by choosing a small object to focus on. Traditional objects used for this purpose are small, smooth, coin-sized pebbles, but you can use any natural object that you will be happy to focus on for fifteen minutes. Natural objects such as pebbles, leaves and crystals are best because they are less likely to be charged with any emotional meaning, and this will make the process easier for you.
Step 2 – Adopt The Sitting Position
It is a good idea to sit in the same place every time you use this process. If you are able, sit cross-legged on the floor, otherwise sit in a chair with your back straight and the soles of both feet on the ground. Place your chosen focus object in a position in front of you where you can look down at it at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees, as if looking straight down the slope of your nose.
Step 3 – Focus On The Object
Sit and relax. Feel a sense of poise and calm. Look at the object. Do not try to analyse the object or have mental conversations about it, but simply use it as a focus for your mind. Whenever your thoughts wander, bring your attention back to the object. Continue doing this for fifteen minutes. It will be difficult in the beginning, and you will quickly become aware of how much your thoughts try to avoid being under your conscious control, but persist with the process and you will soon find that it gets easier with time, and that your mind wanders less frequently.
Use this Thought Cultivation every day and your ability to control your thoughts will develop quite naturally.
