If your mind was pitted against your body, which would win?
Many of you would say the mind, because that obviously is the 'better' answer in the sense that it gives you satisfaction. Truthfully answered, for the larger part of the population the winner would be the Body. No surprise there but no shame either.
The body wins easily not because it is a stronger competitor, on the contrary the reverse is true, the mind is simply harder to control. (You decided to fast for a day but end up eating, you plan on getting up early but you wake up an hour later, you plan to exercise but end up on the couch watching TV, etc).

"The mind is a hard master but an easy slave" (not quite sure if that's the exact quote, but even if I haven't got the exact words I have managed to capture the essence). The popular saying is bang on target. The mind likes to talk, there is a phrase for it in Buddhism "monkey chatter", on and on the mind keeps talking to it self, without any conscious effort on the behalf of the possessor of the mind. Try to consciously observe your mind and you will see that a hundred thoughts will flow into your mind. Now try to focus your mind on a single object, like a dot for a minute, by this I mean don't look at a picture of a dot, that would be far too easy, instead imagine a dot. I bet you can't hold the image for more than thirty seconds.

The mind seems to be afraid of being silent, just as most people in the presence of company feel the urge to chatter nineteen to the dozen. It feels that it will lose control the moment it stops talking, however this is not so. There would have been no danger in the mind chattering to itself, most people are not even aware that their minds are so busy. Unfortunately most of the thoughts are negative; fears, anger, resentment, hatred, insecurities.
It may seem impossible that what the mind thinks about eventually manifests, but it is true none the less. If you think a thought over a thousand times, it does eventually come into being. This occurs faster if you visualize the thought. A picture is after all worth a thousand words.
This can be used to your advantage as well. Everyday as soon as you get up, set the a timer for five minutes, then imagine yourself laughing, smiling. Then imagine events occurring according to your satisfaction. If you want happy people around you, imagine yourself being surrounded by happy people, if you want your boss to praise you imagine her/him doing so.
At first it will be hard to control your mind, as it will keep pushing up unhappy thoughts, but over time you will get the hang of it. Initially you should try and do this as often as possible, then you can do it once in the morning and once before going to bed.
If you are prone to depressions, unhappiness, etc you should really give it a try. Whatever you do not give up, it may take a while but believe me your life will be better.
(Note: I struggled a lot with my mind, I used to scream with frustration because my mind would not listen but these days its easier plus I am happier).
Remember a better life first begins with a better day.

Tags & Keywords : Philosopy, Meditation, Self