Thoughts are considered "good" when they promote positive emotions,
motivate constructive actions, and contribute to a healthy mindset, while
"bad" thoughts are those that generate negative emotions, lead to harmful
behaviours, or create unnecessary anxiety and stress; essentially, the
quality of a thought is determined by its impact on your well-being and the
actions it might inspire you to take.
Key points about "good" thoughts:
Positive focus: Optimistic thinking, gratitude, and focusing on personal
strengths.
Motivational: Inspiring goals, self-belief, and a drive to achieve.
Compassionate: Empathy, kindness, and understanding towards others.
Problem-solving: Constructive approaches to challenges and finding
solutions.
Key points about "bad" thoughts:
Negative self-talk: Self-criticism, doubt, and feelings of inadequacy.
Rumination: Constantly dwelling on negative past experiences.
Anxiety-inducing: Worrying excessively about future events.
Harmful intentions: Thoughts promoting aggression, prejudice, or malicious
actions.
Important considerations:
Everyone experiences negative thoughts:
It's normal to have occasional negative thoughts, but the key is to not let
them control your actions or overall mindset.
Mindfulness practices:
Techniques like meditation can help you observe your thoughts without
judgment and manage negative ones more effectively.
Cognitive restructuring:
Actively challenging negative thoughts and replacing them with more
realistic and positive ones {SCIENCE EVALUATED THUS}
II There are a lot of people who are offended by the
idea that “we create our reality.” They see it as a version of blaming the
victim. Nobody asks for bad things to happen to them. What I explain to
friends is that there are three buckets in life—things we control, things
we influence, and things over which we have no control. What is not under
our control are the many random events of life. The families we were born
into, earthquakes, pandemics, illness, job layoffs, the death of loved
ones, fires, and car accidents, to name a few. These are circumstances that
we experience and events that we are aware of. We influence other living
things with our actions. If you walk into a room, see a stranger sitting
there, and decide to slap them in the face, that person will surely respond
differently than if you had instead smiled. But you don’t determine how
that person responds. That person could decide to run away, turn the other
cheek, or slap you- back.What we control, and where we really start to
create our reality, is in how we perceive/interpret/think about the events
in our life that generate our feelings about those events, and how we
subsequently respond with our behaviour. No one can choose your thoughts or
actions; those are yours alone.
Because the brain's selective filtering system, often
referred to as priming, works on an activation/inhibition model, when the
brain is primed by a certain belief to look for something, it shuts down
competing neural networks, so you actually have a hard time seeing evidence
to the contrary of an already existing belief. That’s why people who are
depressed see a more depressing world. It’s also why you are so convinced
that your view of the world is the “truth.” What most people don’t realize
is they are participating in creating their own version of the truth.
What you take in from the environment through your belief filter becomes
your self-concept. Your self-concept is made up of I am beliefs about who
you are presently, and I can beliefs about who you are capable of being in
the future. From these I am and I can statements you create stories and
narratives about who you are, that you tell yourself and other people all
day long. I am not good enough, I am not lovable, I can not do it, I am
smart, I am capable, I can achieve my goals. You are the main character in
your story and you write the script based on your self-concept that is
largely self-created.
You are participating in creating your reality whether you know
it or not. There is nothing magical or woo-woo about it. It is simply the
way our brains operate. When you deny, reject, or are unaware of this, then
you have very little power and will feel like the victim of your life. But
with awareness comes choice. When you start to understand the process and
make it work for you, now you are empowered to be in charge of the life you
create. Will there always be things that happen that are outside of your
control? Yes, that is guaranteed. But what you do control is how you think
and feel, and what you subsequently do about those uncontrollable
events—that is how you shape and create your life. There are always people
who thrive in times of crisis. Is it because they are lucky? Most likely it
is because they choose to see opportunity as opposed to disadvantage. Is
it easy to break out of autopilot and take charge of this process? No. The
more difficult your life has been, the harder it may seem at first. But it
is doable and it’s like anything else, once you get the hang of it, it gets
a lot easier. And since it is your life, and no one else will ever be as
invested in it as you, it’s probably at least worth trying. I will end with
my all-time favourite quote from Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can or
think you can’t, you are right.” [PSYCHOLOGY TODAY EVALUATION]
III Thoughts were the focus of our Vedanta.
Many Upanishads discuss the mind, including the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, Taitriya Upanishad,
Katopanishad, Amṛtabindu Upanishad, and Kshurika Upanishad. Vedantic
schools, which were primarily the products of intuitive understanding of
the seers (rishis of yore) were in the non-perceptual paradigm and hence
were not easily available for the measurements and scientific validation
that are insisted by the present-day science. Science as it is known today
is primarily based on the perceptual paradigm. Oriental psychologies do not
subscribe to the body-mind dichotomy. Instead, these philosophies
considered mind and body as the gross and grosser aspect of the underlying
unitary reality which is described in Vedanthic texts as ‘soul’ or ‘atman’
or ‘brahman’. Here consciousness is explained in the singular and as the
only reality but appearing in its manifestations as plural due to ignorance
(Avidya) or false identification as self (Asmitha). According to them the
one appearing as many is a perceptual error (‘ekam sat vipra bahudha
vadanti’). The Vedantha philosophy has considered mind as the subtle form
of matter where in the body and its components are considered the grossest
forms. Consciousness, on the other hand, is considered finer than ‘mind
matter’ and is considered all pervasive, omnipresent and omniscient. The
ancient seers (the rishis) claimed that such truths are revealed only by
intuitive research by diving deep in to the self in the process of
absorption (Samadhi).
Swami Vivekananda explained the mind-body relationship from his
own transcendental experience ‘The body is just the external crust of the
mind. They are not two different things; they are just as the oyster and
its shell, they are but two aspects of one thing; the internal substance of
the oyster takes up matter from outside, and manufactures the shell. In the
same way, the internal fine forces which are called mind take up gross
matter from outside, and from that manufacture this external shell, the
body-We shall find how intimately the mind is connected with the body. When
the mind is disturbed, the body also becomes disturbed. Just as a
physicist, when he pushes his knowledge to its limits, finds it melting
away into metaphysics, so a metaphysicist will find that what he calls mind
and matter are but apparent distinctions, the reality being one.”
Katha Upanishad 1:2:2 Both the good and the pleasant
approach a man. The wise man, pondering over them, discriminates. The wise
chooses the good in preference to the pleasant. The simple-minded, for the
sake of worldly well-being, prefers the pleasant.
It is commonly thought that manas or mind is a compendium of
the cognitive faculties of consciousness, perception, thinking, judgment,
memory, etc. Which lead to a state of awareness, organization,
identification, interpretation, decision ‐ making. The concept of mind in
Indian philosophy can be presented at different levels that are
differentiated by the area of epistemology, psychology and philosophy. Mind
is also connected by the terms in human life like desire, aversion,
pleasure, pain, intelligence, thought etc. It acts in a similar way as the
functions of sense organs. The functions of mind are to store the all the
impressions that we receive from our experiences and our activities. All
our activities leave their impressions on the mind. These activities are
performed with the help of the sense organs. Such impressions are within us.
The Amṛtānandopaniṣad says: mana eva manuṣyāṇāṃ kāraṇaṃ
bandha mokṣayoḥ || Mind of man is the cause of both bondage and liberation.
The Maitrayaṇi Upaniṣad suggests that mind, in truth, for mankind is the
means of bondage and release from bondage.[2] How they can reveal the idea
of mind and its faculties are mentioned the major Upaniṣads. The concept of
mind is associated with manas, prajña, vijñāna, saṃkalpa and citta. The
Upaniṣads discuss human personality and, also discuss the mental
functioning. The concept of mind in the Upaniṣads mainly suggests that the
mind is a subtle matter.
AITREYA UPANISHAD, Upaniṣad considers manas as a material and
inert substance that cannot function without Atman. Awareness [saṃjñā],
comprehension [ajñānaṃ], understanding [vijñānaṃ], knowledge [prajñānaṃ],
retentiveness [medā], insight [dṛuṣṭiḥ], resolution [dṛutiḥ], opinion
[matiḥ], memory [smṛtiḥ], reflection [manīṣā], impulse [jutiḥ], will
[saṃkalpaḥ], purposed [kratuḥ], life [asuḥ], desire [kāma], control [vaśa]
etc are the names of mind or knowledge [prajñānaṃ]. These are regarded as
different names of our intellectual experiences.
In the Bhagavad Gita ("B G"), the "mind" is described as a
powerful, restless entity that can be both a friend and an enemy, depending
on whether it is controlled or not; the key focus of spiritual practice is
often to subdue and purify the mind to achieve inner peace and liberation,
with various techniques like meditation being used to achieve this control.
Dual nature: The mind can be a powerful ally when disciplined, but if left
unchecked, it becomes a source of turmoil and distraction, leading to
negative emotions like greed, anger, and lust.
Difficulty in control: Chapter 6, verse 34 particularly highlights the
challenging nature of controlling the mind, comparing it to trying to
control the wind.
Importance of focus: The Gita emphasizes the need to focus the mind on a
higher purpose, like the divine, to achieve inner peace and liberation.
Yoga and meditation: Practices like yoga and meditation are considered
essential tools to train and purify the mind
BG 6.34: The mind is very restless, turbulent, strong and
obstinate, O Krishna. It appears to me that it is more difficult to control
than the wind..
manah-prasadah saumyatvam maunam atma-vinigrahah
bhava-sanshuddhir ity etat tapo manasam uchyate
BG 17.16: Serenity of thought, gentleness, silence, self-control, and
purity of purpose—all these are declared as austerity of the mind.
Austerity of the mind is higher than the austerity of body and speech, for
if we learn to master the mind, the body and speech automatically get
mastered, while the reverse is not necessarily true. Factually, the state
of the mind determines the state of an individual’s consciousness. Shree
Krishna had stated in verse 6.5, “Elevate yourself through the power of
your mind and not degrade yourself, for the mind can be the friend and also
the enemy of the self.”
The mind may be likened to a garden, which can either be intelligently
cultivated or allowed to run wild. Gardeners cultivate their plot, growing
fruits, flowers, and vegetables in it. At the same time, they also ensure
that it remains free from weeds. Similarly, we must cultivate our own mind
with rich and noble thoughts, while weeding out the negative and
debilitating thoughts. If we allow resentful, hateful, blaming,
unforgiving, critical, and condemning thoughts to reside in our mind, they
will have a debilitating effect on our personality. We can never get a fair
amount of constructive action out of the mind until we have learned to
control it and keep it from becoming stimulated by anger, hatred, dislike,
etc. These are the weeds that choke out the manifestation of divine grace
within our hearts.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “There is full confession in the glances of our
eyes, in our smiles, in salutations, in the grasp of the hands. Our sin
bedaubs us, mars all the good impressions. Men do not know why they do not
trust us. The vice glasses the eyes, demeans the cheek, pinches the nose,
and writes, ‘O fool, fool!’ on the forehead of a king.” Another powerful
saying linking thoughts to character states:
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
It is important to realize that we harm ourselves with every
negative thought that we harbour in our mind. At the same time, we uplift
ourselves with every positive thought that we dwell upon. Henry Van Dyke
expressed this very vividly, in his poem “Thoughts are things.”
I hold it true that thoughts are things;
They’re endowed with bodies and breath and wings
That which we call our secret thought
Speeds forth to earth’s remotest spot,
Leaving its blessings or its woes,
Like tracks behind as it goes.
We build our future, thought by thought.
For good or ill, yet know it not,
Choose, then, thy destiny and wait,
For love brings love, and hate brings hate.
Each thought we dwell upon has consequences, and thought-by-thought, we
forge our destiny. For this reason, to veer the mind from negative emotions
and make it dwell upon the positive sentiments is considered austerity of
the mind.
K Rajaram IRS 29125
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 at 04:26, Jambunathan Iyer <[email protected]>
wrote:
> “Our thoughts are causes. You sow a thought; you reap an action. You sow
> an action; you reap a habit. You sow a habit; you reap a character. You sow
> a character, you reap destiny. It all starts with a thought.”
>
> N Jambunathan Rengarajapuram-Kodambakkam-Chennai-Mob:9176159004
>
> *" What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you
> become by achieving your goals. If you want to live a happy life, tie it to
> a goal, not to people or things "*
>
>
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Thatha_Patty" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZorNEPX3eVcVF_Sz7YGMDO7BgizGkreut09Tb1ixOorLvw%40mail.gmail.com.
