Going Beyond Negative Influences On Thoughts (Part 3)

Yesterday we discussed external influences. Some of the internal influences on our thoughts include the influence of:

– selfish or impure desires of praise, fame, revenge, greed, remaining in control of a situation or a person or dominating a situation or a person;
– the ego;
– burdens of the past, our worries of the present or of the future;
– attachments to people, situations, material objects, etc.;
– jealousy or hatred for a particular person, biased or critical vision for someone etc.
– other temporary negative sanskars or personality traits;

We are exposed to some or all these influences, whether external or internal, all the time. If we are not strong, our mind weakens under so many influences, which as a result, becomes unclear, confused and unfocused. Because of all of this, on the one hand, we need to have good judgment power to remain connected to what is essential, important and true, and on the other hand, we have to strengthen our thought, that is, think less; think more slowly; more concentrated and clearly with focus, a sense of purpose and positivity. That thought is like an arrow; it has positive force and clarity and it always bears powerful fruit. This kind of thought is called concentrated thought. The practice of introversion or meditation for a minute or few minutes at regular intervals during the day helps us remain above all influences and it constantly feeds our mind with the power of silence, which helps us remain in this experience of concentrated thought easily.