We have heard that the human mind has infinite powers, then why is it that instead of being strong, people are so sensitive? The powers of the mind are dormant and they need to be activated by being put to use.
Some time ago I happened to meet a well-known astrologer. I asked him if it was possible to counter the effect of the nine planets on our lives, which they speak of, with our mental strength. He replied that our willpower was akin to the tenth planet, and if we regularly create good and powerful thoughts, then no negative energy can affect us.
Those who are emotional by nature tend to lose their temper quickly. What they do not know is that the repeated bouts of irritation and anger destroy their inner powers. It is for this reason that school students who easily get angry do not do well academically – because their mind is weak.
A rapidly growing problem is people developing deeply negative feelings, often over minor issues such as someone’s comment, behaviour, or an adverse development. They hold on to these memories, repeatedly going over them and thereby reviving the feelings of pain or sorrow again and again.
These are all symptoms of a weak mind. When the mind is feeble, our tolerance comes down, desires and expectations increase, and people develop a variety of ailments, ranging from depression and insomnia to obsessive compulsive disorder. A weak mind becomes home to vices such as lust, greed, ego, and anger, which further damage it.
To strengthen the mind, we need to exercise some control over the content we consume through the media and social media. Spending too much time reading, listening to, or watching content that agitates, disturbs, or merely provides senseless entertainment, fills the mind with material that triggers waste and harmful thoughts.
The remedy is to consciously create positive thoughts every day. Doing so creates positive feelings and a corresponding hormonal response, both of which make the mind and body healthy. This is not merely a feel-good effect. Neurosurgeons now know that happiness and positivity activate dormant neurons and even create new neural pathways that help keep us positive and healthy. Negative thoughts and feelings, on the other hand, produce the opposite result.
This is particularly true for the thoughts we have when we wake up in the morning. At that time the subconscious mind is active and the kind of thoughts we create repeatedly leave an imprint on the subconscious mind, because of which thoughts of the same pattern arise later. So, if we begin the day with positive, powerful thoughts, they will give a beneficial direction to our life. On the other hand, repeated negative thoughts keep the mind dull and cause us to behave in a manner that gradually gives rise to difficulties, or perpetuates existing problems.
People who have experimented with positive thoughts, with conviction, have had miraculous results in overcoming serious ailments and even poverty. They repeatedly created the thought, with conviction, that they would become healthy, or wealthy, and their positive attituded inspired them to act in ways, and prompted others to respond in a manner, that ultimately created that reality.
B.K. Surya is a Rajyoga teacher at the Brahma Kumaris headquarters in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.