Watch your thoughts

Depression, fear, anger, disgust - where are they generated from? They are not generated from our hands, legs, lungs or respiratory tubes. Our thoughts generate them. In that case, what is 'thought'? Consider this for a minute. When we allow words to flow freely without moving our lips or tongue, thoughts take shape. We cannot think without words and sentences. For the time being, let us keep creative artists like musicians and painters aside, who can think with sounds and colours.

A person starts a business. In the process, he makes a loss. At once, he begins to think that he is unfit to do business, that he would be unable to understand the nuances of running a business. These thoughts within his mind generate a complex feeling.

If the same person, on the other hand, tells himself, 'Profit or loss is natural in business.... I gain nothing by just getting upset.' These thoughts would enable him to face failure in a positive way and lay a foundation for learning from it, as he is open to analysing himself.


To start with, there is no need to control or curb our thoughts, good or bad. Let our thoughts run for a while, taking the natural course. What is important is to watch our thoughts very carefully, followed by the kind of words we use to express them. In a way, this is a basic quality required for meditation.

Let the awareness be alive to practice this repeatedly, whenever possible. This will remove the ready-made negative language that we usually use. With continuous practice, stimulating and self-motivating thinking would become a part of us in the natural course of time.