Thread: Thought Control

Thought-Control Exercises:

Breathing Thoughts Away:
Center your attention on the process of breathing, using this to hold
your mind totally clear. Feel each breath entering your body and filling your lungs, then feel it
leaving your body. Follow the breathing process with your mind, but do not think about it. Feel it,
be aware of it, let the feeling of breathing occupy your entire mind. This exercise is enough to
occupy the surface mind and to keep its rambling thoughts at bay.
If you need more than this, count your breaths. Count up to ten breaths, then start over again.
Mentally counting is not a breach of thought-control discipline. When you count each number, drag
out the mental word over the whole of each breath. For example, follow the IN breath carefully and
then count (mentally) "Onneeeee" (one) for the entire OUT breath. Hold your mind clear during the
next IN breath and count (mentally) "Twwooooo" (two) for the whole of the OUT breath.
While you are holding your mind clear, surface thoughts will attempt to creep back into your
mind. When this begins to happen (and it always will in the early stages) quickly and firmly push
them away before they have a chance to take hold and complete their message. You will get
progressively better at this with a little practice. You will soon be able to detect thought pressure
alone, and thus stop thoughts before they have the chance to form into actual mental words inside
your surface mind.
When you get to the stage where you can sense the pressure of thoughts as they are about to
start, you are really getting somewhere. You can then begin pushing thought pressures away before
they can form into actual thoughts. Eventually, with a little practice, you will be able to hold your
surface mind totally clear, like a blank slate. The pressure of thoughts wanting to start will stay with
you for some time, even after you master them. This pressure will, however, progressively ease
with regular practice.

Thought-Control Example:
A surface thought: "Right, I better get the cat a new flea collar..."
"Right, I better get the cat a new fl..."
Becomes: "Right, I better get the ca..."
"Right, I better ge..."
Getting better: "Right, I bet..."
"Right, ?..."
"R???..."
Nearly got it: "???..."
"...?..." — This is the pressure of a thought about to start
Almost there: "......" — Lessening thought pressure
"..." — Hardly any thought pressure
Perfect!: "?" — No thought pressure at all = clear surface mind

Thought-control and concentration exercises should be done daily for at least five minutes in
total, and for longer if possible. This is best spread out over the day and made into several smaller
exercises. (Waiting and traveling time can be put to good use.) Although this can be difficult and
frustrating in the early stages, with a little regular practice the surface mind can be held clear with
very little effort for extended periods of time.