Watch yourself as if you are someone you don’t know – self-observation opens the door to self-transformation
Suppose we want to develop a relationship with someone. We will observe them carefully, noting how they behave in various situations, especially in difficult situations. [...]
During our idle time, the mind works overtime
We often look forward to holidays when we can just relax, free from life’s daily grind. But unfortunately, during such breaks, small things get to [...]
The mind’s complaining about a problem is often a bigger problem than the problem itself
When the weather is bad, say, too cold, we all are inconvenienced. But some people start complaining repeatedly, “It’s so cold, it’s so cold, it’s [...]
Use introspection as a confession by the self to the self
Confession is a religious practice wherein confessants, people who have done something wrong, admit those wrongs to an authority figure, a confessor. As admitting our [...]
Focus on life, not on the mind’s commentary about life
Suppose a cricket match is accompanied by a special kind of commentary that is heard not just by the spectators, but also by the players. [...]
Respect the dark within you, to keep it within you
Suppose we had a serious enemy out to destroy us. We couldn’t afford to take them lightly; we would need to treat them with respect. [...]
Even if we can’t control our emotions, we can control the attention we give to our emotions
Suppose some hawker comes near our property and starts peddling their wares. If we pay attention to them, they will start promoting more loudly, excitedly, [...]
The lesser the structure in our life, the greater the rupture the mind can cause in our life
Our mind is restless (Bhagavad-gita 06.34) – it’s like a child. Children can spend their entire day or even their entire life playing with toys. [...]
To be thoughtful, attribute every thought first to the mind
Our mind is like a thought-factory that churns out thoughts constantly. Most of these thoughts are irrelevant and unproductive, some are dark and destructive, and [...]
Intelligence means to know which thoughts are to be pinned and which to be binned
Suppose we regularly use sticky notes. If too many notes clutter our notice board, we would need to sort them. We would pin those that [...]
The mind is restless, reasonless, ruthless, relentless
Why is controlling the mind so difficult? The Bhagavad-gita (06.34) explains using four describers, which can be summarized as four R’s: Restless (canchala): The mind [...]
When the mind takes charge, the only thing that works is we: hard
Suppose a competent leader takes charge of a project. They ensure that everyone works hard and productively. But if the leader is incompetent, no one [...]
We don’t know the future, but neither does our mind – its fears don’t forecast the future
Our mind often fills us with fears about the future: “What if this goes wrong? What if that goes wrong?” Indeed, “What if?” is the [...]
The mind stops us not just from achieving our dreams, but also from pursuing them
People on the deathbed often have many regrets. The greatest of such regrets center on, “If only I had done this …”. We all dream [...]
When the mind believes something is enjoyable, it stops evaluating whether it is actually enjoyable
Our mind often works like a programmed device, giving particular responses to particular stimuli. Some of this programming protects us from pain. For example, if [...]
Things fall in place if we keep the mind in place
Suppose we come to our house and find everything out of place. We may start yelling at the person in-charge of housekeeping, demanding that things [...]
Our thoughts are not always wise – we don’t have to follow their advice
Suppose we have a chronic disease. Our acquaintances may recommend various remedies. Knowing that they aren’t medical experts, we wouldn’t immediately follow their recommendations. We [...]
The mind tends to do what we don’t intend to do
We may resolve to do some things, say regulate our eating or sleeping, but find ourselves doing the opposite, or at least feeling impelled to [...]
What we fear reflects what we hold dear
When we feel fearful, our fear points to something we hold immensely dear, something whose possible loss terrifies us. The Bhagavad-gita (16.11) indicates that as [...]
To not feel bad on doing bad is bestially bad
Suppose we accidentally step on someone’s foot. We would naturally apologize, ask if they are ok, and do what we can to help. Overall, we [...]
If we don’t ask “What am I doing?” we will end up asking “What have I done?”
While driving, if we don’t conscientiously keep the car on track, it will by default go off track. And we may find ourselves in a [...]