The Amazing Power of the Mind

The mind has much more power than people sometimes think. Popular opinion seems to be that the mind is a passive phenomena, which is at the mercy of circumstance. But if we put this theory to task, we can see the outright falseness of it. Actually, it seems more and more obvious to me that it's mind that creates circumstance.

What do you want?

Be honest. What is that you ultimately desire? What is the one thing that is absolutely essential?
If your answer is "romantic love" or "money", or "fame", or anything else, you might be the case that you're not being completely honest, or that you're not probing deep enough. I think that if we're honest with ourselves, we can see that clinging to any form, whether it be another person, a Ferrari, or a lasagna is only an attempt to gain happiness through a third party. So, what do you really, ultimately want? It must be happiness. Not just happiness, but perfect happiness. We get attached to things as a means to an end.

But we tend to lose sight of this. Maybe at first our desires are few, and easily satisfied. But they tend to proliferate, and become ever more complex and difficult to acquire. The unfortunate result is that we ransom our happiness on these desires. The result of that is that whatever desires we are unable to fulfill leave us feeling lack. And those desires that we do fulfill, we become possessive of and fear that they may disappear.

Those things may be simple to let go of, like a pair of shoes, or they may be more difficult to let go of--like another person, or your own body.

Somehow we become convinced that it's the objects themselves that bring us happiness. And when we fail to get something, or we lose something, or anticipate the loss of something, the mind becomes upset. It judges, it blames and it becomes jealous. When this happens, the mind  makes up negative stories about other people, in order to create an image of a world where everyone is at least as unhappy as we are. The mind says things like,  I may not have a BMW like that guy, but he's arrogant. No way I will ever be like him! 


Unfortunately, when  we  carry around negative thoughts, they adversely affect the way people treat us, they affect our health, and they color the way that we see the world. Negative thoughts create a negative life. Likewise positive thoughts create a positive one. So whether there is some unseen mystical process at work, or otherwise, our thoughts have a way of creating your circumstances.

Try this simple exercise:

Imagine the perfect circumstances, wherein, you've met all of your desires. You have the perfect partner, the perfect job, all of the money you require to buy whatever you want. Your life is full of meaningful relationships with people that fill your heart up with love every time you see them. Now go further. You are in perfect health. Your body is young and attractive and looks exactly how you want it to look. You are completely fulfilled creatively, intellectually, and emotionally. You have everything you want  and your life is absolutely perfect in every way...and it will be like this forever.

Now, how do you feel? That great feeling you have right now was created by the mind. And it required nothing. So, here's proof that you can make yourself feel exactly how you want to feel--you can be totally happy, regardless of circumstances.

Your mind may already be saying, "yeah, but...".

It may already be trying to sabotage that good feeling. And it will, if you let it.

But what will happen if you let that feeling soak in? How will your life change if you continue that feeling all of the time? Will you get the Ferrari and the fortune? Maybe. But if it doesn't come, who cares? It's not the object that imparts happiness. It's not even the mind. Happiness wells up naturally in a still mind. Actually, the mind doesn't even need to be still--it just needs to remain unattached.