Each thought brings in
good or bad feelings. The moments associated with the feelings shapes the mood.
Especially when things go wrong, bad memories get ignited and then whole day
one plunges into unkind memories, as if somebody pulled the thought bob of the
mind pendulum and left it to ding dong the whole day! This disturbs the mental balance
and releases the chemicals that inhibit happy hormones leading to a bad mood.
There are several ways to elevate the mood. One is to indulge in mood elevating
drugs or other is to remain busy in work or indulge in creative art or think
about some unsolved mysteries facing mankind. In short, the good, bad, happy or
sad feeling stays till the thought prevails like the ever-increasing concentric
wave circles in the mind pond when a thought stone is dropped. Thoughts don’t
leave us in sleep also. Connected and unconnected thoughts flash as episodes
and we live the dream till it melts when we wake up. Scientist August Kekule
lived such a dream of six snakes eating tail of next snake in a ringed fashion
which explained the mystery of Benzene molecule. Was it so easy that the elusive
molecular structure got explained by a mere dream? The dream would have been an
outcome of a predominant thought on his mind during the days of his research.
For sure those days leading to that famous dream would have been the best days
of August Kekule. Healthy thought, which is predominant acts like an anti-depressant,
energy giver, mental soother.
On emergence of a thought, person with stable mind,
devoid of any feelings of anger, happiness or sadness is a saint. To have
thoughts without any associated feelings is best for mental health. but it is difficult.
There is no guarantee that the invoked thought would result in happy moment. Moreover,
unhealthy thoughts tend to latch on to a person’s mind. To keep our self away
from the unhealthy thought, cultivate a skill of healthy thought and make it predominant
for the day. Base the predominant thought on a chosen theme. The theme can be future
plans, world politics, unsolved mysteries of the human race, social issues,
current politics, daily riddle, puzzle, crossword, skill, new topic. Anything
larger than life and not directly connected to self is good to be taken as healthy
thought. That thought which does not stir emotions - sad or happy feelings but still
consume the mind as if you are in a trance, is a neutral thought. Neutral
thought is healthy thought. This trance
due to a predominant thought does wonders for one’s mental health and time
flies. Aim is to bring in neutral thoughts.
Is there any way to
have a predominant thought which is neutral? Here are few steps as an exercise
to have predominant neutral thought. There are three ways to get a predominant neutral
thought. First and simplest is start the day by chanting your favorite GODs
name or reciting a prayer. Continue this whenever there is void period – in
between conversation with someone, in between mobile use, in between two tasks
or during idle time. Idea is never to keep mind idle, but it should overflow
with chants. The second way of bringing in predominant neutral thought is to
get submerged in a creative hobby, Job or skill which requires focused
attention or to get into some kind of social service (a service without any
expectation in return). That social service should be carried out by self not
to be funded or outsourced. The third and most difficult way is rational
thinking, reasoning it out the purpose of life and thereby training our mind to
be in a zone of neutral thought and make it a predominant thought. Easier said
than done. All three ways can be tried and adopted depending upon ones liking viz
– devotion, service or reasoning. Person can try combinations of all three and
then decide the route for oneself.
A predominant neutral thought brings in
wonders. In times as ours, ability to delve in a predominant healthy thought is
equivalent to drugs which control body hormones. The drugs which are available
to sooth the nerves and upswing the mood induce side effects like dry mouth,
weight gain, drug dependance, lethargy, drowsiness. In the treatment of lifestyle deceases, getting a predominant healthy thought is a big win for the
person as it complements the therapy.
Additional reading -
·
In chapter 8 verse 6 of Bhagwat Gita - Lord Krishna explains that a
person’s predominant thought at the exact moment of death determine their next
state of existence-
·
यं यं वापि स्मरनभावं त्यज्यत्यन्ते कलेवरम्।
तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ।।
· English translation - whatever state of being one
remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state he will attain
without fail, because of being always absorbed in that thought.
· To introduce this topic Krishna starts in the verse 5
that those who relinquish the body while remembering Me at the moment of death
will come to Me and to summarize the topic Verse 7 says - because no one knows
when death will arise, Krishna advises practicing constant remembrance while
carrying out daily duties – therefore think of Me at all times and (fight)
· As a matter of fact, it is difficult to artificially
force a specific thought at the just moment of death – therefore, the mind
naturally defaults to whatever it was most obsessed with or accustomed to
during life and it attains that – like a final exam – suddenly no new learning
emerges but it has to come from earlier whatever the student has practiced.
