This question has bothered many of us. Every so often we find that the mind decides to take over and keep us rooted in incessant thinking. When this happens it is natural for us to look for ways to free ourselves from it because they take away our peace of mind and cause us a lot of unrest from within.
Let us briefly explore the nature of the mind.
The nature of the mind is to think, just like, it is the nature of the ears to hear, the eyes to see and so on. Therefore the mind will continue to think!
It is fine when thoughts are positive, and as a result, they have a positive influence on us, in a good way. But when the mind gets stuck on something negative, self-harming, and therefore has a negative effect on us, we start to question ‘why is this happening to me? How should I stop these thoughts from recurring? Or will I be able to stop this repetitive thinking forever?’
The answer to this is two fold. Through initial steps, you will experience immediate freedom from repetitive thinking. And the second step is to experience freedom from thoughts forever.
- Recite a mantra or visualise an image of a Lord. Through this process, your mind is redirected, and your focus is on a higher being which will bring you inner peace of mind and a fresher perspective on things.
- Evaluate the thought to understand if there is any merit in what it is trying to say to you. Remember you do have a choice as to whether to agree with what the mind is showing you or not.
- Converse with the mind. For example, ‘I understand what you are saying but I really do not agree with what you are showing me; or I have noted what you are telling me but let us move on now to something else.’
- Ask for strength from your choice of faith to help you to move onto something else.
- Try to change your routine by which you will gain a fresher perspective on things.
- It is stated that exercise is great as it helps both mentally and physically. Try it out. In just 20 minutes you will feel fresh and rejuvenated.
These are a few methods that can help you immediately, and provide you with inner peace. But for an everlasting solution from repetitive thoughts…
The only way to be freed from the incessant mind is to acquire Self-realisation.
It is the mind which has bound you to the worldly life and the same mind can liberate you from torments of this. You only need to know how to wield the mind to work for you and your goals.
Knowledge of the Self (Self-Realization that really, ‘I am a Pure Soul whose function is only to see and know’) will keep the mind under your control, thus making the mind subservient to you.
The mind is a film that just needs to be seen and known; one must never become one with it. With the knowledge of the Self, you will be the seer and knower of the thoughts. You will see and know the thoughts of the mind as they materialise. You will not become one with the thought. This is analogous to touching fire and experiencing its heat or passively perceiving the fire from afar. To clarify, when thoughts occur, if you see them from a distance (by remaining separate), then you will not be affected. However, if you unite with the thoughts, you will experience suffering.
Self-realisation stills the mind with the right understanding. Essentially, every thought when seen or known, is removed forever.
Akram Vignan, the spiritual science, exposes you to the knowledge of the Self and after that, you will feel separation with your thoughts. All that remains is to see and know what the mind, speech and body are doing whilst experiencing eternal bliss, in the awareness of the Soul, our real Self.