Can you control your thoughts?

Can you control your thoughts?

Before we find an answer to this question, we should know that there are certain things in our control and certain other things that are not. For example, if you are driving a car, you can control how you drive but you can't control how other riders on the road. A traffic policeman can control the overall movement of vehicles on any road but he can't control the way an individual drives his car.

So, do thoughts fall in our realm of control? The obvious answer appears to be 'no.' Thoughts are like waves in an ocean. They keep hitting the shore and receding and some waves may inflict some damage to the objects on the shore before they recede. There is a story of King Canute who thought that he was so powerful that he could ask the waves in an ocean to go back. Not surprisingly, the waves didn't obey his command!

This story is a simple revelation to us that we should know that certain things are not in our control.

So, if we can't control our thoughts, what is the point in talking about this topic?

Well, we can't control our thoughts. But we can control the sources from which our thoughts emanate. We can provide a good breeding ground to our thoughts by focusing on what is desirable and avoiding what is not desirable.

If one reads esoteric material, one will have more thoughts relating to sexual pleasures. If one reads books on positive thinking, one will generate more positive thoughts. Don't we have the power to control to decide what we read, what we see, what we hear and what we get exposed to?

The answer is left to you!