Hold That Thought
When I gave presentations on attitude and motivation, I would often invite the audience members to participate in an exercise. The point of the exercise was to demonstrate that each of us is able to control our thoughts.
I’d ask the audience to think of a pink elephant. Each person would quickly confirm that he or she could think of (and visualize) the pink elephant. Then I’d ask them to think about an ice cream cone. They could do that as well. Then, I’d ask them to think of the pink elephant again. Once again, they could quickly change the thought back to the pink elephant.
Therefore, I was able to “prove” that each of us has the power to control what we think about. Of course, this meant that we could choose to have positive thoughts, which would lead to positive results in our lives.
Did I really prove that we control our thoughts? A more complete investigation reveals that I did not prove it.
Let’s modify the exercise slightly, and I invite all of you to participate right now.
Think about a pink elephant. You should be able to get that image and thought in your mind quite easily. Now, hold that image of the pink elephant for the next two minutes, without thinking about anything but the pink elephant.
Turn your head away from your computer for two minutes and give it a try. Think of nothing except the pink elephant for two minutes.
Were you able to do it…..or did any other thought arise before the two minutes were up? Many people will not be able to hold the thought of the pink elephant for more than a few seconds…before another thought pops up.
If you WERE able to think of only the pink elephant – and nothing else – for the two minutes, attempt to expand the time period to five minutes. If you really have control over your thoughts, you should be able to think of the pink elephant, exclusively, for five minutes.
Virtually all of us will find that we can’t think only of the pink elephant for any extended period of time. The mind will throw up another thought, another image – and very often the thought that “interrupts” has no relation to what we were initially focusing on.
What this means (at least to me) is that, at best, we have limited control over our thoughts. We may direct our attention to something initially, but we can’t keep it there – and we can’t prevent thoughts and images from spontaneously arising. This is happening all the time, whether we notice it or not.
This investigation led me to stop putting so much attention on my MIND. When attention is not given to the mind, the mind starts to quiet down. Don’t worry. The mind will still serve you and perform its useful functions, such as reminding you of the day to take out the garbage, the time of your appointments, etc.
However in most societies, we overuse the mind. We wrestle with trying to control our thoughts. Sometimes we are successful in doing so, yet at other times we are not. And when we are not successful, we get frustrated and negative thoughts arise.
When the mind is quieted, we begin to feel an opening, a vastness that wasn’t sensed before. We feel more at ease – and more connected to everything and everyone. What we call “negative” thoughts still arise, but they lose their power and quickly dissolve when they are not given attention – and are not resisted.
The quiet mind reveals our spiritual essence. Open. Positive. Grateful. Compassionate. Loving. These arise naturally, with no need to force them by trying to hold onto any particular thoughts.
– Jeff Keller
© 2009