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OUR WANDERING THOUGHTS
CAN WE CONTROL THEM?

WHILE AWAKE WE EXPERIENCE WAVE AFTER WAVE OF WANDERING THOUGHTS.  They never seem to stop.  To stay calm or in order to concentrate, we try and try to chase them away.  The harder we try, the less successful we are in bringing these tiny intruders into line.  Somehow they manage to sneak in, bypassing our defenses.  As a result, the mind, though longing for harmony and peace, remains restless, at odds with its own product:  thought.  This predicament is not new; it began way back.

With the progressive evolution of the brain, second, third, fourth, and many more thoughts were born – a dramatic development forcing us into making choices and paying attention.  Life became more complex, and the problem is now one of abundance.

Physical effort – be it walking, running, swimming, dancing, or even simple deep breathing generates a certain degree of tension in participating muscles.  Muscular tension is transformed into electric signals that travel the special pathway to a tiny area of the brain called the hypothalamus.  On arrival, they initiate a state of heightened awareness with thought-controlling capability.  On this account, the hypothalamus earned a distinctive title:  the wakefulness center.

Our mind concedes that thought unaided cannot control thought, and whenever it wishes to govern its own thought, it calls on our muscles for help.