Watch your thoughts, they become your words
Watch your words, they become your actions
Watch your actions, they become your character

This is well said and for those who are on a spiritual journey to find deeper meaning to life and lasting inner peace and happiness, this is a theory very much implementable on the ground level. It is widely believed that much of our problems actually stem from our own mind and thoughts. Mind Control is an age-old concept in Hinduism and also explains the immense powers of the heroic characters in Hindu mythology. I like to believe that there is a foundation of truth in the fictitious powers demonstrated by most of the kings, ascetics and preachers of that era. By disciplining the mind through regular meditation, fasting, penance and other religious practices, I am sure they were able to acquire divine powers which enabled them to become invincible personalities displaying miraculous capabilities, as allegorically described in the mythological tales.

Mind Control is being practiced since ages and even today, I think it is a hard but not an impossible task. It is strongly believed by most saints and philosophers that every human mind is connected to the universal mind and to every other mind. Our minds are believed to be small scattered fragments of a bigger universal force like droplets of water in the ocean when sprinkeld in different directions. In fact, such is the power of our human mind, that if you have a strong mental wish or desire, and you literally sort of “will” something to happen, simply by focusing your mind, your thoughts and your energy on that desire, without any negative thoughts of fear or worry, then your desire actually becomes a reality. This works provided you strongly wish for an outcome that is pure, sincere and heartfelt. Then as they say "if you truly wish it to happen, then the whole universe conspires to make your wish come true". This is the whole reality about mind power and it works if you believe in it and practice it enough. But, mind you it needs to be “practiced enough” for it to work.

From my association with various spiritual works, I understand that the keys to this are through detachment to worldly pleasures, self-discipline and meditation or the practice of controlling the focus of the mind. One can begin by purifying the mind and body. A satvik (vegan) diet and regular fasting helps in purifying the body and attaining some control over our temptations and cravings. This part is not so difficult as fasting is a concept inherent in many religious practices and we Indians grow up with the idea of temporary control over our urge for food and water. The next step of purifying the mind is all about controlling the flow of thoughts and ideas into your mind. Broadly that means all that your brains and senses are exposed to. Then once you have control over your body and subsequently over your mind, by practicing meditation you can focus your mind and energies on those outcomes you want in your life.

If you read a lot of spiritual literature, you realize mind control is based on the fundamental philosophy described by most of the saints, seer s and thought leaders, which is “you attract into your life whatever you think about most” Most of the positive and negative outcomes in your life are actually a result of what your mind dwells on. So if there is that outcome that you fear the most, and if you frequently visualize negative consequences, if you constantly think about negative outcomes, then the situation you fear the most is actually what you draw into your life by constantly focusing your thoughts and energy on it. It becomes your reality. If you consciously put out all negative thoughts from your head and dwell on positive mental images and visualization, then it is believed that you can subconsciously attract positive events into your life.

These thoughts are also pretty much connected to the philosophy of the three monkeys, who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, advocated by ancient Oriental philosophers and later in India, by Gandhi. The underlying philosophy behind the three monkeys really tells you is not to expose yourself, your senses and your thoughts to anything negative or in other words do not absorb negative energy and thus you will also not generate any negative ideas, thoughts, energy or vibes.

I have often tried to put these ideas into practice and although it is harder than we think, I know for a fact that when we intensely focus our mind and energy a particular outcome, practice mental imagery and affirmations, miraculously our sincere desires do come true.

Therefore all these ideas often raise several questions in my mind. By limiting or eliminating all exposure to local or world news through any media can we keep out the negativities? Take for example the newspaper. What makes news? The unsual happennings or more likely the negative issues and events in the world around us. Of course I understand that not reading the newspaper does not change anything in the world around me. BUT when think about it, I realize by not reading the newspaper for half an hour every day, I do prevent my mind from from focusing on many negative feelings of anger, fear, worry, religious, racial or cultural resentment, that are reported in the newspaper from places all over the world. etc. Mostly because the truth is that negative events and happennings make more news than the postive stuff. I sincerely belive that to some extent ignorance about bad and ugly events can be bliss. In fact that the very concept of news is warped these days. In reality a scoop or story actually sells and becomes more thrilling if it has negative elements in it. So the good deeds hardly receive much limelight as do the gruesome murders, scams, scandals, terrorism acts, rapes, suicides, gossip, fraud, robberies, broken promises, breaches of trust, etc. So it is with the action blockbuster films and many thrillers and bestselling books.

But I also wonder, how far is it possible for us to consistenly consciously block out all negative input to our brain, wherever we do have a choice to do so. I seriously ponder about what kind of a place the world would be if each one of us consciously and selectively exposes our self to positive content through all media, be it books, television, internet or even our conversations. I also wonder that if each one of us shuts out such negative inputs, and makes a sustained effort to focus only on good events happening in the world around us, would we, as a human race, be able to attract more peace and positive events into our lives and into the world?