The Theory Of Thoughts

[Peak]

Now Leo said that you can't control your thoughts. And I think that is true/false. You can kind of control your thoughts and have a peaceful mind. All you have to do is just stop thinking and be there. Now this will be a lot more difficult for people who have monkey chatter all the time. Now for stopping unwanted thoughts or thoughts that pop up out of nowhere you possibly can't control that. So basically you can reduce your thoughts to a quiet mind if you're in the present moment or reduce simulation or let the thoughts run and see where it takes you. (You have to not focus on being inside your head all the time to reduce your thoughts) but stopping random thoughts from popping up or unexpected ideas, you can't so in conclusion you can kind of control your thoughts but can't all the way. Now I can't say that I'm correct. But I want to hear your opinion on this. And see if there other ways to quiet your thoughts or silence them.

[abrakamowse]

I think we don't control our thoughts at all, because there's no one to control them. We think we are the thinker of thoughts, but that is just a thought.

[Mal]

@PeakPerformance

A quick and easy way to deal with this is the path of least resistance.

Thoughts are like children, they are begging for attention.

Pay attention to them.  Listen to what they have to say.  Look, listen but don't get too involved.

Listen to their bodily manifestation (your emotions), feel your emotions.  There is wisdom inside these mental and emotional fluctuations.  They are a person's guiding light if treated well and not taken too seriously.  If you have other options, like Witnessing Presence you can check to see if your thoughts and emotions are lying to you.

Come back to the breath and alternate between awareness of your thoughts and feelings, make your life an "Integral" Practice.

Thoughts and feelings are a tool for living life and navigating this object world.  They are not the be-all-and-end-all of life, but they are there, they are useful and they assist in getting your bodymind's requirements met.

Mal

 

[Salaam]

Well, personally I can control and guide my thoughts whenever I want. I can self-generate thoughts, I can shape and shift and stop automatically generated thoughts. I can control the level of closeness they have with me, with ranges in-between attached and detached.

Thoughts aren't that big of a deal for me at all. I'm much more focused on meta positioning, protecting structural integrity, health, and potentialities, and developing abilities through the lens of my character.

[abrakamowse]

2 minutes ago, Salaam said:

I'm much more focused on meta positioning, protecting structural integrity, health, and potentialities, and developing abilities through the lens of my character.

What's meta positioning?  and structural integrity of what?

[abrakamowse]

@Salaam  @PeakPerformance this article explains better than me why we can't control thoughts or guide them.

http://www.uncoveringlife.com/free-will/

I copy paste this part, but you can read it entirely. Really juicy article.

"Commonly, the notion of “free will” means something like: To be able to have chosen otherwise. In other words, “I did this, but I could have done that instead.”

But what does it mean that ‘I could have done differently?’

Let’s say that I chose vanilla ice cream. But I firmly believe that I could have chosen chocolate instead. I believe that the choice to take the vanilla flavour came from myself, that the choice was mine. Sure, I may have been influenced by external forces, but I alone ultimately decided whether I wanted vanilla or chocolate ice cream today. Right?

But if the choice to take the vanilla was caused by me, what then caused me to cause that choice? There has to have been a prior cause; some force making me decide what to eat—whether internal or external—otherwise that choice to take the vanilla ice cream is simply indistinguishable from a random one. In other words, unless I decide to decide, or something decides for me, the choice is simply random.

So, do I decide to decide? Of course not. Then we would have to admit another decision, one that decided that we were going to decide to decide, and so on ad infinitum."

[Phrae]

Life expressed itself and dictated that this body mind is going to do something that is going to lessen one of the activities happening in his brain organ. This activity is self-referential and expresses itself outward as well. That's what happened when "you quiet your mind".

What you're saying here is somewhat correct. Thoughts can be lessened. Lessening them is in no way being in control. They were lessened by life.

Of course I have no direct knowledge of that.