Of all my spiritual-growth training, discipline, seeking, I find my thoughts are my bane for they prove the hardest to tame, to train. This has to be the basis of my belief that changing our mind can only be well and truly accomplished by grace and by God.
I am often awed when my actions in a dicey situation are spot on...invariably proving peace-giving begets peace-receiving. Then sometime later...wham! My thoughts have returned to the place where my actions were so gratifying, only these are not peaceful thoughts...they are attack thoughts that have sprung up unnoticed, and they have taken charge.
It is counterintuitive, but essential, to welcome those attack thoughts else we are in that losing battle of self-will versus self-interest, breeding denial in the form of justification. In short, resist and lose, welcome and win. The battle, after all, is in our own mind.
Interestingly, I have just read today's "Words to Live By" by Eknath Easwaran. There is his validation for welcoming our scattered (attack) thoughts by mentally repeating our mantram (our thank you) at all times: In all cases, you are putting your time to better use than if you were just letting your mind run on about what might be troubling it. You are sending the mantram deeper into your consciousness. It is many of these little moments that finally add up to tremendous spiritual growth. Patience and concentration blossom in the space that you have cleared for them.
According to me, all our training, our discipline, our seeking has...and is!...for just one goal: To remember that to welcome is to pray thank you, and that is all.
Thank you.
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