The Quest of the Overself: The classic work on how to achieve serenity of mind by Paul Brunton

Author:Paul Brunton [Brunton, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781446491515
Publisher: Ebury Publishing
Published: 2018-01-14T05:00:00+00:00

9

THE PRACTICE OF MENTAL MASTERY

THE ORDINARY MAN moves irresponsibly from one thought to another and lightly lets his mind work at its own sweet will. Yet his thoughts are something for which he is responsible and they in turn will react, and are reacting, upon the whole of his material life. The advisability of eliminating undesirable thoughts and of fostering the finer ones is something he but dimly sees. It might seem fantastic and far-fetched to assert that there is any such connection between what a man thinks and what happens to him in the material world, between the condition of his mind and his material well-being, but those who have practised the methods advocated here for sufficient years and watched the results of their practices in their own lives will know that this is not fantasy but the actual truth, and that man’s external life is very largely a reflection of his mental world. Unfortunately, so strongly has our age become saturated with materialistic views about life that it has lost to a large extent both the memory and the belief in the subtler mind-powers of man. Such a loss, however, cannot and does not alter the basic fact of their existence. So long as we prefer to continue in spiritual ignorance, so long must we go on groping our way with the cataract-film of materialism over our eyes. The result is much unnecessary suffering and an utter inability to fathom the deeper purposes of Nature and the destiny of our race.

To gain control of our scattered thoughts and feelings is to establish a sovereignty which we have lost. Man must be complete master in the region of his mind if he is to fulfil perfectly the evolution which Nature has set before him. He may spurn the task as not being worth the trouble, but the loss will be his own, for inability to control thought leads by the most mysterious ramifications to all kinds of suffering. For it is a truism that many decisions, events and happenings in our lives are strongly influenced by our habitual mode of thought. Therefore to change this mode of thought is to change to some extent the circumstances and environments of our existence, as well as to attain self-confidence and inner well-being. Moreover, we must perform the inward miracle of conquering the mind, before we can ever perform any outward miracle. No practice therefore could be more important to those who are in any way dissatisfied with life than this of thought-control. And in this practical age, when people always look for tangible results rather than intangible theories, it is surely a powerful argument to say to the world: “Do this! take up this practice and in time you will find the current of your life flowing in smoother channels, along sunnier routes and amid pleasanter scenes.”

For these reasons alone, if for no other, the closest attention ought to be paid to thought-life. But there exist other and higher reasons why

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