Are we the sum of our thoughts?

Are we the sum of our thoughts? Yes.
But it is that it’s a weighted sum. Weighted sum means… Some thoughts have much more influence. Some thoughts don’t have that much influence.
So, the weight of some thoughts is much more, the weight of some thoughts is much lesser. So, broadly our thoughts do shape who we are. And the kind of thoughts that we regularly have, that we regularly entertain, that we regularly cultivate, they will shape both who we are and who we will become.
Who we will become. At the same time, it is not that every thought that we have, it defines who we are. Some thoughts just come and they go.
So, overall, if you are practicing bhakti, then our thoughts become more elevated, they become more spiritual, they become more selfless, more service oriented. And that’s how we can say that we are becoming more spiritually advanced. It’s a… The thoughts within our consciousness can be of a very wide variety in their nature.
And it is, rather than saying that I am the sum of my thoughts, which is true at one level, rather it is, I will be which I am, the thoughts which I focus on. That’s why I said it’s a weighted sum. There will be 10 different thoughts in my mind, but this is the thought which I want to focus on.
This is the thought which I want to grow. So, just like a student, when they are they will decide which career I want to follow. Right now, they are students.
They can become an engineer, they can become a lawyer, they can become a chartered accountant, they can become a pilot, whatever. All those ideas will be there in their mind. We will choose one idea, and then they will perceive it.
They are students who could have become anything, all those four thoughts were there in the student’s mind. I want to become a pilot. Then, we choose that, persevere in that course of action, then they will become a pilot.
So, similarly, we have various thoughts within us, but we also have the initiative or we have the responsibility to choose which thoughts we dwell on. And the thoughts we dwell on will become bigger and bigger, and that’s what we will eventually become. Even now, the thoughts which we dwell on right now, they will shape how we behave.
So, for example, when I meet someone, you know, there is Raga and Dresha that sometimes is there. Sometimes, we just like some person, just want to be with them. And sometimes, we just don’t like them.
I just want to get away from this person. And sometimes, both are there at the same time. We like something about a person and we don’t like something about that person.
So, then, am I the sum total of that attraction and aversion? Maybe, but at a particular time, I decide this thing is good about this person. I will focus on this quality. And then, my affection and the affection and disposition may increase.
Or, sometimes, you know, I dwell on the aversion part. And then, I will become more reserved, more retreated into myself. And then, the interaction will become more straight.
So, we are not just the sum of our thoughts, we are also the selector of our thoughts. And based on which thoughts we select, that’s what we will become.