How can we avoid indulging in a thing while thinking negatively about avoiding it?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
then respond more maturely.
Sometimes when we get negative thoughts and when we try to succumb to, when we try to get rid of those negative thoughts, in that process, we succumb to them. So, what to do? Yes, it is possible that sometimes in battling against temptation, I assume by negative thoughts, we are thinking about temptation or negative thoughts means, is it like depression or pessimism or by negative, are you referring to temptation? Whichever way it is, the principle is the same. That firstly, sometimes when we think of something, you know, that contemplation on that thing can also stimulate attraction.
If I am saying, I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t do this, then also I am thinking of that thing, isn’t it? Even when I am saying, I won’t do this, I won’t do this, I won’t do this, but what is happening? All that time, I am thinking of it. And what is happening? At a conscious level, I am saying, I won’t do this, I won’t do this, I won’t do this. But while I am thinking about it, the mind is whispering, it’s nice actually.
It’s nice. And in the mind, slowly that whisper will become a loud voice and it will become a scream, it will become a shout, it will become a command and we will do it. So, what happens? Even with respect to negative thoughts or with respect to thoughts for selfish enjoyment, whatever it is, the cure is not to think about not doing it.
The cure is to think about what I will do positively. So, if a warrior goes for fighting a war and the warrior is attacked by somebody with a sword and then the warrior gets wounded and after a stroke, sometimes the warrior gets healed and after getting healed, the warrior says, never again will I let myself get wounded by a sword. Well, that’s not a very great resolution.
Well, the enemy may attack with a bow and arrow, the enemy may attack with a spear, the enemy may attack with a machine gun or how can that person guarantee that I will not let myself get wounded by a sword, isn’t it? You know, if I am fighting with somebody, somebody else attacks with a sword. So, at all the warrior has to take a resolution that I will become more skilled in fighting, I will be more alert while I am fighting. So, trying to focus on countering a particular strategy or countering a particular line of attack, we shouldn’t become obsessed with that.
So, like that, we shouldn’t focus on the particular negative thought. We should focus on the positive. What should I be doing? So, if you feel there is something negative that comes in the mind, we can have some, see, actually the mind usually doesn’t trouble us with extremely new forms of temptations all the time.
The mind has some standard temptations or standard complaints which it all keeps grousing again and again, maybe in a little new form, but more or less the way the mind tries to trick us, there are standard ways. So, if we can observe what are the standard ways in which the mind tricks us and then we prepare customized weapons for them. So, for example, if I have a temptation to over-eat, then, you know, based on my understanding of scripture, I write down something, my reasons why I don’t want to over-eat and write it down and keep that with us and every time the temptation to over-eat comes along, then I read that.
So, like that, whatever the temptation, we prepare using our intelligence some thoughts about what is wrong with it and we just read that and leave it at that. Then, don’t think too much about it after that and after that, just focus on doing something constructive. The mind says, come on, why don’t you eat more? It says, no, I just quickly read that, no, these are the reasons why I am not over-eating, but after that, don’t think about over-eating and don’t think about not over-eating also.
Think about something else. So, that way, if we do these two things, that means, have some ready-made contemplation capsule for countering the negative thought and after that, neither think of indulging in the negative thought, neither think of resisting the negative thought. Focus on channeling our thought in positive directions.
Then, we will be able, we will be much better situated, A, for resisting and not just resisting, but actually going beyond that temptation,