Welcome to the complicated world of my chaotic mind!

Check out our Book Site!

http://www.org-immaturity.com

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Mind Control


So, a New Year is upon us! Over the holidays I watched Eat, Pray, and Love with my daughter (the 21 year old). Ok, so I watched it because it had Julia Roberts in it. Love her movies.

Well, I find that almost any book I read has at least one (usually at least 3) tidbit which resonates with me. Writers put pearls of personal wisdom, personal beliefs, and personal theory into their writing. I know, because I can’t stop from doing it when I write. It’s one of my major demarcation tools for a work of literature vs. a “piece of trash” when it comes to books. I find that most times this can also be applied to screen writers (those who take books or new ideas and create movies from them). Sometimes not.

Eat, Pray, and Love definitely had some of those tidbits.

One tidbit in particular hit home with me. I’ve been trying for years (I think it’s a natural part of our emotional and spiritual growth) to control my life. Control my emotions (see earlier posts on anger management), control my words (our words have power and can cause harm or joy), control my appetites, my wants, what I do, what I see, what I write, - basically to control myself.

Well, in Eat, Pray, and Love one character tells the central character that if she wants to get her life in order, she has to learn to control her thoughts!
This was not a new concept for me. But for whatever reason, the correct combination of experiences, time, and environment combined to make it “stick” this time.

Control my thoughts.

My biggest pain, comes from unwanted, uncontrolled thoughts.

I always thought that my biggest catalyst for sin was distraction. Distraction from God. Distraction from Good. Was I wrong? Perhaps not. But perhaps the worst distractions aren’t from outside, but born from within? Perhaps the biggest distractions are the thoughts which lead us astray.

Perhaps the Devil need not use video games, television, movies, radio, or books to distract us. For each of these which are “tools of the Devil” I think we can find an equal number (especially in books) which are tools for God. For every porn movie, we can find an Evan Almighty. For every evil we can find good. No, it is in our own impure thoughts that we breed our own sin.

Interesting. Control our thoughts.

I’m trying it. And to be honest, it works.

Now, I wonder if this is a sign of wisdom and growth or insanity. I would imagine those who are clinically delusional also practice strong control over their thoughts. To the point where they can ignore reality. Then again, the distance between insanity and genius is said to be very short.

Very short indeed.