A long, long, long time ago, in ancient India, some wise being said, “The mind becomes that which it dwells upon.” Through the ages that sutra has been passed down from yogi to yogi, all the way into this present age, when my dear teacher Basil (who passed away in July, 2009), learned it and passed it on to me. Despite my many meltdowns, Basil saw clearly that I am in a relentless process of opening my heart, so he advised me (again and again) to keep my attention on the highest state of consciousness.

The mind becomes that which it dwells upon. If we focus on our problems, we become our problems. We have a choice in where we put our attention, and wherever we place our attention, our energies follow. Energies follow thoughts. So if we place our attention on negative thought patterns, then our energies will feed those negative patterns. Conversely, if we put our attention on constructive, positive thought patterns, then our energies will feed those positive patterns.

A friend recently sent me an article on relationships by Abraham Hicks. The following two sentences really struck me: “I have reached for thoughts that give me relief. And I have relieved myself all the way into my full connection of who I really am.” We do have a choice in which thoughts we focus our attention upon.

This blog post is a continuation from my last blog article, “Bliss and Grief: My Two Lives.” In that entry, I wrote: “When I get stuck in grief, no matter how bad the pain feels, I keep saying to myself, “There I am feeling grief again. This too shall shift.” I remind myself to keep putting my attention on things that expand me, and to hold onto my intention to be happy and open to all of life. When we are contracted – no matter how bad the pain feels – it is really important that we continue to hold our intention to keep opening our hearts.”

In order to keep our hearts open through all of life’s ups and downs, we have to learn to place our attention on things that expand us. The intention to be expanded is a choice. The intention to be happy is also a choice. Once we choose happiness, then we have to learn the skill of being happy. Happiness is a life skill that can be learned, practiced, and cultivated. Our thoughts largely (if not entirely) determine our level of happiness. Thus, watching our thoughts is one of the most important spiritual practices.

In my new book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living, I describe the spiritual practice of Cultivating the Witness. We can cultivate the witness part of our minds during meditation practice and also during our daily activities. The witness consciousness is simply that part of our minds that objectively watches everything we are. When we practice witnessing our thoughts, we get to intimately know our thought patterns, and then we can practice focusing our attention on the positive thought patterns.

This practice gradually re-trains our minds to be more careful about what they think! This is important when you consider that the mind becomes that which it dwells upon. Our thoughts create our realities. If we want to be happy in this reality, then we have to choose constructive, positive thoughts.

Since this is a gradual process, it is important to be accepting of everything that we witness within our minds. If we cultivate a lot of self-acceptance and self-love, then our minds will be more open to changing.

It can be helpful to first identify what things expand you. These might include activities, people, spiritual practices, time in nature, and so on. You can even write out a list to refer to when you are not feeling expanded. We have to consciously turn our attention toward those things, again and again and again, even when we feel despair or depression. If one thing doesn’t uplift us, then we try another thing, until suddenly we pop out of the funk and back into the happiness.

This week I witnessed a depressed state pass through my being. After a few days of trying several things which did not work, I sat down to do a 45-minute chanting practice that I do on Fridays (the 1,000 Names of the Divine Mother practice I learned from Ammachi), and during that chanting I experienced some heat moving around in different parts of my body. After the practice I ate some good, dark organic chocolate, and then I called a friend and expressed some things that had been upsetting me. As I talked, it felt as though the energies generated by the chanting (and by the chocolate) allowed an energetic fire to send the words out of my throat. After expressing my truth, the depressed state lifted and I felt blissful for the rest of the day.

That day was yesterday, and it happened to be Shiva Ratri, which is the most auspicious day of the year for honoring the Hindu deity, Lord Shiva. In the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses, there are thousands of different names and forms, but they are actually all aspects of the One Absolute Reality, which people in the West call God. Lord Shiva represents the universal aspect of destruction, but whenever something dies, then something else can be created, so Shiva is not just about destruction. He is about letting go of attachments that make us miserable, so we can exist happily in a creative, non-attached state.

This ability to exist happily in a creative, non-attached state is within each of us. We don’t have to wait until we die to experience the bliss of non-attachment. Rather, we can choose to witness our thoughts and let go of the attachment-based thoughts that cause us pain. We can choose to focus our attention on thoughts that bring us relief.

Tony Burroughs says it well in The Intenders Handbook: “The Intenders of the Highest Good are steadily raising our level of consciousness by keeping a closer watch on all of our thoughts. We’re learning to tame the negative thoughts and take our own power back. We’re choosing which thoughts we desire to put our attention on by envisioning only positive outcomes and turning the undesired thoughts around in mid-air, before they gain momentum.” (The Intenders Handbook by Tony Burroughs, Dolphin Press, Revised 2007 Edition.)

Take a moment to consider what thoughts bring you relief. As you practice turning your attention toward the positive thoughts that bring relief, keep in mind that changing your thought patterns is a gradual process. Be patient and gentle with yourself as you witness all the thoughts going through your mind. Accept and allow all the thoughts, and then gradually choose which thoughts to focus your attention upon.

The mind becomes that which it dwells upon. May we all choose to focus our minds on positive thoughts that bring us happiness.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of crystal reflecting orange light in kitchen by Teja Shankara.