Negative thoughts

What’s the best way to deal with negative thoughts?

“For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, the mind remains the greatest enemy.” — Bhagavad Gita

A young monk rushed to the old sage.

“Master, my mind is full of rubbish. I don’t even want to respond to these thoughts anymore. Out of nowhere, I see terrible car crashes, strange scenes, frightening images that have never happened to me. Then a movie I watched changes into another horrible story inside my head. My imagination keeps creating new disasters.

What is wrong with me?”

The sage smiled gently.

“Nothing is wrong with you. The mind is an expert storyteller. It borrows pieces from memory, imagination, fear, movies, conversations, and random fragments, then stitches them together into scenes that feel real.”

“But why does it create such garbage?”

“Because the mind is designed to imagine possibilities. It does not always distinguish between what is useful and what is meaningless. Its job is to produce thoughts—not to tell the truth.”

The monk looked puzzled.”So should I fight every negative thought?””No.

Fighting gives it importance.”

“Then should I delete it?””You cannot delete a thought by force. But you can stop feeding it.”

The sage picked up a small stone and drew a triangle in the sand.

“When an ugly image appears, simply notice it.”

“‘There is a thought.’””Imagine placing it inside this triangle, like putting rubbish into a recycling bin. Do not argue with it. Do not continue the story. Let it remain inside the triangle without touching it.

“The monk closed his eyes and tried.A frightening image appeared.He quietly placed it inside the imaginary triangle.It faded.

Another arrived.Again he placed it inside the triangle.

It too lost its strength.”Master… it feels lighter.”

“Because you stopped becoming the movie’s actor. You became the one watching the screen.”

“So the goal is not an empty mind?”

“The goal is a conscious mind. Emptiness comes naturally when you stop chasing every thought. Some thoughts will still knock on the door. You simply choose not to invite them in.”

The monk smiled.”So every time rubbish enters, I notice it, place it in the triangle, let it pass, and return to what I am doing.”

The sage nodded.”Exactly. Awareness is stronger than imagination. The less attention you give useless thoughts, the more powerless they become. Soon, silence begins to occupy the space they once filled.”

The monk bowed.”Today I learned that I do not have to believe every picture my mind paints. I only have to remain conscious enough not to pick up its rubbish.”

“Whenever and wherever the restless mind wanders, one should bring it back under the control of the Self.” — Bhagavad Gita