Are You Watching a Movie or are you Producing One?

I discovered a big difference between experiencing a stream of thought versus actively pursuing mental images. When you meditate, you must observe how streams of thoughts enter your consciousness and disappear as quickly as they came. You realize at that time that this is film footage that has to get out of the system, but in a sense, you, the observer, are not really responsible for it. It is automatic, you do not invest psychic energy into it. Yet when you find yourself day dreaming, you mentally pursue a train of thought and you are very much the creator of this plot. Deeper and deeper do yo develop the mental plot until at one point something forces you to snap out of it. The act of producing is something you are responsible for and is, deep down inside, a choice. The more time you spend perusing and exploring a subject, the likelier it is that you will manifest it. And after you created something in reality, the more likely it is that you will be thinking about it. This wheel keeps spinning until at one point you just don't have a choice any more: your thoughts are pre-determined.

 The athlete who visualizes over and over her winning shot is more likely to score it. The womanizer who practices his pick-up line to perfection is also more likely to score on this weekend when his wife is traveling. Good or bad, you are your thoughts. What you think about you will become, and what you are will determine the thoughts you have. It is a chicken and egg problem. What you can do, if you want to stop certain thoughts in your head, is to change your entire life in a new direction. The womanizer can take business trips with his wife together and thereby eliminating the opportunities to cheat on his wife. If the intention to change is honest, the mental temptations to cheat will also subside over time.

You are who you think you are. It is as simple at that and yes, you can be your own movie director. A spiritual path is nothing but a decision to line up all forces of your being, the subconscious as well as the conscious ones. Of course there will be actors in your plot who do the opposite of what you expect, but that only means that you have to find out why and that at times you have to be willing to change the scenes of your set a little to accommodate everyone. You can't just one day wake up and declare "Today, I become a better me." that would be naive. But as you pursue your spiritual path and clean up your life, you will encounter more and more instances when you observe that you have a mental choice. Yes, there is a point in time when you can declare "I have seen this movie before, I will simply not go down this road anymore". And the train will stop before it leaves the mental station and will prove as transitory as the weird image that floats in front of your mental eye during a meditation session. You are your own Hollywood producer after all, so please use your creative powers wisely.