The Prison of Thought

Most thoughts become a self-created prison because they’re usually given so much unnecessary energy that they go beyond the point where they’re beneficial…

It’s very important to grasp exactly what a thought is and how it arises from the Conditioned Mind if there’s to be any chance of not succumbing to its prison-like grip. Here’s what occurs when a thought arises. Let’s say it’s time to get in your car and go to work. You’ve given yourself plenty of time to get there; the weather is sunny and clear so now you begin the drive. As you’re driving you come to a railroad crossing and a train is coming. As you’re waiting for the train to pass, it has to be at least a hundred and fifty cars long; you‘re waiting patiently as you know you have plenty of time to get to your destination. The train finally passes and you go, but now there’s traffic and it’s moving slowly. As you’re stuck in this traffic the cushion you gave yourself to get to work has dwindled, now the prison of thought begins its nonsense.

It all starts by the traffic being a trigger that activates the conditioning in the form of a prison of thought. This creates a mind agitation that wants the traffic not to be there. This is how a thought is given energy to grow. It has nothing to do with the fact that there’s traffic, it has everything to do with the fact that there’s attachment to traffic. This is how the prison of thought works; substitute the traffic with anything. At the core of attachment is “I”, without “I” the prison would not exist. It can’t because there’s nothing to attach to. When “I” is present, a situation is created so there’s attachment. Until this runs its course and you finally get to work and tell someone this story, it will fester and you will keep telling yourself how you really hate traffic. But the reality of all this is, although traffic is what triggered you, it wouldn’t have mattered what it was, you really just want life to be the way that you want it. When it isn’t as you like, it opens the door for the prison of thought and all its attached nonsense…