Nothing Will Stop Me

I am learning to take control of my own mind. This is a learned craft that takes discipline to master. I am no expert but I am realizing where I am now mentally and am connecting the dots to make my journey successful. The following is an excerpt from "The Unfettered Mind." It talks about how you must envision your mind as not just an intangible object but as a tactical weapon that you must be fully aware at were it is at at every moment of your life.

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Whether by the strike of the enemy or your own thrust, whether by the man who strikes or the sword that strikes, whether by position or rhythm, if your mind is diverted in any way, your actions will falter, and this can mean that you will be cut down.

If you place yourself before your opponent, your mind will be taken by him. You should not place your mind within yourself. Bracing the mind in the body is something done only at the inception of training, when one is a beginner.

The mind can be taken by the sword. If you put your mind in the rhythm of the contest, your mind can be taken by that as well. If you place your mind in your own sword, your mind can be taken by your own sword. Your mind stopping at any of these places, you become an empty shell. You surely recall such situations yourself. They can be said to apply to Buddhism.

In Buddhism, we call this stopping of the mind delusion. Thus we say, “The affliction of abiding in ignorance.” – Takuan SōHō