Dalia Sarkar's Key Ideas from The Power of Thoughts
by Swami Mukundananda

1. Overgeneralization: We make a general assumption based on a single incident.

2. Fallacy of Fairness: We feel that life should be fair.

3. Expecting a Catastrophe: We expect the worst to happen.

4. Filtering Out Positives: We take negative details of a situation and make mountains out of them, while forgetting all the positive aspects.

5. Imagined Mind Reading: The thought process where we are sure we know what another person is thinking. And typically, we assume it is something negative about us.

6. Labelling: We observe a particular behaviour by a person and apply a tag.

7. Personalization: We assume personal blame for things that are outside our control.

8. Blaming: We engage in blaming others that they are responsible for our emotional pain.

9. Imperative Thinking: We set the bar high and then project our expectations on others. And when people do not match up, we detest them for it.

10. Polarized Thinking: This is all-or-none thinking that we must be fully successful otherwise we will be absolute failures.

11. Emotional Reasoning: We think if we feel something is true, so it must be true.

12. Finger Pointing: This thinking is filled with fault finding in others.

→ Automatic: They pop into your mind without any effort from your side.

→ Distorted: They do not connect with all the facts. They jump to conclusions.

→ Unproductive: They undermine your motivation, feed bitterness and rob your optimism.

→ Justification: They provide excuses for you to be less than your best.

→ Intrusive: They are disturbing or even vicious, and yet quite difficult to switch off.

1. Dilution— Distance Yourself From The Thought:

Whenever a negative thought pops into the mind, remember that it is not you. Rather than adopting it, you can distance yourself from it.

2. Substitution— Replace a Negative Thought With A Positive Thought:

When unwholesome thoughts contrary to self-discipline and goodness arise in the mind, the reverse thoughts should be practised.

3. Sublimation— Build A Positive Thought System:

Focus building on the thought chain of positive emotions. Cultivate in your mind wholesome ideas of inspiration, optimism, cheerfulness.

The more a product gives us a dopamine rush, the more addictive it is. There is momentary gratification followed by regret. The more pleasure we seek, the unhappier we become.

The experience of happiness is very different from pleasure. Physiologically it is attributed not to dopamine but to serotonin. This is not an excitatory chemical but a pacifying one, it does not fire the neurons rather, it calms them down.

Do the opposite of mind's urges. Every time we resist the urge for momentary gratification, we break the mind's control over us.

1. Helps us to unwind from the clamour and noise of today's busy world.
2. Stimulates the Parasympathetic System thus relaxes the muscle tension.
3. Allows our brain to relax. Helps us to calm down our overactive brains.
4. Promotes body-mind sync. It makes us feel more grounded and in control of ourselves.
5. Provides an opportunity for perspective. Coming to a standstill helps us step back from hustle bustle and helps us to muse about the bigger picture.
6. Allows us to plan our life. Quiet space provides us an opportunity to introospect and evaluate where we are in our journey versus where we wish to be.

In Sanskrit, mental practice is called Chintan. It means 'deep reflective thought'.

Strategies to train your Chintan:-

1. Think Intentionally: Disregard the programmed response & instead consciously choose your thoughts.
2. Revise Desirable Thoughts: Push yourself past the complaining mind & practice the contemplative thinking.
3. Think New Thoughts: Try new ways of thinking.
4. Feed Your Mind: Feed the mind a good diet of wisdom, inspiration & knowledge.
5. Physical Exercise: Exercise releases pleasure chemicals that supercharge our thinking.
6. Spiritual Exercise: Invest time daily in keeping the mind healthy.

This includes a huge variety of thought skills.

• Diffused Thinking: The conscious mind is relaxed, our subconscious gets to work. Often happens while our conscious mind is engaged in some diversion.
• Focused Thinking: The conscious mind is in deep work to get tangible results.
• Big Picture Thinking: We explore possibilities and identify opportunities amongst them.
• Detail Oriented Thinking: Going into details of something to do excellent work.
• Critical Thinking: Thinking clearly and rationally to understand a matter in depth.
• Reflective Thinking: Allows us to revisit experiences with fresh eyes.

• Attachment Thinking: Our emotions prevent us from seeing things as they are.
• Strategic Thinking: It's aim is to devise an effective blueprint for action.
• Abstract Thinking: Thinking about intangible concepts such as freedom, equality.
• Practical Thinking: Use of common sense to evaluate the feasibility of ideas.
• Mature Thinking: Being aware of our emotions and having empathy for others.
• Spiritual Thinking: To find a deeper purpose to life.
• Divine Thinking: It imbues our every thought with selfless love

Good thinkers are those who can use any or all of these styles depending upon situation at hand.

— Spirituality is the essence while religion is its external form.

— Visit to a sacred place is religion. To sit down in one place and take our mind to the Divine is spirituality.

— To take a bath in the holy Ganga is religion. To bathe our mind in Divine thoughts is spirituality.

— To adorn the body with sacred tilak marks is religion. To adorn our personality with noble and sublime qualities is spirituality.

— To offer oblations of ghee in the sacrificial fire is religion. To offer our obnoxious ego at the feet of God and become humble is spirituality.

Both should be practiced to purify our mind.

Self Awareness

• Distinguishing our lower nature from our higher nature.
• Awareness of the purpose of our life.
• Awareness of the values we live by.

Universal Awareness

• Empathy for others.
• Awareness of the interconnectedness of the universe.
• Awareness of the Spiritual laws that govern the universe.

Self Mastery

• Commitment to keeping our higher self in charge.
• Living according to our values and purpose.
• Commitment to pursuing our spiritual growth.

Professional Mastery

• Serving through your professional work.
• Serving in your personal relationships.
• Serving through your position of leadership.