🔲 What tools has God given us for us to be able to control our minds? 🔲 One of the benefits of fear is that it helps us to focus our thinking. 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (19) ➖Today, causes of scattered thoughts and not being able to control one’s mind have increased in the world. The media with all its various kinds of entertainment keep a human being’s mind occupied at all times. So, we need to be able to control our mind. ➖A person who can’t control his mind, automatically thinks negative thoughts. He will suffer from many mental and emotional problems. But, these diseases and weaknesses are so widespread among people that they are not considered to be bad! Some people have so many negative thoughts that you have to distract them and say, "You are thinking again! Look here!" to stop them. ➖Psychologists try to create a strength in people using different tools and techniques so that a person can control his/her mind. But, they do not have the true means for people to be able to do so. They do not know of something so great and magnificent that it can attract a human being’s attention to this extent! ➖But in the Qur'an and our religious culture, we have matters that we can pay careful attention to in order to increase our ability to control our mind. These are subjects such as: God, Resurrection Day, Heaven, Hell, etc. ➖Thinking about Hell has this effect that it can strongly attract our attention and give us the will to control our mind. It has been said about the believers, “A believer is not corrected except by fear.” [Kafi, vol. 2, p. 71] This is because one of the properties of fear is that it brings concentration. ➖Another subject to pay attention to is the intense love that the Imams (as) have for us. The Imam of the Time, Imam Mahdi (aj), loves us very much, even more than our parents! Why does the Imam look at the file of our deeds every week and if he sees a sin, he asks for our forgiveness? It is because he is truly concerned about us. ➖The easiest subject to pay attention to is "Imam Husayn (as)," because he attracts our attention to himself. Of course, Imam Husayn (as) has made a great expenditure for us to be able to deeply pay attention to him. @PanahianEN

🔲 The best place to practice neglecting extraneous thoughts is in prayer. 🔲The hardship of death is due to our attention being detached from the things we love in this world. 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (20) ➖One aspect of controlling our mind is to be able to divert our mind from things that we naturally pay attention to. Of course, this is very difficult, because there are many subjects that attract a person’s attention. ➖The best place to practice neglecting extraneous thoughts is in prayer. It has been narrated, "When you start praying, ignore the thoughts that come to your mind. Put aside worldly thoughts and false imaginations." When such an order is given, it means that it is possible for one to get rid of these extraneous thoughts. [Mustadrak al-Wasa’il, vol. 4, p. 113] ➖People are selfish. When they are in pain or a tragedy befalls them, they do not think of anything else! Therefore, it has been said that we should be careful that Satan does not take our faith at the time of death, because that moment is the peak of a person’s distress. ➖When a person is dying, Satan tempts him and says, "Look, God is taking your life. God is doing this!" Satan wants to make him irreligious at the moment of death. He wants to create a feeling of enmity toward God. ➖Interests, which you pay attention to in the world and think that it doesn’t matter, will come to your mind at the time of death and become big and important for you. Thus, you will feel that you cannot be separated from them! ➖The hardship of death is due to our attention being detached from the things we love in this world. It is a horrible moment. However, those who mourn for Imam Husayn (as) have a great asset in this difficult moment. There is a subject that whenever they think of it, they forget themselves. That subject is Imam Husayn (as). @PanahianEN

🔲 I can’t pay attention to God because there are too many things in the world that cause me to become neglectful! 🔲 The question is, “Can’t I even pay attention to God’s Kindness?” 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (21) ➖God can’t be seen. If we only pay attention to what can be seen and don’t have the ability to control our mind, we can only remember God in fleeting, rare, special moments. ➖It is hard to do pay attention to a God that can’t be seen, especially for a long period. God’s rewards or punishments aren’t given to us quickly. One of the ways to control our mind is thinking. One should spend a part of his life thinking about God. [Al-Khisal, vol. 2, p. 525] ➖Among God’s different names, paying attention to His Mercy can give us the ability to pay attention to Him for a longer period. This is because kindness is sweet for us and compatible with our nature. Furthermore, God likes us to pay attention to His Kindness. ➖If one says, “I can’t pay attention to God since there are many things that cause me to become neglectful,” we will say, “You can’t pay attention to God’s Kindness either?! Paying attention to God’s Kindness is easy and you need His Kindness in each moment. Even if you don’t pay attention to God’s Mercy, can’t you pay attention to Imam Husayn (as)?! Don’t live without Imam Husayn (as). Imam Husayn (as) means God’s Kindness.” ➖Why is it recommended so much to say, “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful” when starting to do anything? Because we truly need to pay attention to God’s Kindness. This sentence reminds us of God’s Kindness two times, once with the word “Beneficent” and once with the word “Merciful.” ➖If we neglect God’s Kindness, we’ll become wretched! The Qur’an says, “And whoever turns himself away from the remembrance of the Merciful, We appoint a Satan so he becomes his companion.” [43:36] ➖Let’s agree to constantly remember God being Merciful and Kind. Let’s start each of our movements and actions by saying, “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” The Household of the Prophet (as) has given us this general guidance to start everything with saying, “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” @PanahianEN

🔲 Being thankful is a kind of practice in controlling our mind and thinking positively. 🔲 When you remember God’s blessings, you are thanking Him. 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (22) ➖One of the most important mental abilities is being able to set a "point of view" for oneself and getting used to looking at everything from that angle, just as we can get used to a special way of talking, eating or dressing. If one becomes accustomed to having a correct outlook, he can control his mind. ➖If people abandon their mind, they will start thinking negative thoughts. If we do not want to keep thinking about the things we don’t have or to regret the past and to worry about the future, we must practice "thanking God" as religion has told us. ➖Being thankful, which is highly rewarded, helps to change our perspective. Let’s accustom ourselves to always seeing the half-full glass. Focus on what you have and think about how it was possible that God hadn’t given you these things. ➖Many talk about thinking positively in the world today, which is welcomed warmly too. But there is some deception in this, because they eliminate the role of God and what He has destined for His servants. Even a leaf does not fall without God's permission, so how will my situation change without God's permission?! ➖Being thankful to God is a practice in controlling the mind and accustoming it to positive thinking. It is very difficult to distract our mind from evils and negative thoughts, but it is easier to turn our mind to positive thoughts. According to the traditions, when you remember God’s blessings you are thanking Him. [Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, vol. 7, p. 40] ➖If we practice and accustom our mind to this positive, thankful outlook, we will grow even in doing our everyday actions. According to the traditions, a grateful believer eats and drinks, but he is rewarded as a person who is struggling on the way of God while fasting and even more! [Kafi, vol. 2, p. 94; Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 435] It is said that the reward for being thankful is more than for being patient. [Mishkat al-Anwar, p. 258] The most commandments in the Qur'an about remembering are about God’s blessings. [Qur’an, 35:3] @PanahianEN

🔲 To always be in a good mood, keep looking at your blessings! 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (23) ➖ Imam Sadiq (as) said, “A person who pays attention with his heart to his blessings will deserve more blessings even before thanking God with his tongue.” [Tuhaf al-Uqul, vol. 1, p. 357] If one is used to looking at things in this way, he will be thankful and always look at things in a positive way. Many of the sorrows and shortcomings in our lives are instruments for God to show His affection. Be thankful for all of these, look at them in a positive light and see what happens in your life. ➖ Imam Baqir (as) said, “God wants people to do two things: acknowledge the blessings they’ve received so that God will increase their blessings and confess to their sins so that God will forgive them.” [Kafi, vol. 2, p. 426] Acknowledging our blessings is not complicated and does not require an inner feeling. Just see the blessings and pay attention to them. ➖ The Imams (as) taught techniques for us to control our minds in order to deeply pay attention to our blessings. For example, when a person remembers a blessing, he should prostrate to thank God. [Kafi, vol. 2, p. 98] This increases a person’s attention. ➖ Gratefulness is higher than patience. [Amali Saduq, p. 613] When you have a good time and say from the depth of your heart "Thank God," this is more valued than patience in tragedies! God is happy when His servant uses blessings, enjoys and thanks Him. ➖ If you always look at your blessings, they will increase and you will always feel good. If you want to practice remembering God's blessings very much, don’t pay attention to some things. For example, do not look at what God has given others. (This is a kind of controlling our mind.) ➖ Imam Sadiq (as) said, “If one looks at the blessings that have been given to others very much, his sorrow will become prolonged and his sadness will never go away. Such a person will consider his own blessings to be little. As a result, he won’t thank God very much. So always look at people who have less than you. Then you can be more thankful and will deserve to receive more blessings.” [Usul Sitta Ashar, p. 209] @PanahianEN

🔲 The most important aspect of a human being’s strength is the ability to control one’s thoughts. 🔲 If a human being’s mind is perturbed, his spiritual balance will also be disturbed. 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (24) ➖The most important aspect of your strength is the ability to control your mind, so that no one can easily disturb your attention or unsettle your mental balance by giving misinformation or even by giving correct information at the wrong time. If a person’s mind is perturbed, his heart will be disturbed too. ➖Human beings can gain mental strength through religiosity and spirituality. True religiosity strengthens one’s "ability to concentrate" and the "ability to distract oneself from things one shouldn’t think about." ➖Ayatollah HaqShenas was told he had an incurable disease. He was asked about this and said, “God has blessed me with the strength to be able to not think about things I don’t want to think about.” ➖One great mental action is paying attention to God’s power. When we do this, our expectation of others will be greatly reduced, spite we may feel toward others will decrease and we will behave better. When we think our sustenance is in the hands of others or that the main cause of our problems is other people, we become irreligious. All of these are due to us not paying attention to God’s power. ➖The traditions say when you ask God for something, you shouldn’t have hope in anyone except God. (Kafi, vol. 2, p. 148) This is in fact a mental activity. A person can create this disconnection from others in his mind for at least a moment. ➖If we don’t practice and pay attention to this matter ourselves, this disconnection will be brought about in us with sufferings, because God has said, “I swear by My honor and glory, I will cut off the hope of My servants from others than Myself!” (Kafi, vol. 2, p. 66) ➖We have been taught by the Immaculate Ones (as) that when we worship God we should say this is our last worship act. Or when we bury someone, we should imagine ourselves in that person's place. When we return home, thank God for giving us another chance to live! These are all mental activities for creating this disconnection. @PanahianEN

🔲 The topic of mind control is a key, strategic topic in the world today. 🔲 Satan can only whisper thoughts into a person’s mind. 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (25) ➖ In the world today, the topic of controlling the mind is a key topic for psychologists, economists and political administrators, as well as administrators in spiritual and educational matters. As important as this issue is in schools and educational systems, it is just as important to politicians, the great powers of the world, businesspersons and economists too. All these groups are concerned with "How to influence and control a human being’s mind.” ➖ Sometimes movies want to tell us how they can influence the minds of people and turn them into soldiers to act in a way to advance their goals! The enemies of humanity use the most complex knowledge in this direction and even affect the minds of the people of a certain country in order to make changes in the elections there! ➖ Why is controlling our mind important? One reason is that the enemies of humankind always want to influence the minds, thoughts, and perspectives of human beings. Satan, as the first enemy of human beings, is only able to penetrate into one’s mind. Satan openly showed his enmity to Prophet Adam (as) from the beginning. When he wanted to hide his enmity, he asked God to allow him to penetrate into the minds of human beings. God gave him this permission and the tools he needed. [Tafsir Qumi, vol. 1, p. 42] ➖ Explanations in the Qur'an show that Satan can only affect people’s minds, he has virtually nothing to do with us and he cannot enter our hearts. Some thoughts that come to a person’s mind are Satan’s temptations. Human beings are usually passive about what happens in their minds and allow themselves to be influenced by Satan. But God has emphasized that Satan is our enemy. ➖ So controlling our mind is a very important subject today - both for the enemies of humanity and its friends - and it has been important since the beginning of creation. One must be vigilant about his mind and not allow himself to be negatively affected. He should even work to bring good thoughts to his mind. @PanahianEN

🔲 Religion’s main purpose isn’t controlling our behaviors and carnal desires. 🔲 Religion’s main mission is to change our inner behavior, our mind and thinking. 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (26) ➖ There are two types of human behaviors: physical behavior such as walking and talking, plus internal or spiritual behavior that has a higher value. We should not degrade religion by saying it just wants to control our physical behaviors. ➖The rules for what is obligatory or forbidden in religion are more related to behavior. This is not because religion’s main mission is in this area. These rules are so that we will observe the minimum requirements. Why is there a Hell? It is for us to avoid some things in order to go toward God. I cannot convince myself that I have a religion that just tells me not to go to Hell! ➖Religion wants to change our hearts for us to discover our love and dependence on God. It wants us to be pious in our thoughts and not just stop us from doing wrong actions! Religion wants us to fall in love with God, a love beyond all the loves we have ever experienced. We can never understand even a particle of the love that made Lady Fatima (as) tremble in her prayers. ➖Imam Sajjad (as) told God in a prayer, “Help me to become negligent about carnal desires by remembering You.” [Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 91, p. 127] By remembering God, we can control our mind. A mind that keeps jumping here and there is destructive for a human being. ➖Curiosity is good for a scientist who wants to discover a substance or wishes to invent something. But curiosity is like poison for a person who squanders his time to see what catches his eye in the internet! That he may see unlawful scenes isn’t good, but the main problem is he won’t have any control over his mind. ➖Browsing in the internet or social media just to spend time is an insult to humanity! One may say, "Let's join this group because it has many interesting things!" But let's look at the issue from this angle. If we spend our lives on things that others have made to keep us busy, what will be left of our minds and humanity? @PanahianEN

🔲 Dhikr isn’t just repeating God’s names. 🔲 Remembering God causes everything to be in its own place. 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (27) ➖Dhikr [remembering God] means paying attention to God in our mind and isn’t just repeating His names. If one holds rosary beads and says "Glory be to God..." without paying attention, he is just repeating but not remembering. Of course, repeating His names has some good effects, but when we pay careful attention while remembering God we are thinking about Him. ➖A minimal remembering is paying attention to God mentally, and the maximum is when one’s heart is shaken too, like when a lover thinks about his beloved, "Indeed the believers are those whose hearts quake at the mention of Allah." [Qur’an 8:2] ➖Life and its ups and downs cause us to forget God. If one doesn’t remember God, He will make his life straitened, “And whoever turns away from My remembrance, his life shall surely be straitened.” [Qur’an 20:124] ➖Turning away from God’s remembrance doesn’t refer to forgetting God. It’s when we are reminded of God by some means but think about other things instead. Such turning away makes our lives difficult. Not that one loses everything, no. One has a job, gets paid, sleeps, etc., but accompanied by misery and a hard life! ➖Remembering God causes everything to be in its own place. But forgetting God causes life to become hard and straitened. For example, you make several calls for something you need to do, but no one answers. Your work won’t go smoothly. But if your life isn’t straitened, your problem will be solved with the first call. ➖Another point is that good, divine inspirations come to our mind at times that we are sure are good. If we value these, they become clearer. Don’t ignore good inspirations that come to you. Some people mistakenly think they are being inspired! I don’t mean such things. I mean good inspirations, when you yourself understand it’s a good deed. Like after prayer when you suddenly feel like praying another prayer or a supplication. You have time and don’t have to do a more important task. This is clearly a good inspiration. Pay attention to it. @PanahianEN

🔲 Some basic solutions for increasing our ability to control our mind 🔲 Many of our worship acts help to strengthen our ability to think and concentrate 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (28) ➖ Two important indicators for evaluating our ability to control our mind are: 1. being able to keep our mind focused on a subject 2. when something distracts us, being able to change our thinking and bring our mind back to the subject we wanted to think about. ➖How can we gain this ability to focus? It is difficult to pay attention to sublime subjects such as "remembering God" during prayer. But we can have a program for spending time and thinking about certain good topics, such as God’s blessings, God’s kindness or any other topic that stimulates our thinking and is to our benefit and enjoyable to think about. ➖We can help ourselves to think by reading the biographies of the Friends of God, history books, supplications narrated from the Household of the Prophet (as), or above all, recite the Qur'an and think about it. ➖Another way to increase our ability to focus is to participate in the meetings where God is spoken about and everyone is thinking about this same subject. Many such worship acts are actually ways for us to gain the ability to control our mind. ➖Another thing we should do and is interesting too, is self-evaluation! This is so important that it’s been said, “One who does not evaluate his actions every day is not one of us (the Household of the Prophet).” [Kafi, vol. 2, p. 453] ➖We can get used to concentrating on a certain topic with a program such as self-evaluation, which must be done daily. This focusing our attention without using any external tools or factors is very useful. ➖Continuity in any program - especially in programs concerning the mind – is very important. It is so important that it has been said if you set a program for yourself but aren’t able to do it on time, be sure to do it later. [Usul Tis’a Ashar, p. 237] ➖If during these regular, daily programs you’ve set for yourself you are able to focus and use your mind correctly, you will be able to focus on a topic or stop thinking about it when you need to do so at other times. @PanahianEN

🔲 If you haven’t set boundaries for what things you shouldn’t think about, you will become a weak person. 🔲 What are some things we mustn’t think about? 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (29) ➖ One way to increase our ability to pay attention and control our mind is to decide not to think about certain subjects. If these subjects come to our mind, we should put them aside. A person who does not have any limits for his mental activities will become a weak person. Let’s not spend time thinking about just anything that occurs to us. Let’s not think about some things, talk about them, or become fixed on them. ➖ Some examples: 1. Do not think about what God has given others. The Qur'an says to not pry into and pay attention to what God has given others in this world. [20:131] For example, if God has given someone a better car, don’t think about it. 2. Do not think too much about the things you like and are interested in. Imam Sadiq (as) said that if you like something and wish to have it, do not think about it or remind yourself about it too much or it will bother you. [Kafi, vol. 6, p. 459] 3. Regretting about the past is forbidden! You should not think about the things that have happened in the past that cause one to regret and feel sad when you think about them. One should not think negatively about the past. 4. Worrying and thinking negatively about the future is forbidden! In worrying about the future, some say something is a “bad omen.” Some first see the downside of every plan and they keep saying, "No, it isn’t possible!" God dislikes this mentality. The Prophet told us to never say that something is a “bad omen.” [Mustadrak al-Wasail, vol. 8, p. 120] 5. Thinking negatively or being suspicious about others is forbidden! Some people think negatively about others, but the Qur'an states some suspicions are actually a sin. Imam Ali (as) said if you expect someone to be kind and do good to you, do not even think bad thoughts about him in your heart. [Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, p. 242] For example, do not say, "Why doesn’t he help me?" Think positively and say, “He probably doesn’t have the time or the money to help me now.” @PanahianEN

🔲 Seeking help from God to be able to control our mind is a fundamental principle. 🔲 No one can save himself on his own, and no one goes to Hell on his own. 👉🏼 #ControllingMyMind (30) ➖A very basic principle on the path of human growth and development is that, "We are never alone on this path." There are two aspects to this not being alone: ➖The first is the existence of our invisible enemy, Satan. We never become bad on our own, because Satan plays a role in all our evilness. Satan's temptations take place in a person’s mind. Satan and his troops constantly try to attract us to think about things we shouldn’t think about. ➖The Qur’an quotes Satan as saying, “Then I will certainly come to them from before them, from behind them, from their right side and from their left side. And Thou shalt not find most of them thankful.” [7:17] ➖More important than the existence of an enemy is the companionship and help we receive from God on the path of personal development. It is meaningless for a person to say he wants to do a good deed alone (without God's help). Even for calculating our own deeds and asking for forgiveness, we need His help. ➖ Getting help from God in controlling our mind is a basic principle. An example in the Qur’an is, "When you recite the Qur’an, seek refuge in God from the mischief of Satan.” [16:98] ➖Let’s seek help from God and flee from Satan toward God. These are two basic steps to a person’s growth. No one becomes good alone (without God's help) and no one becomes bad alone (without Satan). No one can edify and save himself on his own, and no one will go to Hell on his own. If one hopes to be saved, this is only possible with God’s help. And if one goes to Hell, this is due to God’s wrath. It means that God has abandoned him and not helped him anymore. So we should not think we are alone on the path of growth! ➖About seeking help from God, there are surprising supplications from the Household of the Prophet (as). The Commander of the Faithful (as) said, "Your attention to God is first from God, then from you toward God.” [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 2,091] In order to remember God, God must first remember you. @PanahianEN