We don’t have any control over our thoughts. Any thought can come and hit us from any direction. But what we do have control over is whether we want to pursue that thought or if we want to turn it into an action.

And by action, I’m not just referring to physical actions but mental ones too. When we cling to a thought or follow its track, we are performing a mental karma, and that, in turn, is the seed of all physical actions.

Whenever you are bothered by any lingering thought, simply ask yourself the following three questions and watch it become feeble in no time: 

• From where has this thought originated? 
• Where is it traveling?
• Where has it disappeared? 

As you ponder on these, you begin to understand the anatomy of a thought; basically, its emptiness. They are empty. Thoughts have no definitive point of origin, no set course of travel, and no specific site of disappearance.

In the ocean of your mind, when it comes to the waves of thoughts, you have three choices: 

• first, surf and accept the highs and lows; 
• second, watch the waves and put up with the constant sound of the sea; 
• and third, move away from the ocean altogether. 

The lifespan of every thought, however good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, is exactly the same. It emerges. It manifests. It disappears. These are the only three stages in the life of a thought. If you don’t recall a thought or if you don’t pay attention to a thought, it must disappear on its own.

Thoughts that you do not let go leave an imprint on your mind. That imprint is the residue. Meditation is the process of washing away that residue. It is the cleaning of your slate and keeping it that way. When we fail to abandon our thoughts, they assume different forms. They can become desires, expectations or emotions.