What are your suggestions, Father, to develop the habit of custody of the mind?
Excellent question, and that is especially pertinent now in the era of smartphones, where it is very difficult for us to think sequentially through something from point A to point B to point C to its conclusion at point D. First of all, is to spend less time on electronic devices if at all possible, because that reinforces the disposition that allows for an undisciplined mind and heart. A practical thing is to force yourself to write out maybe a paragraph or something,so that your thoughts are sequential, like a train on a track.
A, B, C, D. You force yourself to think through ideas and their full ramifications and to give it full body in the course of a paragraph or something. So just write that out. And, if you’re able to do that over something as simple as an idea in logic or in philosophy or in geometry, whatever it is, you’re acquiring the skills necessary to have custody of the mind when the spiritual onslaught comes and the devil tries to cloud your mind because, you know, pride and sin have an ancillary and that is the clouding of the mind.
So, a practical thing I’ve found in my own life is to write something and force myself to be disciplined within the natural order with thoughts. That’s what the mind does – doesn’t matter if you’re a hindu or an atheist or a christian You know that the mind is the mind and if you can be disciplined with that, then you’re building your spiritual muscle to have custody of the mind in the spiritual combat as well. It just doesn’t work where you can acquire custody of the mind without making any effort in responding to God’s grace to have custody of the mind over the natural order. Work with the natural and it’ll transfer to the spiritual, as grace builds on nature.
