Who Are You, and What Are You?

I like to throw this question out to young people and see what answers I get back. You can imagine what some people say: my car, my iPod, my clothes, or my music collection. A few of the more mature folks might mention things like their home or perhaps their investments.

But after a small amount of discussion, you may quickly realize your most important and possibly your only real possession is your mind. It doesn’t take long to see that everything else you “own” can be taken away from you—even your body.

If you’re in a hospital or a prison, for example, you don’t fully own your body any longer—somebody else is in control of your physical being. In life, there are other forms of confinement and invasions of your bodily freedom, as well. But no matter what other people do, you still own your mind. It’s still yours, to do with as you want. Within your own mind is the only place where you can be truly free.

The inescapable conclusion is that your best and most important possession is your mind. Without that, you don’t have anything. Period. And my question is this: How well do you know how to use your mind? More importantly, do you use it or does it use you?

This work is about becoming the master of your mind and learning how to use it to your best advantage. Most people in western societies have an out-of-control mind. If you can gain essential control of your mind and train it to do what you want, your life will improve immensely. I guarantee it.