In the course of the day, do be aware of the changes in the landscape of your mind. Notice the various thoughts that arise and pass away; moods, emotions, and various states of mind – sad, happy, depressed, cheerful, bright, clear, light, alert, sleepy, dull, lethargic, heavy, lazy, diligent, disinterested, bored, listless, enthusiastic, excited, calm, peaceful, tranquil, disturbed, worried, anxious, hating, loving, kind, forgiving, envious, jealous, rejoicing, happy for others, doubts, lust, desire, craving, greed, miserliness, selfishness, meanness, generosity, equanimity, wisdom, understanding, moral shame and moral fear or the lack of it, mindfulness, awareness, etc.

Awareness of our mind states can help us to understand ourselves better and can bring about a gradual change and improvement in us. The first step is to see ourselves as we are – warts and all – and the rest, i.e., changes for the better, will follow eventually. For example, we will find unwholesome states such as anger, envy, and jealousy, painful and we will want to give them up. This can be done through awareness of those unwholesome states when they arise, effort to check and dispel them, and wise reflection and reminders to oneself that can help one to overcome those states or prevent them from arising. Thus, when we notice the faults of greed and lust, the pain of craving and addiction, those unwholesome mental factors may gradually lose their hold over us. We may crave less and become more content. Furthermore, as we take up meditation, and find joy through caring and service, we will enjoy more and more wholesome states of mind.

Do notice, too, that ultimately we are just mental states. Where is the solid “I” here? Are we not just made up of mind moments, one thought after another, a series or a stream of thoughts? Is not the thought the thinker? One moment we think we would do something and another moment we find we have changed our mind. One moment we are happy and another moment sad, one moment cheerful and the next depressed. So where is the permanent “I”? When we can see how we are thus conditioned by our thoughts, that we are our thoughts, we won’t take this self as something permanent or unchanging. We know that just thoughts, moods and states of mind, come and go, that they arise and dissolve according to various conditions, such as our propensity sometimes towards greed, anger, and delusion and sometimes towards non-greed, non-anger and non-delusion. Our task, therefore, is to become more mindful of thoughts and mental states as they arise, as they stay, and as they pass away. Through such mindfulness we can gradually steer and condition our mind towards cultivating more wholesome than unwholesome states. We can become more joyful and happy than sorrowful or depressed. Through such wholesome conditioning we are actually taming the mind.