+111 on that. The mind tends to be sick, almost loving that.
Even when we are perfectly conscious that we do not belong to those alien thoughts, the mind keeps revolving and revolving around them.
Mental torture. I often wondered how come we can be so enslaved to mental moods and mental loops.
I personally hate it, I must be the master of my mind, not the slave. Nevertheless, I'm not Always able to get rid of them.
When the rite thoughts persist the sub conscious mind is influenced. The dreams become transformed and the mind has a continous loop that hum's divine thoughts. Like a koan those thoughts break open the shell that reveals pearls of wisdom and awakening love.
What you're both discussing reminds me of something I've read in somewhat recent times coined, "neuro pathways."
As I understand it... Say we learn to ride a bike. We are creating a pathway in our brain. The more we practice the more we enforce this pathway. If we stop riding and come back to it years later, we instinctively remember how to ride this bike. It's because the pathway is still there... It has been a while since I've touched up on this subject... So my understanding may need a more experienced persons clarification... But I eventually understood it as not only do neuropathways form by physical stimuli but emotional as well. Meaning, if we behave in a certain manner because of how such and such has made us feel... Then we create the pathway in our brains. Once this pathway is created, it's easy for us to revisit it... And the more we revisit it,
the more we reinforce this path...
I think I've read you can't undo these pathways.. But what you can do is override them with new ones... You can reconstruct your pathways.. Reinforce them to a more positive outcome using a little creativity, through intention practice and repetition
Something like that... Anyways, for a better understanding... Please read between these links I've found to share with you
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?sid=221http://www.neuralpathwayrestructuring.com/home.html