“Everything depends upon our mind. But, who controls the mind? Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe it is I who controls my mind or it is my mind that controls itself. In this case, I would like to know how the mind can control itself. If it is fidgety, how can it calm itself down? And, if it is peaceful, how does it keep calm? It is not possible that at the same time the controller and the controlled coexist—that is, a mind that controls itself.”
“It is obvious,” retorted Lorenzo, “that it is the ‘ego’ that controls the mind. So, with regard to me, I can assess with absolute certainty, that at this very moment I, Lorenzo, am control-ling my mind, keeping it according to my will, either calm or uneasy.”
The discussion in the hall of the Circle of Noblemen became animate. My Uncle Salvatore also joined in.
“That is not exact!” he said. “If it were true that I can control my mind, I would never allow it to become uneasy or dull, because, doing that, I would turn against myself. Nobody freely chooses to keep a restless or a dull mind. It follows that I cannot control my mind. (This is an excerpt from Travels of the Mind).
We can control all instruments, but who can control the mind of a politician? Let me know the answer, if you know.
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
Ettore Grillo's Blog 