Through meditation and the enthusiastic observance of disciplines such as slowing down and keeping the mind one-pointed, we can learn to do something that sounds impossible: when thoughts are tailgating each other, we can slip into the flow of mental traffic, separate thoughts that have locked bumpers, and slowly squeeze ourselves in between.
It sounds terribly daring – the kind of stunt for which professionals in the movies are paid in four figures. Yet, most of us critically underestimate our strength. We can learn to step right in front of onrushing emotional impulses such as fury and little by little, inch by hard-won inch, start pushing them apart. This takes a lot of solid muscle in the form of will power; and we can build it with practice.
Once you can do this, you will find that there is not the slightest connection between another person’s provocation and your response. There seemed to be a connection because your perceptions were crowding together. Now that those thoughts have been separated – even for a hair’s breadth – your response has lost its compulsive force.