A.There is a chassidic story I would like to share here: A disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch complained that he could not pray with pure devotion because of improper thoughts that were intruding during his prayer. The Maggid referred him to Rabbi Wolf of Zhitomir for help with this. On arriving in Zhitomir, the man sought out Rabbi Wolf's house and knocked on the door, but there was not answer. After repeatedly knocking on the front door, rear door, and shutters, the man concluded that Rabbi Wolf was not at home. He sat in the doorway to wait for him and fell asleep.

Hours later, Rabbi Wolf opened the door and invited him into the house. "Have you learned anything yet, young man?" Rabbi Wolf asked. The man shook his head in bewilderment. "You knocked incessantly on my doors and shutters seeking entrance. But since I am master of my house, I chose to refuse you entrance. You can be master of your mind. If you are determined to keep some thoughts out of your mind, you can do so. You can refuse them entrance, regardless of how much they try to intrude."

The truth is that we can be in charge of our thoughts and our imagination once we decide that we want to be! The first step in taking responsibility for our obsessive thoughts is acknowledging the parts of us that are fascinated by and seduced by our pain, terror and shame. The challenge here is to make wellness choices in our thinking as opposed to worseness choices. The question to ask is: Where do I want to be (in my mind) and will this thinking get me there?