The mind is a terrible thing to let run wild,
amok or control you while being out-of-control.
The mind can do wondrous, including keeping
a person well or restoring one's health. In
contrast, the mind can cause unhealth, sickness,
self-destruction and other-destruction. 

Bracketing is the key to mind control and
mindfullness governing thinking and focusing.
There are various kinds of bracketing that are
not the concern of this essay. The kind of
bracketing of concern here is the "enbracketing"
or holding in brackets a limited depth of a field
or thought for the purpose of focusing the mind
on that one thing, a single matter or an aspect
of a matter at one time. Brackets are in a set
and come in pairs just as shoes. With brackets
we can appropriately say, "It takes two to
tango." Or, think about it this way: of all the
women this man encountered only this woman
was the  apple  of  his eye  and the  supreme
attraction of his heart.

Bracketing has many benefits and yields many
dividends. Foremost, it allows for focusing
the mind on one thing that is important or a
matter of ultimate concern. A word of caution
is in order: it is important to not allow some
extraneous thought that seeks your undivided
attention to infiltate or "party-crash" your
brackets. Beware that your mind has the
power to reject or disallow such intrusion.
Also be aware that you alone have to take
responsibility for the choice you make even
when the consequences of your choice are not
those desired or anticipated.

Yes, we can see too much. Seeing to much may
mean seeing the forest but not the trees and
the fruit they yield. It is desirable to let some
things, trivial and negative news: "go in one
ear and out the other one.," without giving it
time to find a nesting place in the psyche and
contaminate the mind.

For the "how" of bracketing. Begin bracketing
with focusing on your breathing. Take several
deep breaths, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly.
Then, deliberately and circumspectly choose the
content or matter that  you  want  to put in
brackets. It is helpful to say aloud or write
down or do both with what you propose to put
in brackets. For example, put in brackets your
daily exercise program. {Today and each day this
week I will walk at least two miles immediately
after having breakfast.} It is nothing complicated
about bracketing. It is just a matter of will, making
the choice. And it is worth adding, enjoying the
benefits. It is worth repeating, bracketing pays
exponential dividends that include heightened joy.

Copyright 2013 by Uriah J. Fields