Aellyce

^^This, for me as well. I don't know many people who are much more interested in the inner workings of the mind than myself, and I certainly tried many things to explore it (Buddhism included). Ultimately, the conclusion I've arrived at through these investigations is pretty much the simple statement Boleo expressed here. But I perfectly allow that perhaps it's my way, or the way that works for some people and not for others. I'm a fan of meditation and have been practicing myself for years, but more recently I'm finding more and more that it's not even closely as effective to alter my mental states and my moods as actions can be. I often think that probably it's because my mind and thinking is pretty flexible by default, my thoughts and feelings change all the time to start with, so making them change even more with purely cognitive exercises won't make such a big difference. The mental "feedback" resulting from my actions can achieve change much, much more effectively. It's been quite a big realization and discovery for me after spending a good chunk of my life identifying myself with my mind and my thought processes so intensely and struggling to change the outcome (my behavior) starting with my thoughts and feelings