The founder of Hasidic Judaism, Baal Shem Tov, used to get students from faraway places. One day a group of students came to him and said, ‘We travel here every year to study under you, and nothing can make us stop that. But we have heard that there is a learned man in our own town.
If he is indeed knowledgeable, we would like to take advantage of his knowledge, but how do we know if he is real or fake?’ Baal Shem Tov replied, ‘You can test him with a question. Have you had troubles with stray thoughts entering your mind during prayer?’ The students replied that it was so. Baal Shem Tov said, ‘Ask this person, how can you stop undesirable thoughts from entering your mind? If he says that he has a solution, he is a fake.
’ Modern Science agrees with Baal Shem Tov. The human brain is an exceedingly capable and complex organ. A famous study called ‘The White Bear Experiment’ was conducted to test whether humans can suppress thoughts.
In it, participants were asked to describe their immediate thoughts in a free-flowing manner over a set duration. The participants were told that they were to avoid thinking of a white bear for the duration of this exercise. They were provided a bell which they were to ring every time they inadvertently thought of a white bear.
Despite the direction given, the participants frequently rang the bell, revealing that thoughts of a white bear frequently entered their consciousness though they were trying hard to suppress them. A subsequent.