When I was in Dharmasala last year, every morning I would have breakfast at this very tiny Tibetan run Teashop. One morning I looked at a small poster on the wall. There was a quote there, that I was familiar with from years earlier, but had forgotten or lost. So I wrote these words down..... 
 
"The thought manifests as the word; the word manifest as the deed. The deed develops into habit, the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its way with care, and let it spring from love. Born out of concern for all beings.....The shadow follows the body and never leaves it. In the same way, as we think, so we become." 
 
When people commit horrible acts of war, acts of murder, suicide bombers who blow themselves up -- doesn't this begin first with a thought in the mind? And likewise, when we see people commit incredible acts of kindness and compassion – doesn’t this also start with a thought in the mind? 
 
The Buddha advises us to watch our thoughts and it's way with care. But where do thoughts come from? Where do they go? What does the Buddha mean when he says "watch them with care"? Thoughts are like clouds; they come and they go. But what is their origin? Do your thoughts and emotions control you, or do you control your thoughts and emotions? Maybe if we understood the origin of our thoughts we might begin to know how to control them. 
 
Whenever I don't quite understand a Buddhist teaching I find I can usually find the answer in the basic Buddhist teachings, such as, the four noble truths, 8 fold path, 6 paramitas or dependent origination. When it comes to the origin of thoughts dependent origination give us some insights. The doctrine of dependent origination states that......When this is, that is. From the arising of this comes the arising of that. When this isn't, that isn't. From the stopping of this comes the stopping of that. So, there are causes and conditions for our thoughts. What are these causes and conditions? I believe the causes and conditions of our thoughts are the totality of our previous experiences - including all of our past lives. The causes and conditions are everything that has brought us to this point in our lives. So in a sense our thoughts our dictated by our view of the world. By changing our mind (thoughts) we can literally change the reality of our world. And if we see the world differently then naturally our thoughts about our world change as well.  
 
The Buddha said, “Let our thoughts spring from love.” When we give up self-cherishing and replace it with love for others this is the proper intent and motivation. If we have proper intent and motivation, the results will reflect this. So, be aware of your thoughts and if you see your thoughts are giving rise to the wrong motivation, then you need to do more practice. Through meditation we can literally change our mind. Meditation can be helpful in gaining insight into some of the reasons, or patterns, that cause us to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. It is through meditation one can clear one’s mind of the storm of discursive thoughts. Living mindfully means living fully in the present moment. Living in the present moment as been compared the sharpness of a razor’s edge – sharp and thin. When we live fully in the present moment our lives and activity can manifest great compassion and dignity for others and ourselves. 
 
In the Dharmapada the Buddha said: 
 
“Let a man guard himself against irritability in thought; let him be controlled in mind. Abandoning mental misconduct, let him practice good conduct in thought.” (Dhammapada 233). 
 
In the Hindu Upanishads there is a similar quote: 
 
"As a man's desire is, so is his destiny. For as his desire is, so is his will; and as his will is, so is his deed; and as his deed is, so is his reward, whether good or bad." 
 
So the point here is to change our thoughts, we must first change our mind. This is accomplished through the meditation practice. Through meditation we can literally change our view of the world.