Patanjala Yoga Sutra 1.12-1.15

Om Gurave Namah
Obeisances to Sage Patanjali
Obeisances to Swami Venkatesananda (disciple of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh)

Knowledge is like sand, if you try to hold more than a fistful, then like sand it will slip away. You may try to hold it in sandbags, but it's only as useful to you as having knowledge in books, but not inside you.

Holding too much knowledge is of no use without understanding it deeply. Once you understand knowledge, you realize that sand is sand, no difference between one grain and another, nor between a fistful of sand and hundreds of fistfuls. so enjoy just a fistful of knowledge or even lesser - try and understand it, that should last for this lifetime at least.

With that bit of preamble, let me just talk of two interesting ideas that Swami Venkatesananda gave in his translation & notes on Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.12-1.14

Vairagya - Imagine you are in a drive-in movie and are completely engrossed in watching the movie, you are only aware of the moving images, not of the screen on which they are projected. Suddenly a vehicle from behind projects its headlights into the screen, making it completely white. All of a sudden you realize that there is no movie, but only the white screen - that moment you get a direct understanding of reality - the right understanding of truth - that is vairagya. Your mind becomes uncolored at that moment in the illumination of that Inner Light. But then it only lasts a moment and you become unhinged from truth again. Only by constant practice of trying to be aware of the white screen, that uncolored state will you be able to maintain the state of balance - that repeated attempt, constant practice, which is done in a proper manner, which takes you always forward and never backward is abhyasa. 

Samskaras (latent impressions) ---> Vrittis (thought waves) -----> Urge ----> Craving -----> Strong Desire -----> Impulse to Act ----> Action (indulging is that desire) -----> Vasana (deep habits) causing Samskaras

If you have to stop this without suppression (which follows Newton's 3rd Law of Motion), you have to focus on the thought just when the Vritti (thought waves) bubbles to the surface of the ocean of consciousness. Between Samskara to Vritti or at least between Vritti to Urge, you have to break the chain, else it is too late and counter productive. 

Newton's 3rd Law - when you suppress something, it will cause equivalent reaction. the kinetic energy is stored into potential and like the spring suppressed leaps back into original position with immense violence - its like a ball which is forcefully thrown, which bounces back up to great height - so also is the reaction to suppression of strong urges, craving. Dont resist, dont supress. Have great faith in the Lord, surrender to Him - it's not in you to conquer your urges without his Grace. Just be at peace without anxiety. Being at peace in the face of all these urges is wisdom

2nd idea:
Keep your friend close and your enemies closer. Ari. Shadripu. 
Wisdom is moderation. It's being held in a leash, but a very long one. Neither are you free, nor overly restrained.

Craving is mad. Wisdom is being moderate, balanced. So the wise will not shun the craving, but keep it close - so close that he can behold it, witness it, understand it and hence not blown away by it. Craving is the thief who revels in darkness because you know not how bring the problem is and you are preyed by the fear that it is too big. DON'T FEAR. Show the torchlight of wisdom on the craving by keeping it close, then it doesn't seem that big or threatening. Suppose you fear disturbing images coming into your mind. You want to meditate, but there is this image of some porn film which comes to mind, then all the more you shouldn't suppress it, let it come, observe it objectively, it seems to be a thought and nothing more, don't let it have any color. When it possess color, then it possesses you.

Don't suppress thought
Face the thief, when you are strong.
Make strategic retreat when you are weak, but without expending too much energy in supression
Conserve energy
Don't Fear
Keep Faith
When you face the threatening thought (when you have energy and are strong, not when you are willpower depleted), then just observe it.
Uncolor it. Observe what reactions it is giving.
If any Urge arises, observe the urge, what is it feeling like, what is it's texture like
Enjoy the experience of observing and not indulging
Don't be ashamed of giving yourself a very small imaginary pat in the back for just noting the thought and urge without any usual reaction
Again don't fear
Move on..just feel that you are at ease, at peace. You are neither thinking of future, nor of past - if at all anything, they are just thoughts in your mindspace.
There is great joy to be free from tyranny of having to think
Just see how long you can extend this phase - this is abhyasa
Feel like you want to be in this zone forever - sthiram sukham asanam. Here the asanam is not physical, but mental.