Today I am returning to the topic of our thoughts and how they are the instigator to our behaviours. I wrote about this in late March with my article titled Black Box of my Mind. This article quickly became very popular; it was spotted by a representative from BlogHer and was syndicated to be published under the title Learning to Trust Your Mind.
That was exciting to me, but what has really resonated with me were the responses I received via comments, emails and conversations with friends. Everyone shared the same message with me; that they have been been living daily life unaware of their thoughts and the impact they have upon their lives.
This has spurred me on to developing a workshop for women, one which will help them be aware of their thoughts and assist them in making the changes which will shatter the behaviours which are holding them back.
This process, like many others in life, is simple. It’s simple but not easy.
Retraining ourselves to be open and aware takes effort. Changing years of patternistic behaviours take time and energy ….and most of all a true willingness.
So let’s assume we’ve all gotten humble and are willing and begin by talking about thoughts in general.
Thoughts come into our minds like the wind blows. We don’t consciously initiate a thought. If we were to think “I will think right now” the thought would already have begun. The same goes for the reverse, we cannot consciously decide not to have thoughts.
Realizing that thoughts are not initiated by our conscious efforts; if a typical person experiences upwards of 50 000 thoughts a day imagine, how we are affected over time by them.
Thinking, both reflexive and reflective, is what the brain does. It reflexively maintains and protects the body, without which it could not survive. This involuntary brain activity is a form of thinking, albeit at the subconscious level. All forms of thinking, even conscious reflective thought, is really nothing more than electrical and chemical energy combined and arranged in certain ways. These thoughts signify nothing in and of themselves.
Why then, are we affected by our thoughts? A thought is really an innate experience; it is harmless and holds no meaning in its entirety. It doesn’t actually affect us at all when it stands alone. It is only after we attach emotion to the thought that it holds value to our behaviours.
The fact is that we are rarely aware of our thoughts; they affect our perceptions, choices and reactions. This inner self-talk affects how we interact with others, and how we respond to situations. This internal “noise” can be used to make significant changes in our lives and bodies.
Rather than carrying on as we have I the past, if we are determined, we can begin to be conscious of these thoughts. I’m not suggesting that we should be aware of each thought and analyze it; that would be a ridiculously huge effort.
What I’m suggesting is that we focus upon the thoughts which have negative emotions attached to them. If suddenly you are irritated by someone or something, pause and take the time to identify the thought which brought this feeling to the surface.
By learning to identify the thoughts we experience these negative emotions with we will begin our journey to changing our thought patterns and the behaviours which result from them.
In the next week take the time to begin this process, next week I will continue with the next portion of this process.
It is only once we become truly aware we can take the steps to experience this journey fully and receive the gifts which are available to us.
Thought-discipline…. Reminds me of what Emerson said: "Do the thing and you shall have the power; but they who do not the thing shall not have the power" Great post my friend
"We pause when agitated, asking (pray) for the right thought or action." Yup that direction I know, though I'm not perfect in practice. :)Great reflection today!