Negative Thoughts

Becoming Free From Unsolicited Thoughts

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Unsolicited thoughts are not your friend. You must notice this undesirable habit of automatically identifying with your thoughts. They should be observed and questioned by bringing awareness to them; then, they will lose their power over you. One question you can ask yourself is, do I know this to be one-hundred percent true?

You are not your thoughts, and when you identify with them, they rise to power and begin to control your disposition and the direction of your life. No thought can pull you into a story without your consent. The more you bring awareness to them, the less power they have, and eventually, you will be grounded in the present moment again.

Note: Do not try to stop your thoughts; this will only keep you trapped. Many of you have wanted to do this during meditation and failed. The aware and awake do not identify or attach to thoughts. Then they do not hang around. They float by like a cloud in the sky instead of turning into a storm.

How much time do you spend on the what-ifs of life that never happen? How different would your life be if your unsolicited thoughts did not drag you away from the present moment? How much more energy would you have to be present with what faces you now? Know that where your attention goes, your energy follows. How can you create or manifest what you want when your energy is depleted or is directed toward the very thing that you do not want in your life?

The first step is to use your awareness to notice the automatic and endless flow of these unsolicited thoughts. No one can do this for you. You must be willing to begin to pay attention, step out of the stories your mind tells you through these thoughts. Become the observer, and watch what is happening. Your mind may say, how do I do that? And I say that you already know how to do it, so trust that you do. Any thought that says you cannot do this, or you do not know how is observed, isn’t it?

Few dare to do this, so know that you are among a courageous few if you do. Be kind and gentle to yourself when you slip, and you will falter from time to time, particularly in the beginning. However, if you stay with it, things will only continue to improve in your life.

Please do not take my word for it. I want you to have a direct experience that this works, that is the only way you will know the truth of what I speak and use it. So, try it out if you dare. What have you got to lose except a few thousand or so of unsolicited thoughts per day?

What Will Be the Legacy of Your Life

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We will never have what many call freedom is in this life if we do not begin to listen, hear each other’s truth, and then be willing to compromise. Thinking that freedom only comes in one size and shape, being rigid about what we believe to be true, and not willing to let go, will only lead to personal heartache and a world full of mistrust. You can feel and see this already in today’s world. Also, living this way will only contribute to the problems that future generations have to face. These problems arise so slowly; over generations that they are overlooked by many during their lifetime.

By bringing more attention to our personal thoughts and actions, we open the doorway to awakening, to our conditioning, and the false beliefs that separate us. This allows real freedom to unfold because as long as we are burdened by our negative thinking, what we perceive as freedom such as, political, geographical or financial is an illusion. Real freedom comes from self-freedom.

We are more alike than our own thoughts allow us to see and it is time that we discover this and begin to let go of our old beliefs, patterns, and thinking. We must be willing look for the middle ground, be all-inclusive by expressing the true meaning of love and stop creating more division by holding our ground, thinking that our way is the only way. When we do this, we create separation between the self and our soul, and this leads to more division in the world. We cling to like-minded people, locking the old patterns in even more profoundly and never experiencing the real beauty of this diverse world we live in.

When someone becomes lost in his or her own beliefs and desires, he or she will use the division in our society to create more separation, hate, and anger. The reality is when we break down the walls of separation and come together nothing is insurmountable. Our greatest power and gifts come from our connection to one another, and our biggest danger lies in separation, which only causes devastation.

We lay a brick on the foundation of our self-destruction every time we focus on our differences. We will fulfill this prophecy if we do not come together for the common good of every person on this planet.

The process of questioning our beliefs, paying attention to our thoughts and actions will only bring more balance, joy, and peace into our lives. Peace does not arise out of getting what we want, peace comes first, from within, and then and only then do we reach fulfillment because peace is the source of fulfillment.

Take a moment to contemplate what love really means and then see if your beliefs about other people and this world align with that meaning. Let any conditioning from society, family, religion, politics go for a moment. Then ask yourself, if I come from love, how will my thoughts and actions be different?

When we let go of our fear about what might happen and open our hearts to everyone, become vulnerable and embrace empathy we can change the world. If we allow our fear to be the foundation for our choices, we will self-destruct. What decision will you make, what kind of world will you leave behind for future generations? What will be the legacy of your life?

 

Abandon Rigid Thinking

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Something Helpful in Difficult Times

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When things get tough, we are often stuck in thinking continuous thoughts about our difficult situation, and we are unable to break out of this unhelpful thinking. At some point, a moment of clarity will show up, and you will hear these thoughts. At that moment reach for a thought that feels better.

When you do this, you will find that The Universe will respond differently because of your effort, and your intention. Yes, you may fall back into the darkness of your thoughts temporarily, but remember each time you reach for something that feels better you will release a piece of the dark revealing more light.

Eventually, this massive field of darkness that you thought you would never find your way out of will reveal the light again. The dark never destroys the light, and it only hides it until we focus on it. Remember whatever we put our attention on becomes visible. This is not new age gibberish; this is quantum physics in action. This is how life works, and you always have a way back to the light if you look for it.

So remember to reach for a thought that feels better when things do not feel right and watch how the Universe responds to your effort to feel better. Staying in the dark is optional, and it is your choice whether to live there or in the light.

The Self-Imposed Con Artist

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We often like to blame another person or event for our problems. Even as much as we would like to THINK it is true, our real opposition never resides out in the world. In truth, it resides within and is often invisible to our conscious awareness. In fact, to hide its very existence, it convinces us through our thoughts that the problem is always somewhere else. Without careful observation to build our conscious awareness muscle, we will forever be under its control. Too many are clueless to this, however, with awareness, anyone can awaken to this self-imposed con artist, our very own thoughts.

The Miracle of Life

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When we live in the moment, the joy of life shows up in full bloom and we can see what a miracle the creation of life is. This is forgotten in those moments of frustration, anger, and anxiousness or when we feel bored with life. In these moments, the miracle of life seems like an ordinary mundane minute of passing time and we think, so what’s the point!

It is always important to remember that even the mundane things in life are a miracle of creation. Without them, we would not see the magic in life. Why, because the magical would seem ordinary to us; and the truth is from an awakened vantage point there is nothing ordinary in this life, it is all a miracle. You are a miracle, think about it. However, when we are so focused on our needless thoughts this never crosses our mind.

Therefore, the next time you become bored with life, remember that it means you are out of the moment and focused entirely on your incessant thoughts about something or someone. This incessant thinking has distracted you from the beauty and miracles that are all around you. As soon as you remember this, take your attention away from your needless thoughts and point it toward something that allows you to see the beauty and miracle of life again. There is always something to be grateful for and seeing this can help bring you back into the moment.

You are not meant to spend your days suffering from your own thoughts; you can be filled with joy and living life feeling the embrace of the Divine. It will not matter what is happening around you because you will be fully living in the moment experiencing the miracle of life and all it has to offer.

 

 

In Times of Uncertainty (Part 2)

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In yesterday’s post, part 1, I talked about how we can be upset emotionally and physically by what someone else does. I mentioned taking a different perspective on that person and their actions. Now I will share some steps to take to stay peaceful in times of uncertainty.

In order to get some clarity, we need to stop blaming the other person for how we feel, and then we have the opportunity to look at how our incessant thoughts contribute to our unbalance. Yes, their actions caused us to feel uncomfortable, but the emotional intensity and the effects on the body are unique to each one of us depending on our perceptions, beliefs and past experiences. Noticing that we have unique experiences in similar situations, shows that the person we are blaming does not cause us to continue suffering long after the incident, we do that on our own. Otherwise, everyone would experience his or her feelings in the same way and for the same length of time and we know this is not what happens.

This shows us how important it is to start looking at why we are reacting the way we are. This is done through awareness, attention, and self-inquiry. It gives us the opportunity to shift from a reactive state into having a response that does not throw us out of balance.

Begin to pay attention to your thoughts and question them. Are you aware of any beliefs that come up because of what this person has done? Here are some examples of questions. What is the belief? Does it still hold true? Is your response right for what the other person has done or does it feel out of proportion or out of control? If it is, you will be out of balance and may experience discomfort in your emotional state or body. Are your thoughts supportive of your well-being or are they causing agitation? Thoughts will not cause agitation unless we have attached to them or ruminate on them.

As you continue the process of paying attention and bringing awareness to your thoughts and beliefs, you will start to notice what is not serving you. Over time, you will be able to let them go. Often it only takes the awareness of the thought to let it go and other times you will have to repeat the process until it shifts for you.

This is important to remember, the very thoughts that are not serving you will distract you from your intention. Each time this happens, gently bring yourself back to paying attention. You will find this easier to do with practice and over time, it will be harder for your thoughts to distract you.

There are times when working with your thoughts may feel impossible. In these times, working with the body is a more grounded process. Please refer to Body Scanning part 1 and part 2. These two short posts will give you direction in the body scanning process.

Do the best you can and remember to be kind to yourself, this is not about perfection. No matter where you are in life, you can have more balance and peace, you only have to look for them. They lie behind your thoughts, in the innermost recesses of your own being. Finding them anywhere else will only be temporary.

 

 

In Times of Uncertainty (Part 1)

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It is easy to be upset by someone who is doing things that we do not agree with and many of us could probably name someone like that now. They make us feel out of balance emotionally, physically or both. For instance, emotionally we might worry, feel angry, frustrated or fearful. Physically we might get a headache, feel nauseous, become ill or even experience pain in the body. Each one of us experiences these imbalances in different ways. Have you ever noticed or thought about how you experience an imbalance in your life?

It is important to recognize that when this happens it is not what the other person is doing that causes us to be this way. It is how we are reacting to what that person is doing. Our reaction is formed from our experiences in the past and other factors that influence how we experience and operate in this life.

If we are not aware and awake to these feeling and sensations, we will feel like we do not have control over them. Please remember that being aware and awake to them is very different from just experiencing them or being absorbed in them. We all have the right to feel our feelings. However, being awake and aware of them means that you able to be with them, not overwhelmed or controlled by them. You must come to a higher understanding of what you are experiencing for this to happen.

A different perspective is to know that no matter what someone is doing, that person is doing the best that he or she can do in that moment. That does not mean that what they are doing is okay or right. It just means that they do not know any better. In life, when we know better, we do better.

Look at your own life. Most of us have done something that we regretted or that was wrong. Once we finally realized it, then we made every effort not to do it again. If someone is still doing terrible things it is because he or she cannot see or does not understand what they are doing is wrong. In their minds, it is perfectly OK and they feel they do not have a choice, even though others see it differently.

Part 2 will be posted tomorrow and is about learning how to stop reacting and how to start responding so that you can take proper action when needed and stay more peaceful in times of uncertainty.

 

 

Stop, Pay Attention and Let Go

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As long as you hold onto the thought(s) that is holding you back it does not matter what you do to change your behavior, you will always find another way of reverting back to that same behavior. The only way to stop the behavior is to let go of the thought and to do that, you must become aware of it.

How do you become aware of it? By gently by paying attention to your thoughts. This is not always easy because the very thoughts you are paying attention to will distract you from your intention. When this happens, you simply bring yourself back to the moment and start watching your thoughts again.

Creating Opportunity

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When we only see our problems as problems, we suffer. What I have noticed is when I begin looking at a problem as an opportunity my experience changes. The sooner I do this the less I suffer and the quicker I find my way out. To see how true this is, look back at your life and see what your problems have taught you about living life more fully.

If you cannot see this, then you are suffering now. You point to your unhappy situation to prove your feelings. This is the easy way out; it takes very little effort to feel victimized. Your thoughts are concentrated constantly on the negative, to the point where you cannot see anything else. From this place, you will not find your way out. However, there is hope from here if you are willing to make a different choice, right here and now.

To find your way out, you must bring awareness to the very thoughts that are keeping you trapped. Begin to notice how these thoughts only focus on the problem; notice how negative they are and unsupportive. Just the act of bringing awareness to these thoughts will begin to release your suffering.

Remember each time you notice that you have been distracted, bring your attention back to your thoughts. In the beginning, you will fall back into your negative thinking out of habit. Do not be hard on yourself when this happens; just gently bring your attention back to your thoughts. At the same time, begin looking for an opportunity to present itself, if you cannot see one, start by imagining one.

Things to remember:

  • Bring your awareness to your thoughts and just notice
  • Remember to come back to watching your thoughts when distracted
  • Keep your attention on the lookout for opportunities
  • Use your imagination
  • Whatever you do, do not give up
  • Be gentle with yourself when you slip into old habits

Be patient and persistent in your desire to live life more fully and opportunities will begin to show up. Even with a little effort, you can make a big difference in your life and this world.