Do you ever feel like you could use a break from thinking?
Many people tell me their minds are so busy they wish they could silence it for a break.
Like, if you could just shut down the constant chatter up there, maybe you could relax and stop feeling like you’re on a hamster wheel.
You’re not alone. This busy mind seems to be the norm for a lot of people.
Sometimes it can feel like a committee in our heads, voicing all sorts of opinions. There’s the inner critic, Inner Child, the cheerleader, and on and on.
Research shows the average person is thinking over 80,000-100,00 thoughts daily - that’s a lot! And most of this thinking is unconscious, meaning we’re running on autopilot through the day, largely unaware of the steady stream of feedback impacting our choices, behaviours, and belief systems.
Here’s the thing; thoughts aren’t the problem.
Overthinking or pushing our thoughts away creates stress and disconnection from the moment, inner peace, and fulfillment.
When we constantly think (or even try not to think), it’s like we have jumped in a car and gone for a ride, BUT we aren’t in the driver’s seat – our thoughts are. We have given away our power, and the thoughts are taking us for a ride.
We are not present.
When thoughts fill our minds, consciousness has no space to reveal itself.
But we become observers when we can pause and notice the thoughts. It’s like we’ve put the brakes on and got out of the car.
We are present.
“Pay attention to the gap - the gap between two thoughts, the brief, silent space between words in a conversation, between the notes of a piano or flute, or the gap between the in-breath and the out-breath. When you pay attention to those gaps, awareness of ‘something’ becomes - just awareness. The formless dimension of pure consciousness arises from within you and replaces identification with form.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
We will notice a shift if we can implement this one simple thing into our daily lives.
And like always, we want to meet ourselves exactly where we’re at; there is no judgment or pushing the thought away, simply noticing.
Give this a try:
· Set the intention to notice your thoughts.
· Whenever you become aware you aren’t present, you are present.
· In this moment of awareness, say to yourself, “That’s interesting the mind is thinking that” or “Thinking.”
· Take a mindful breath or two.
· Bring your focus back to whatever task you are doing.
And this is how change happens - one simple choice at a time.
Enjoy exploring,
Diane
P.S. In the words of Byron Katie...
"Don't believe everything you think."