Currently, I am working on challenging each of my thoughts to see if they allign with health or if they are harmful to me. I just finished reading Shift Happens by Robert Holden and he talks a lot about our thoughts. He says that our thoughts are what hurt us. Our thoughts cause us pain. He said that of the 2,000 thoughts per hour that we approximately think, 90 percent of them are fears, judgements, and worries. If this is true, many of my thoughts are harmful to me and don't allign with health. I'd like to think that since I've been working on awareness of self for quite some time now, that my thoughts aren't mostly made up of fears, judgements, and worries, but I know they are. I know because I am aware of my thoughts now, much more than I ever have been. I know that I think negatively, but now I release many of them.
For example, I used to have a nickname of Nervous Ninny. My mom always called me that because, you guessed it, I worried about everything. I was very fear based. I used to worry about sooooo many things...if my dad was late coming home, I thought he was dead; if the house creaked, I thought there was going to be a huge earthquake; if it was 3:00am in the morning and I was awake, I thought something bad was going to happen; if I heard an ambulance siren, I thought one of my family members was dead; if I didn't pray to God, I would be punished; etc. Now, I get some of the same worried thoughts, but I think them through and end up getting to dismiss them. I have realized that they are just thoughts that I learned when I was an innocent child absorbing everything I heard and/or saw. The thoughts that once had control over my life, no longer control me. As I mentioned earlier, the negative thoughts still pop up in my head so I know I've still got work to do because I don't want to think them at all, but I know I'll get there :) I am aware of my tendency to "awfulize" a situation and I am mindful when I am doing it, so I can continually work on changing those thoughts.
Holden lists five things in his book that he says will help create joy and love and it all has to do with thoughts.
1. "Your thoughts are not real. Your thinking is not reality; it is an interpretation of reality. No thought has any more authority than what you give it."
2. "All thoughts are passing thoughts. Thoughts are transient. They are like leaves in the wind. The only thoughts that stay are the ones you hold on to."
3. "You can choose your thoughts. No one else does! You can elect to change any thought. You can also choose whether or not to act on any thought."
4. "Thoughts have no power. Thoughts are literally electrical mental toys that are powered by you. They have no power of their own."
5. "You do not have to take any of your thoughts seriously. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, "As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it.""
WOW!!! I have learned many of the ideas/concepts from Kurt and Tracy, but running across this book and these words really proved to me that the Universe will back me up in what I'm currently working on. I'm working on checking out my thoughts and the Universe guided me to Shift Happens, Kurt and Tracy's radio talk this morning, and gave me an experience with a family member that created deep thought.
As Holden said, "thoughts are literally electrical mental toys that are powered by you." I'm taking my thought control handle and steering it towards health and away from pain. Which way is that? I think it's mindfulness, intention, love, and practice. 30,000 hours + ;)
