Calendar

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Thoughts about... thoughts.??

Thoughts about thoughts.

I often say in my yoga classes that the brain is a muscle and it's job is to think. A lot of people think they are failing meditation because they can't get their brain to be quiet and stop thinking. I'm am definitely NOT a meditation expert but the way I understand it, the point of meditation is to NOTICE your thoughts. Therefore, instead of thinking you are failing meditation for thinking a lot, you are actually doing a GREAT job by noticing you are thinking.



A lot of time is spent in a daydream, in a daze, on autopilot.
A lot of our thoughts have been with us for years, decades, i.e. "I know it just IS that way!"

What if you could STOP... for even a second
a skill I've gained from meditation and mindfulness that has dramatically changed my life. Let me tell you! It's helped tremendously now that instead of blurting out the first thing that comes to mind I can STOP, and consider if that's really something that should come out of my mouth. I know I can't control other people's reactions, but I can control whether I say something kind and helpful or the first thing that comes to mind.

Another concept from meditation is that... I am not my thoughts. My thoughts are not me. I am more than this. And if I am not my thoughts I can choose which thoughts to accept and which ones to not accept.

Example:

Option One: I can't believe she just said that. What a jerk! She is always so rude!
Option Two: Say what?! She must not be doing well if she said that. I wonder how I can help? I'm sure I unknowingly do that too sometimes.

Option One: I can't believe that person is driving like that. How incosiderate!
Option Two: I wonder if that person is stressed, driving to the hospital? What is going on?

Option One: I can't believe how inflexible I am. I am definitely not doing yoga right!
Option Two: The teacher told me to breathe and just notice. I notice I am feeling uncomfortable and also very brave for trying something new!

Option One: I can't believe how tight my hamstrings are! What happened?!
Option Two: Whoa my hamstrings are tight! I know this happens sometimes especially after a long hike and if I just gently stretch I'll gradually get my full mobility back. The most important thing is that I breathe and notice what's going on anyways, not how far I can stretch.

How does each option make you feel? Different, right? And yet they are both a response to the exact same thing. 

I'll see it when I believe it
NOT
I'll believe it when I see it


This is one of my favorite yoga shirts (from spiritual ganster) and I wore it the whole day!

CHALLENGE: See if you can catch yourself thinking today. Consider another option to the same situation and see if the new thought changes how you feel.




No comments:

Post a Comment