The steady stream of thoughts in our head, our self-talk, is so constant that we lose awareness of their impact. Yet thoughts are things and every thought is either programing our mind or is the product of some snippet of programing, part of some belief system, we internalized earlier in our life, usually without full awareness or deliberate decision.
Thought watching is the practice of taking the time to become more fully aware of our non-stop thoughts with the goal of learning to direct them in ways that support us and facilitate our peace of mind. The first step is learning to just witness your thoughts without judgment. It takes time and effort to create a space between you and your thoughts and it begins with accepting that you are NOT your thoughts, you are above and beyond your mind, you are a higher power observing the chattering thoughts of the mind.
Think of your thoughts as drop-in visitors arriving at your front door, usually without an invitation. You have no obligation to let them in, much less let them take up residence. What we think, we become. When we take control of our thoughts, we take control of our future.
Closing Quotes:
“As the fletcher whittles and makes straight his arrows, so the master directs his straying thoughts.” – Buddha, c. 500BC
“Life consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever flowing through one’s head.” – Samuel Langhorne Clemens/Mark Twain, 1835-1910
“We often go about our lives without noticing what our mind is telling us because we are too busy attending to our hectic lives. Blithely unaware, we comply with the advice our mind dictates to us all day long. When we are unaware of what our mind is saying, we can end up making unwise choices.” – PsychCentral.com
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier