Today we are going to discuss mindfulness and how you are not your thoughts.
When I began my journey into mindfulness and awakening,
I remember it pretty distinctly.
I had checked out a book from the library about thought forms.
I am an avid reader.
This book really surprised me.
It's been over 10 years now,
But the premise of the book was you have thoughts and you can observe them and you can change them and you can control them.
At this time I had really been struggling with seasonal depression and I didn't want to suffer like that anymore.
The whole concept really floored me that thoughts were energy and that your thoughts could be changed and you weren't stuck in the patterns that you were accustomed to.
You are not your thoughts.
A really good practice to adapt is meditation.
I cannot stress it enough.
If you feel like you don't have enough time for meditation,
Then you need it all the more.
But even if you just start off by mindfully observing the thoughts that you think while you're sitting in traffic at a stoplight,
While you are waiting in line at the grocery store,
While you're driving in your car,
There are boundless opportunities throughout the day.
Try right now.
What better time than now has raged against the machine's eyes?
Just observe.
Observe your emotions.
Our emotions are driven by our thoughts.
This is a powerful concept to wrap your head around.
You're not a victim unless you see yourself as a victim.
And if you're tired of that mentality,
Now is a really good opportunity to get out of that mindset.
It can take some time.
Most of the things that we know,
We learn from our parents.
And a lot of times our parents were ill-equipped to teach us mindfulness.
You only know what you know.
You can only teach from where you've been.
And it doesn't mean they did anything wrong.
They're just doing the best that they can.
That's what every parent does.
Now that you have this knowledge,
It'll open up a whole new world for you.
So as I was saying,
Take a moment,
Check in.
What thoughts are you feeling?
What emotions are you feeling?
What thoughts are you thinking?
Just observing for a minute.
All it takes is one minute.
For starters,
Are you happy?
Are you sad?
Have you ever checked in with your body before?
Have you ever checked in with your thoughts?
You can become an observer.
You can watch the thoughts arise.
You can start to question.
Why am I thinking this?
Why am I feeling this way?
It's great to ask yourself questions,
Deep,
Meaningful questions.
In order to have a happy life,
You have to go with them.
Otherwise,
I mean,
There's ways to find happiness for a moment,
Whether it be shopping,
Video games,
Drinking,
Television,
Social media,
All of that,
Though,
You're just trying to find some deeper meaning.
You won't find it there.
It all starts with a.
And sometimes you don't like what you see.
And that's fine.
That's part of the journey.
You have to face it and love and accept yourself.
And release it.
And forgiveness,
Forgiveness is key.
Forgiveness of yourself and others,
Because everything that anybody ever did to you.
They're doing the best that they could.
And they did it from a place of love,
Even if it seemed really wrong,
Even if they really hurt you.
It's all that they knew.
So forgiveness is key.
This can be a really powerful motivator.
So when we go with them,
When we observe our thoughts.
When we observe our emotions.
This is a great place to start.
Work on it,
Make it a practice.
One thing you can do is take a rubber band or a bracelet.
And whenever you notice it for the next week,
I challenge you to.
Go within.
Even if it's for a minute,
Even if it's for 30 seconds.
Observe your body where you holding tension.
Observe your thoughts.
Observe your emotions.
Without judgment,
Without trying to change them.
This just observing is so powerful.
That's it.
That's all I've got for you this week.
Start here.
May the force be with you.
