Perhaps sometimes you may wish that there was an off button to your mind.
An overly busy mind can halt us in many ways throughout our lives.
And one of the main things a busy mind interrupts for millions of people around the world is a good night's sleep,
Every single night.
And why is this?
To answer this,
Let's relax your mind just a little bit right now.
Imagine that your mind is represented by a stream,
With water sometimes flowing by slowly when there's a lack of rain and sometimes very quickly,
Depending on the weather and the time of year.
Your mind is this stream and your thoughts are the water.
How quickly is your stream of the mind flowing right now?
How fast are the thoughts,
Represented by water,
Flowing in the stream?
Just watch this flow as if you're sitting on the stream bank enjoying it.
Good.
Now just allow for the seasons to pass and the weather to change and watch your river change along with it.
The seasons represent your overall happiness in your life.
Are you achieving your goals that you set for yourself?
Seasons change,
But each one of them can be viewed as beautiful.
Seasons can be tough or they can be mild and enjoyable.
The waters of the stream represent your thoughts.
When you focus your thoughts on your goals and desires,
Your river slows and becomes crystal clear.
The birds and wildlife are able to see fish that they'll catch to feed themselves in their offspring.
The fish can find sources of food because the water has slowed enough to allow for bits of plants to settle on the water.
And live bugs can land on the water for them to catch.
Now for a moment,
Imagine a storm of thoughts is coming for your stream.
See the waters rise and all the animals scurry for shelter.
The fish hide in safe areas and there are no bugs flying around.
It's only rushing by a little faster now,
Yet the storm is building.
The more thoughts you let into your mind,
The more the water rushes by.
It becomes a threatening stream so quickly that you cannot sit on the bank watching your stream any longer.
You must seek shelter from the storm.
The storm of thought has taken the ability to observe away from you.
It takes a while for a storm of thoughts to pass and even longer for the after effects of the storm to calm.
The waters continue to rush at a high speed for several days or so.
This is what happens when you allow a storm of thinking to enter your mind.
It disrupts you for some time until the waters can naturally settle.
We want to always remain on the bank of our stream,
Observing abundant nature and clear calm water.
We all know that sleep is necessary and rejuvenating,
So why do so many of us suffer to achieve a restful sleep?
Because we don't take charge of our busy mind,
Moving it from worry to relaxation.
And like I mentioned before,
Allowing a busy mind to go free is like never training a great horse.
The mind needs to be in control.
It needs you to train it how to work for you.
The mind needs you to be in control.
It needs you to train it how to work for you.
A calmer state of mind allows for you to not only sleep better,
But eliminates anxiety,
Increases focus,
Treats depression,
Stops circular thinking,
Improves your memory,
Betters your relationships,
Satisfies the body,
And increases emotional intelligence.
The key to attaining all these things is very simple and natural for all of us.
The key is to bring into our mind the awareness of all physical sensations and bring into your mind your emotions and bringing into your mind your thoughts.
This is meditative and simply doesn't allow for bothersome thoughts to have any power over you.
Your ability to emotionalize and feel things is much more powerful than a busy mind.
Your ability to create and ponder new ideas and a new self-image supersedes a noisy mind.
All a noisy mind is good at is distracting you.
It doesn't achieve anything.
It doesn't build on any new ideas.
It doesn't emotionally connect with others around you.
In fact,
An overloaded and out of control mind acts to disconnect you from others and yourself.
A bustling mind is tiring,
Yet it doesn't allow for you to rest.
Giving up control of your mind is like feeding your child nothing but bread and sugar and candy.
They're going to lose control because of the unhealthy information they're taking into their system.
Let's put our mind now in the being mode,
Right now,
By implementing positive affirmations.
So say to yourself now,
Thoughts are only thoughts.
I live in the present,
Not in the past or the future.
I draw from my past when I need to plan for my future,
But I always live in the present moment.
I take notice of my body often throughout the day,
Easing and relaxing my body by doing so.
I take notice of my surroundings to ease my mind.
When thoughts begin to swirl in my mind,
I have compassion for them and acknowledge them,
Knowing they are simply just thoughts.
My thoughts come and go.
Someone's thoughts also come and go,
And I am no different.
When I watch my thoughts,
Like the water of a stream,
I never get caught in a thought.
I am just the witness.
Stopping my thoughts is impossible.
Instead,
I observe them arriving and leaving.
Instead of jumping into thoughts emotionally,
I observe which thoughts I want to cultivate.
I know that which thoughts I put my energy to is what I create for myself.
By taking the time to practice these methods,
I really do feel a difference.
I have the patience to retrain my mind.
I retrain my mind so that I can get rest when I need it.
I have patience when I am training my mind,
Just as I would have patience training the most magnificent horse.
I am kind to myself with this new way of being.
I am kind to others,
And I never allow overthinking in the form of judgment to cloud my relationships.
I am persistent because I know the rewards are well worth the effort.
I see the benefits right from the very start of my practice.
Good work.
Now let's repeat those affirmations one more time.
Thoughts are only thoughts.
I live in the present,
Not in the past or the future.
I draw from my past when I need to plan for my future,
But I always live in the present moment.
I take notice of my body often throughout the day,
Easing and relaxing my body by doing so.
I take notice of my surroundings to ease my mind.
When thoughts begin to swirl in my mind,
I have compassion for them and acknowledge them,
Knowing they are simply just thoughts.
My thoughts come and go.
Everyone's thoughts also come and go,
And I am no different.
When I watch my thoughts,
Like the water of a stream,
I never get caught in a thought.
I am just the witness.
Stopping my thoughts is impossible.
Instead,
I observe them arriving and leaving.
Instead of jumping into thoughts emotionally,
I observe which thoughts I want to cultivate.
I know that which thoughts I put my energy to is what I create for myself.
By taking the time to practice these methods,
I really do feel a difference.
I have the patience to retrain my mind.
I retrain my mind so that I can get rest when I need it.
I have patience when I am training my mind,
Just as I would have patience training the most magnificent horse.
I am kind to myself with this new way of being.
I am kind to others,
And I never allow overthinking in the form of judgment to cloud my relationships.
I am persistent,
Because I know the rewards are well worth the effort.
I see the benefits right from the very start of my practice.
Now remember that each day you practice mindfulness techniques,
The more restful and deep sleep that you receive each night.
Just relax down even more,
Letting your body make any last adjustments it needs so that you get the most restful sleep every night of your life.
Good night,
And namaste.
