
As said before, everything you take into your life ends up as part of you, forming who you are. The music you listen to, the books you read, the air you breath, the water you drink, the friends and colleagues you have, the food you eat, the movies and TV you see, the radio stations you listen to, your family, your school or university, your beliefs and values, the thoughts you think. All these things create who you are and how you behave.
Today I will talk about thoughts. Your thoughts become things so choose the good ones, says Mike Dooley. And choosing means learning to be conscious, to live mindfully.
The Merriam Webster Online dictionary says that a thought is an idea, plan, opinion, picture,etc., that is formed in your mind: something you think of. Most of us, most of the time are not aware of the information we take in and how it becomes anchored through repetition and reinforced by pain and pleasure. Our experiences filtered by our previous conditioning,learning, values and habits come from all these different input sources.
To get right to the point, our habits, beliefs, values and behaviors are just there and we are not generally aware of them, how they were formed and how we automatically react to various stimuli in our life. The good news is you don't really have to understand how your thoughts and behaviours were formed or come from to make changes. Changes are made through mindfulness of our lives, how we think and behave.
Developing a mindfullness practice teaches us how to see who we are and how we think and behave, especially automatically or habitually. When I watch myself and how I use my day, such as waking with loud music, watching the Late News of Murder Mayhem and Deception just before attempting to sleep, hanging out with negative and critical people, reading very judgemental newspapers I can begin to see that these inputs create a certain state in me. In this case quite negative, critical and unpeaceful view of life. This of course influences in turn all my other experiences.
So if I want to change something negative and critical and fear producing to positive, open minded and peaceful then I must change the inputs. Get rid of the fear, the criticism, judgementalism and deception and replace it with the truth.
Lets take another example. The people you spend your time with. Do they have an influence on how you experience and live your life? On your successes and happiness? The answer is a big Yes. If you hang out with folks who are often critical and know everything there is to know about life then you become affected by these people.
If you want a more successful, happy and interesting life one thing you can do is change certain elements such as people who you spend your time with. Replace these inputs with those type of people that lift you up not put you and the world down. Now you have begun to change your thoughts and your beliefs and consequently behaviours.
Change your thoughts and beliefs and you will change your behaviors. When your behaviors are changed your life changes. If you do this mindfully life will swing in the direction you want not the wants and desires of others.
Some references to seriously consider are the following. Eckhardt Tolle, "A New Earth". Probably his clearest and best book. Thich Nhat Hanh, a world renowned Vietnamise buddhist monk, wrote "The Miracle of Mindfullness". Byron Katie: "Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life. Also known as the work." Jon Kabat-Zinn, " Mindfullness for Beginners".
SO take control of your thoughts and beliefs and have a great year.
“Two people may suffer the same disappointment, one might be saddened, the other understanding.
Two people may receive the same insult, one might be hurt, and the other compassionate.
Two people may have the same disagreement, one might be angered, the other feel love.
How you react to circumstances, people and things, IS A CHOICE, YOUR CHOICE... based on YOUR use of understanding yourself and living mindfully."
Live, Love and Laugh, Bob and Marianne,
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