Thryvelabs

Daily Drop

Observing the antics of the mind.

If you’re anything like me, the mind is constantly racing. Coming up with ideas, scenarios, thinking about the future or the past, planning, complaining, etc.

The mind is a tool, but the servant has become the master, so to speak. The mind is chattering incessantly, it’s almost like it not functioning the way it was designed, something went a little haywire somewhere along the way.

The one place I tend to have a difficult time keeping focused is the here and now. The present moment. Ironic right? Were given this experience of life, we have our 5 senses to experience this amazing world, we have all these cool people, places and things all around us, animals, nature, technologies, yet were not here.

We’re here in the sense of physically being here, but the mind is somewhere else, it’s wandered off. It wants to be in charge. It wants to be heard.

This is also a defence mechanism for unwanted experiences, which is understandable, if someone is doing a job they hate or in a class they find dreadfully boring, their mind is likely to wander and ponder on other things. People also dissociate during dark experiences as a coping mechanism.

The endless chatter of the mind makes many turn to distractions, drugs/alcohol, numbing out through online content/social media. All sorts of other addictions like food, gaming and gambling. People want relief and certain actions provide it temporarily, but they come with a high cost. Pleasure in the short term but a the price of pain and suffering in the long term.

So now we come to the crossroads, the time to prepare to experiment and experience something life changing. It’s time to stop listening to the slop. I said it.

Most of our thoughts each day are repeated, up to 90%. Most of us are recycling the same nonsense through our minds daily. Not only that but if we’re repeating and believing and identifying with old thoughts, the same ones as the day before… The mind is running an old outdated program.

We are not the mind, we are not the ego, we are not the thoughts. We are the observer. We are the awareness. We are the presence who is aware of thoughts.

So it’s time to stop. No more. The self torture is over. It’s that simple… But not that easy. Overthinking is a bad habit like smoking, it’s addictive to the ego and it’s become almost a form of addiction.

So how do we stop?

Well it’s simple in theory but not so easy in practice. It’s a daily choice. We stop identifying with the mind, we don’t focus on the chatter. We put our attention on the present moment, the here and now. Attention is like a spotlight or a laser and we get to control where our attention goes.

So stop feeding the mind. Stop buying into its illusions. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. The mind will get you caught up in endless imaginary troubles if you let it. But enough is enough. Just observe your mind, observe your thoughts, but don’t identify with them. That voice in your head is not you. You are the awareness that realizes you are experiencing thoughts, and that they are out of your conscious control much of the time.

So when you have a negative thought, or fearful thought, or if you’re regretting a past mistake, feeling guilty or shameful, just realize it. Be aware of your internal state and don’t allow yourself to dwell in a stew of negativity. Laugh about it. Don’t take the mind so seriously, see it as a child acting up to get attention.

So let go, release control, we don’t need to try to control everything. Not every thought is worth your focus. Just observe without clinging. Don’t resist the negative thoughts, because what you resist persists. Rather just notice them, and focus attention on the present moment again. Focus on the breath if it helps.

It’s not about not experiencing thoughts, it’s about not letting those thoughts ruin your life. It’s about not letting those thoughts wear you out to the point of exhaustion. It’s about feeling spacious and peaceful internally. And although it may not feel like it now, that state of being is available to you anytime. Not when external circumstances are better or perfect, anytime you choose.