What are you thinking?

What are you thinking? … Did you know that the average person has over 60,000 thoughts a day? That's one thought per second for every waking hour!  Most thoughts go by so quickly that we’re not even aware of them, but that’s our brain working hard in the background. Amazing! right? …If that surprises you, consider this, we go over the same thoughts, ideas, and memories, over and over again. In fact, the majority of our thoughts are the same thoughts we had yesterday and the day before. What’s troubling about that is that for the average person, 60-70% of those thoughts are negative.

Why does it matter? ...Thoughts are like the architectural blueprint of your life, your thoughts affect all the important aspects of your life, your finances, love, health, career, and so on. So, if the majority of your thoughts are negative, what kind of life are you creating for yourself?  Is it any wonder we have so much turmoil in our lives?

Consider for a moment all the spiritual work that we do to keep our lives running smoothly, and the “Ebbos” (offerings) to fix the troubles we get into. How about we also take a look at the root cause of our problems and recognize that much of the trouble is a direct result of our negative thoughts.

Is there some reality show going on in your head?  We spend a great deal of our time thinking about some dramas, rehashing past situations that still haunt us, we play it over and over again like a TV rerun, maybe we’re hoping for a different outcome, maybe we’re trying to figure out if we could have handled it differently. If we’re not living in the past, we’re imagining and worrying about the future. If that’s not enough to occupy our minds, we make up fantasies to entertain us (by the way, in your fantasy, are you the superhero that saves the day of the victim that needs rescuing? :-) The point is that we’re not living in the present moment, we’re not mindful of what’s happening right now.

Why do we have so many negative thoughts? Part of the reason is that we are bombarded by negative images all day long. We may not realize it, but it has a subconscious effect on us. In many households, the TV goes “on” the moment we wake up and stays “on” (even if no one is watching) until it’s time to retire for the night,. TV is no longer a happy place to escape to, there’s 24/7 news, politics, crime shows, reality shows, court dramas. What passes as entertainment is not the same as it was twenty years ago. Have you noticed how violent the video games that kids play have gotten? You can’t even escape negative images in social media, I recently saw an extremely cruel and inhumane act on a beautiful dog that someone posted on social media, I inadvertently saw it, then couldn’t get that image out of my head all day. We encounter negativity all day long, from interactions with people, gossip, conflicts and disturbing events happening all around us.

Of course you can occasionally enjoy an exciting thriller, violent movie or your favorite drama series, reality shows, and yes, even judge Judy. It all comes down to moderation and whether you can remain detached from it so that those negative images don’t affect your well-being. You’ll need to recognize this in yourself, no one but yourself can do this.  It’s like junk food, if you eat it every day, it will catch up with you. The question to ask yourself, how much is too much before you feel the negative effects.

Practice Mindfulness… This is the act of becoming aware of your thoughts and feelings without judging them, there’s no right or wrong, just an acknowledgment of the thoughts.  Mindfulness brings your awareness to the present moment. It gives your mind direction and purpose, you are telling your mind, be here now! When you notice a negative thought, acknowledge it, and then let it go, no need to further analyze it. Here’s a simple exercise, when you’re eating your lunch, be mindful of the taste, the texture, the smell, and the colors of the food you’re eating. Tell your mind to be aware of the sensations. The exercise brings your mind to the here and now. Do this with other activities in your daily life. The objective is to train your mind to spend more time in the present, and less time dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

Give your “mind” something meaningful and positive to think about. For example, you could learn something new, it could be something as simple as learning a new word every day to improve your vocabulary. It could be a hobby or other activity to keep your mind in the present moment.  The idea is to crowd out all those negative thoughts with more positive ones. Myself, I take ballroom dance classes and practice piano, love to read and learn new things.

Give yourself a mental vacation, pick a day where you will NOT watch TV unless it’s something positive, no news, crime or dramas shows. No social media or phones, disconnect from the world for a little while, use the free time to read, meditate, listen to music, play with your kids and/or your pets, take a leisurely nature walk to unwind. The goal of your mental vacation is to reduce your exposure to negativity to put you in a better frame of mind.

Finally, I leave you with one more thought to think about, I mean, what’s one more thought when you already have 60,000.  “Remember, thoughts have power, be aware of them as they are the blueprint of your life, make them positive, loving and peaceful”.

Love and Blessings!  Javier Lujan {Babalawo Ifajuitan}