What are YOU thinking??!!

There are a few sayings that start with; “blessed are the simple…” and whether the sayings end with simple in heart or simple in mind there is great truth in this statement. It seems that the people who suffer the most are not necessarily the ones who are living in the poorest of situations but the ones who THINK the most.

It so happens that we have this little organ in our heads that we call our brain and it really, really likes to think! Which in principle is perfect for that is what it is designed to do. Our brain does its job so well that it can even do it without noticing what it is doing and without seeing its job as 'a job'. Our brain is continually scanning, reading and interpreting whatever reaches its way through the stimuli’s of sight, sound, touch and smell.

The glitch in this otherwise perfectly designed system is that it is so perfect that we may not know how to use it. Instead of us using our brain as the clever and productive organ that it is we can and may find ourselves being ‘used by our brains’. If we buy into, believe and react to every single whimsical notion produced by this organ we will be nothing more than slaves to our own creative minds. But, why worry about that!:) Like Steve Chandler says; “Worry is a misuse of the imagination”.

Instead, it may be time to fundamentally examine where your thoughts are coming from. Even the simplest of thoughts come from somewhere. Our sensors are influenced by our own unique perspectives or the filter that we in essence view our lives from. Our perspectives are based on our past experiences and it seems accurate to state that none of us have had the same exact experiences in life. We are born into different countries, cultures, families, values, and beliefs and so on and so forth, and in effect have quite a few filters through which we are viewing the world. So who is to say that your specific perspective is the absolutely true perspective? Could your brain be playing a trick on you?

Over-thinking, over-analyzing, and over-identifying with your thoughts will only lead to unhappiness. If you did not have the thoughts you have now, how do you think you would feel? Could it be that everything in your life is really wonderful but your filter is flawed and blurry?

Byron Katie says; “Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don't have to like it... it's just easier if you do."

Byron Katie's famous "WORK" asks people to examine limiting thoughts by asking the following four questions:

1. Is it true? (If the answer is "No," move to #3)
2. Can you absolutely know that it's true?
3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
4. Who would you be without the thought?
Turn the thought around.
Find three genuine examples of how the
turnaround is as true or truer in your life.
Can you find other turnarounds? How are these
turnarounds true in your life? Give examples.

(Source: www.thework.com)

So what are YOU thinking??!!