Yes I know I said your thoughts are not real in my last post but that does not mean they are not important. Let’s look at the impact of thoughts on how you experience your life and those around you.
First place, your thoughts have a great impact on you mainly because you are mostly unaware of the stream of ideas and beliefs going on inside. You and I have about 50,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. About 80-90% of those thoughts are the same as the day before. If you have beliefs you are unaware of and you re-enforce them by repeating them every day, then those beliefs will have a huge influence on you. For example, if you believe you are not ok because of a religious belief like sin (which doesn’t really exist), then that belief of not being ok influences how you feel about yourself.
Secondly, your thoughts even though they need to be questioned, create reactions within you that shape the way you respond to others. If you have thoughts that make you angry at the past, then you live in a world in which everything is colored by your anger. Here faulting thinking creates an emotional response and the emotion shades all of your interactions with others.
Thirdly your thoughts affect your ability to be healthy and happy. If you see the world with an open heart and are receptive to your higher nature, then you are better able to heal yourself and find the love and joy you desire. If your thoughts are negative and closed down, your life simply will not be much fun.
The way to take back control of your thoughts comes in several ways. The first method is meditation or quiet contemplation. These type practices have been part of higher human understanding for thousands of years. Explore meditation and finding the quiet place inside and you will have much more awareness and control over your thinking mind. There are many methods. Just simply sitting quietly and observing the mind parade can keep you entertained for a long time. With awareness of your thoughts and a receptivity to insight, you can reshape the interior landscape of your mind.
The second method of mind corralling is called shrinking the inner critic. Inside of you is an inner critic that represents all the criticism, judgment, and negative re-enforcement you received as you grew up. That critic is not voice of wisdom but a voice of harsh judgment; it is not your voice but the learned limited ideas of others. This inner critic can be shrunk by paying more attention to your inner dialogue. The harsh inner voice needs to be replaced by words of encouragement and support. There is never any reason to talk in unkind ways to your self. So stop being critical and start being compassionate and accepting of who you are.
Finding time to set aside for meditation would give you much more objectivity and shrinking the critic will free you from old programming. Take back your mind from the past, from limiting beliefs, from unquestioned false ideas, from the judging harshness of the critic. You can find peace of mind this way. Your peace of mind is a gift to the planet and to all of us fellow inhabitants.