You Do It Too

Everything starts with a thought. This process can lead us in any direction. Most of us don’t consider where our minds are bringing us. We walk around in a daze, lost in our thought patterns. I do it, you do it, we all do it. It has been said we have 60,000 thoughts a day. Most of them are repetitive and negative. The good news is thoughts are not etched in stone. We can change them. First we need to wake up and acknowledge our inner processing. In the beginning, don’t try to change them. Just increase your awareness.

Meditation is one way to increases our ability be become more aware. When we can recognize where our minds are going we can make better choices. One choice might be to detach from unproductive negative thinking. This takes discipline, effort and practice. The practice of turning away from habitual mind chatter starts in meditation and gets carried on throughout the day. We can learn to avoid  getting stuck on autopilot.

 Meditation can be done in small increments. Start with one minute. You don’t have to sit cross legged on top of a mountain and say “Om”. Meditation can be done anywhere, anytime. Try sitting comfortably, focus on your breathing, looking at something outside, or closing your eyes and be curious about where your mind naturally brings you. Do your thoughts bring you to work, to your to-do list, or to what you don’t like about your partner? Don’t judge yourself. For now, just be aware.