"There is no harm in repeating a good thing." -- Plato
Mind is a powerful thing. It drives us in ways conscious and unconscious, so deeply embedded in the influences of our lives and moving so quickly that it seems impossible to keep up with its machinations, let alone change it. But change it we must, if we want to feel more in sync with the authentic choices we make.
Most thoughts are repetitive and unconscious, until we make them conscious. It is estimated that our thoughts are anywhere from 75% to 95% repetitive, the same thoughts that we had the day before, and up to 80% negative. How can that not be indoctrinating? They are literally grooving our neural pathways like a vinyl record.
And yet, there is a part of us that has the capacity to turn our attention to these thoughts, not to get rid of them, but investigate them…to analyze them, to feel with our bodies how they feel as we affirm them, and to ultimately reframe them. How they are culturally conditioned, through family, community, media, global events. This process can be illuminating, as we realize that we don’t really even believe much of what filters through our minds, about life, about our internal and external worlds. This is a process of mindfulness, as we learn the territory of our mindscape and only then are able to re-tool it.
We are so often reminding ourselves or others of things to do, things to remember, in this fast-paced world. So many of these things are repetitive actions, thoughts from the past and previous commitments brought forward to present time by default. We call them routines. We even tease ourselves about how much we need to be reminded about things, lest we forget. But if you peel back the layers of this process, you might be surprised at what you find. How much of it aligns with who you Are, today, now, and who you want to be going forward? Research tells us that we are reminding ourselves over and over again, all day long, of things that we reminded ourselves about before. Reminding ourselves that we are sad, or happy, or depressed, or broke, or alone, or successful, or ugly, or beautiful, wrapping our life force around these reminders.
So I propose that we Re-Mind ourselves. Re-minding is Reframing. It is basically telling ourselves a different story, one that is more true and joyful for us, more aligned with our beliefs. The process begins when we commit some time each day to write down what passes through our minds and the conclusions we are drawing about it. It might seem like overkill, too much thinking…who has time to write down all of their thoughts or reminders and analyze them? You do. Yes, you do. And I’m not suggesting you write down all of them. Just pick one hot topic for you right now. Write down some thoughts and feelings you have about your hot topic and reminders you have set, the conversations you are having with yourself and others about it. You will notice through this process what is repetitive thought, what is negative thought, what is positive affirming thought, what is actually helpful to you moving forward and what makes you feel stuck. It’s super interesting. Then you can mindfully choose what you want to put your attention on repeating, affirming or actioning. These choices, which become easier with practice, start re-grooving the record of your mind. You are literally re-minding yourself. And life will reflect that more.
Let’s all make Re-minders more interesting and more fun! Let’s get in there and get creative about how we are tooling our minds. Let’s open up to the vast possibilities that are available to us with our amazing capacity to create something that feels right for us, for who we are, Now.
Happy Spring everyone, Melanie
Need help? Email me at melanie@innertegrity.com or visit www.innertegrity.com/sessions