I bring your attention to two extremely important concepts-thoughtful and thought full. We all understand the significance of the word “thoughtful”, right? Basically, it a compassionate or kind thought or action towards another.
But I wonder how many people are attuned to the concept of being thought full and even more aware of its’ devastating consequences in our daily life. Much scientific research depending upon which studies you read tells us that the average person has between 40,000 to 60, 000 thoughts a day, and that we can expect to repeat about 90% of our same thoughts day to day. But the most stunning fact is that much research supports the theory that 75-85% of our thoughts are negative.
We must realize that all negative thinking is not conscious thought. Much of it lies in the unconscious mind (some in psychology might refer to it as the subconscious mind) Most of these thoughts are really “hand-me downs” from grandparents, parents and relatives, teachers, friends, from what we may have read and from the consequences of our experiences and fears and how we may have reacted to them or suffered from them.
Perhaps it is why we keep hearing phrases such as“ You are not your thoughts” or “Thoughts are fine when you don't confuse them with who you are.”-Eckhart Tolle or “The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” ― Marcus Arelius
As Steven Covey explains, “We are not our feelings. We are not our moods. We are not even our thoughts.” or perhaps you have read Byron Katie’s quote, “A thought is harmless unless we believe it. It is not our thought, but our attachment to our thoughts, that causes suffering. A belief is a thought that we have been attaching to, often for years.”
We are not our thoughts because they were never truly born from our own heart or derived from our own organic nonjudgmental thinking. A prime example is the existence of religious and ethnic prejudice and racism. These thoughts and beliefs traveled from generation to generation, handed down as facts and adopted in the minds of those who also came to believe they were truths…and so the cycle is perpetuated. Where was “fake news” when we needed it?
But our negative thoughts also prevent us from change, from growth, from having faith and confidence in our own abilities. When we believe everything we think, in particular those thoughts emanating from our fears, we may as well walk blindfolded, for the path we seek will never be in sight.
Think insight! Think mindfulness with one “L”! It’s proven to be an effective tool that has the power to allow you to find quiet, to find stillness and to find the awareness to just let your thoughts be.....not to let them control you, but rather to have you control them. You can choose to change how you react to all those thoughts that are not really yours…and simultaneously you can create noticeable changes in both your physical and mental well-being. “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” -Eckhart Tolle