You are what you think... Scientists
are now saying that your mind creates your reality and that what you think
about now will create itself and manifest in the future. Thinking about that is
a scary thing for some people. However, if you are fully conscious of what you
are thinking about every moment of your waking day, then you should be able to
control what will manifest in the future. Now, that may sound a bit 'out
there', so to speak, and most people think that they are already fully
conscious of their thoughts at any given time. Well, I'm here to tell you that
you are not.
Try this simple exercise next time
you're in the shower:
Think about each and every movement
you make while washing your body, how the soap feels on your skin, the texture
of your skin, feeling the water from the shower head on your back and head and
how that feels. While doing this, count the number of times your mind wanders
to another issue or topic that has nothing to do with you having a shower. You
will be surprised.
Now this exercise will show you just
how quickly and easily your mind gets away from the 'HERE and NOW' and starts
to think about things of which you are almost unaware. How many times have you
driven your car from point A to point B and been unable to remember how you got
there, or at least part of the way?
I know this has happened to me many
times. In fact, one day I was walking home from school; I remember walking out
of the school gates, and then up the last little bit of the road leading to my
home. I have, however, no memory at all of which way I took home or anything
else along the way. Now that has stayed with me for over 40 years. It is also a
good illustration of the mind, or rather the body, operating on autopilot,
while the mind/brain is off somewhere else.
To stay totally in the moment of the
Here and Now is extremely difficult and yet so very important. Considering we
cannot change the past and have little if any real control of the future, the
only thing we all have total control over is the HERE and NOW. What we do and
think about right NOW is the only thing we really have full, 100% control over.
This concept is so important and yet
so underestimated. Ask any smoker whether he or she is actually aware of taking
a puff on their cigarette and if they're honest, most of the time, they are
totally unaware of the physical aspect of smoking. In fact, some smokers will
light and smoke a cigarette and not even be aware of having done so. It's so
automatic that they don't think about it at all. I should know - I used to
smoke.
This illustrates just how NOT in
control of our mind we sometimes are and how the mind can wander off on a given
path without consciously controlling where it goes.
Try this simple exercise. It takes
only one minute.
Sitting down or lying down, take slow
breaths in and then out. Each cycle should take about six seconds. Breathe in
through your nose and out through your nose (not your mouth). Listen to the
sound and feel the flow of air moving into and out of your lungs; feel your
ribcage expanding and relaxing. Don't think of anything else other than
breathing in and out and experience the changes in your chest.
As before, with the exercise under
the shower, notice how many times your mind wants to wander off on to what you
need to do later or forgot to do so far today. Each time your mind wants to go
off on some tangent, refocus on your breath... in... and out... , listen to the
air passing through the nose into your lungs and feel the expansion and
contraction of your chest.
Over time, as you keep practising
this exercise daily, you'll find that your mind will start to wander less often
and you'll notice more quickly when it does wander off. Eventually, you'll be
able to keep your mind focused on exactly what you're doing for the whole
minute. At this point, you are starting to be able to focus on the Here and
Now. If you think this was difficult to achieve, try being that focused for a
whole day... It's a work in progress for all of us, but it's achievable with
practice.
The more proficient you get, the more
focused you'll get, and your energy will not get as depleted as quickly. You
will also become much better at assessing any given situation less emotionally
and more calmly. Over time you will actually gain greater insight into any
given situation, because you will not be thinking about past failures or
unrealistic future outcomes. You will be much more focused on the task or
problem at hand and less scattered by the 'bad news' or whatever has just come
up.
Obviously this is not something that
can be achieved overnight. It takes time, patience and practise, but if you
keep in mind that the only thing you have control over is the Here and Now,
then what really matters is what you think and how you react to any given issue
now, right now.
Here's another exercise to practice
being in the Here and Now. If you have access to a little place of nature, say
your backyard or even just a pot plant, look at a flower and focus on it 100%.
Do not let any other thoughts enter your mind. Focus on every little tiny
detail of the flower. Immerse yourself in every detail of the flower you're
focusing on. You will actual notice that you relax more and more as your focus
becomes more intense. Try it.
If you don't think you can meditate,
think again. By doing these simple exercises you are actually starting to
meditate. Meditation is just an extension of the one-minute breathing exercise
or the flower detail exercise. What you are learning in these exercises is to
take control of your own mind, rather than letting your mind control you. And
that's the key.
Combining their over 60 years of
clinical practice and experience, Dr Danny Siegenthaler and Susan
O'Neill-Siegenthaler have published their book "It's
Your Life: a simple guide on the journey to better health, happiness
and peace of mind". It contains easy to follow information and
practical exercises anyone can follow to begin to reduce their stress and gain
more enjoyment from their lives.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Danny_Siegenthaler/11106
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