We can all suffer with very busy minds, and with constant mind chatter that feels less than helpful. Our thinking can feel very real and compelling at times. It can make us believe that something is very wrong, with us or our circumstances.
We can get caught up in our thinking, and feel like we’re spinning with no escape. Things can feel bleak and hopeless at times, and maddening at others.
We may find that we then get frustrated with ourselves for thinking in a particular way, and for not being more positive and grateful. We can hate ourselves for it. We layer more thinking on top of the existing thinking, and enter into an internal battle with ourselves.
No wonder it’s exhausting!
But this is so normal, and so human. It’s something that happens to all of us.
Believing otherwise causes us to suffer even more.
Seeing how we’re innocently getting caught up in thought allows us to get some distance from it.
This distance allows us to see that the thinking isn’t really us, as much as we can become identified with it. We’re the ones witnessing all of this thinking. We’re the ones that are able to step back. We’re the space in which all of these thoughts arise, and then move on again.
So much of our thinking is meaningless, despite what we may have come to believe. We can take our thoughts so seriously, and make them mean so much more than they actually do. We can really believe that they mean something terrible about us or a particular situation we find ourselves in. Which leads to panic and stressful feelings, only reinforcing and adding to the difficult thinking. Then we feel like something is really wrong.
So how do we stop this cycle and see the wood for the trees? And if we’re trying not to take so much notice of what our minds are telling us, what should we listen to instead?
We can take a step back. We can breathe. We can notice that we’re caught in our thinking.
We don’t need to analyze the content of our thoughts or what it all means – that would just be more thinking. We can simply notice that we’re caught spinning around in some stories that don’t feel good. We can see that the thoughts we’re having are causing us to feel uncomfortable.
We can know that it’s all ok, and we can see it for what it is. A very human experience of thinking and the resulting feelings constantly passing through. We can know that it’s normal, and nothing to worry about, and we can know that it’ll be gone again before long if we don’t interfere, and if we can be kind to ourselves in the process.
We can know that nothing is wrong with us, and that we’re perfectly well at our core. That within the place of wellbeing that exists within all of us, underneath the personal thinking, is a wisdom that’s always available.
We can know that our spinning minds don’t mean that anything is wrong or that anything bad is going to happen – as it’s so easy to assume. But simply that an alarm is going off to tell us that we’ve lost sight of the connection to the deeper, wiser parts of ourselves and who we really are. This part of you is signaling to you and trying to get your attention. It’s helping you.
The less attention we pay to our habitual thinking, and the more awareness we place on the wisdom and the wellness within us, the more we’ll hear it when it has something to say.
A knowing will come from this place. Things that feel nourishing and joyful will come from this place. Advice on what you should do will come from this place, and it will feel calm and peaceful. This is how you’ll know it’s coming from your wisdom, and not from your limited thinking.
The more we can tap into this wellspring of knowledge within us, the safer and more relaxed we’ll feel.
The more we listen to our inner voice, the more guided and supported we’ll feel, and the more relief, happiness and ease we’ll experience moment by moment.
So, do what you can to make space and honour the connection with this deeper part of yourself. Prioritize self-care so that you’re still and quiet enough to hear what your wisdom wants to share with you on a regular basis.
When you’re aware of this connection you’ll never need to feel lonely again.
It’s a constant and lifelong friend, and it will always lead you true.
With love,
Kelly x