Where will those thoughts land?
We get to choose.
Yesterday I was faced with a few difficult situations. I took a wrong turn and ended up in a shopping mall different from the one I was meant to be in. Once I got where I was going, to pick up my new glasses from the optometrist’s office, the glasses were not correct. This was the second time they had made them for me and each time took two weeks. A month has gone by since the new prescription was written. I was not happy and got a bit grumpy.
Then a few other things happened that didn’t put a smile on my face. When was the last time you had your shoe fall off when getting into your car? Don’t laugh. Until yesterday, I could say it had never happened to me. I guess Mercury Retrograde and a full moon were having fun with me. I consciously reminded myself I could choose different thoughts and feelings. I reminded myself that none of these events were big deals and I made the decision to let them go and focus on the higher vision for my life. Before long, I felt much better.
According to the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at UCLA, the average person thinks about 70,000 thoughts per day. For people learning to meditate, I’m willing to bet that 69,000 of those happen during the first few minutes after beginning a meditation session!
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “We are what we think about.” Another way to say this that supports the idea of using visualization techniques is “We become what we imagine.” It is fascinating to pay attention to the thoughts that go through your mind every day. How many of those support you and what you’re trying to accomplish in life? Here’s an even more intriguing question: How many of those thoughts originate with you?
The twentieth century master Paramhansa Yogananda who came to the United States from India in the 1920’s taught: “Thoughts are universally and not individually rooted.” I will never forget the first time I heard that many years ago. I felt like someone had turned on a light for me.
“You mean all those thoughts that traipse through my mind aren’t my own? Well, then, whose are they and what are they doing in my head?” Thoughts are like radio, television, and cellular signals: they are always moving around in the ethers. They land when they find a compatible receiving device. You won’t hear the radio signals if your radio isn’t tuned to the station sending the signal. Same thing for television. And if your cell phone isn’t turned on, you won’t know someone is calling you.
And so for us. Where do we tune in? What signals are going to find us and land in our minds? How do we tune in to the kind of thoughts we want to see materialized in our lives and tune out the ones we don’t want? By being conscious of our mental focus as much as possible.
“Sure,” I hear you thinking, “How am I going to control 70,000 thoughts every day – surely you’re a dreamer!” One at a time. One at a time. Instead of simply being a receiver of all those thoughts floating around, how about tuning your thoughts in such a way that you are on the wavelength of positive, loving, creative thoughts that serve you?
Here’s how. Use a mantra. A mantra can be something as simple as words such as love, peace, God, or Light said over and over again. Or it could be a short affirmation phrase or part of a prayer or chant that resonates with you. Let the mantra become the background that plays constantly in your mind.
Ghandi used the name of God “Rama-Rama-Rama” over and over again. He quoted the Bhagavad Gita teaching that says the final thought we think determines which world we enter at the moment of our death.
It is also true that the thoughts we think all the time determine the world we enter while we live. The wonderful thing is we get to choose right here, right now. Will you allow yourself to sink into the world of depressing thoughts of lack and limitation that are floating around in the ethers seeking a place to land? Or will you boost yourself up to the level of thoughts of love, joy, and plenty that are floating around in the ethers seeking a place to land?
The next time you find yourself catching thoughts you don’t want to entertain, let them go and consciously choose ones that feel better. The more we practice this, the easier it becomes and fewer of those pesky, uphappy thoughts land in our minds. It is your choice. Make it wisely!
Living with grace and ease,
Krysta
