Our mind is just one of the wonderful tools we have in our toolbox. These tools are at our disposal to help us work through the day-to-day adventures of our life. As with anything we plan to create, it is important that we learn to use our tools correctly and effectively! Would you select a hammer to cut a piece of wood? A screwdriver to loosen a bolt? Of course not, so after you have chosen the right tool for the job, it is equally important to know how to use that tool correctly. I certainly would want to know how to work a chainsaw before I made an attempt to use it to cut down branches in my yard!
Just as we use physical tools in this way, it is important to use our mental tools effectively, and it has become very apparent to me that we are misusing the most important tool we possess: our mind.
The mind is such a powerful tool. What we think about quite literally creates our reality, which is in itself an amazing thing. With our thoughts, we are able to concentrate energy and alter what we see in front of us, which in turn affects our emotions and directs our behavior. This is all wonderful, so what's the problem? Well, the problem is sometimes we allow our thoughts to run the show, rather than being the director of the show ourselves, which would not be a problem if our thoughts were all programmed to be sunshine and roses. Our egos and prior conditioning are the clouds that obscure the sunshine and roses, which can lead us down a path on which we are stuck in thoughts that do not serve us. When this happens, we allow negative or incorrect thoughts to guide the way we view the events around us.
Our mind is like a very special movie projector that happens to work both in both directions: It projects information, and it receives information. Think of your thoughts as "filters" that are placed over the lens of your projector. As I am sure you can imagine, the filters have an effect on the information that is presented through the projector. You see, we create the very view in front of us, as well as interpret all of the events around us through those filters. Sometimes the filters amplify things and distort things, which quite literally gives us false information to process in our mind. So, when things are not playing out the way we would like, when we cannot find the sunshine and roses, we need to step back and ask ourselves, "Is this all because of the way I am looking at things?"
We use our mind to help direct our life. We are in charge, and we do not have to think things that we don't want to think about. We can simply stop. It may take some practice, but this ability is absolutely within each and every one of us. The way I have found that I can best apply this advice in my life is to picture my body as an actual toolbox. In my toolbox are all of the tools I can use to run my life experience, and my mind is the ultimate master's tool! Now remember, I use my mind; my mind does not use me. When I find myself feeling upset, angry, rejected, jealous, or anything that puts me in a negative space, I mentally get out of my head and visualize myself as a puppeteer controlling the strings of a marionette. I do this to mentally separate myself from the thoughts that are causing me distress so that I can get out of my head and look at the situation objectively. When I do this, it allows me to choose how to react to situations (and I usually see that I am over-reacting!).
By getting out of my head, I can figuratively go into my mental projector room and remove any filters that I do not want on the lens of my mind. The more I do this, the easier it becomes. I have found a way to change the way I am viewing situations and stop the insanity, and maybe it will help you, too!
For more by Denise Scarbro, click here.
For more on the mind, click here.