I have already been up 2 hours on this Saturday morning and have experienced a dramatic little miracle that has me believing that the universe is totally on my side today!
So since I have the adrenaline and my arm is feeling pretty good right now I thought I would blog. Woohoo!
I have been doing a lot of soul searching and research (i.e. listening to self help audio books), and I am really working towards becoming my authentic self and living my true life.
And one of the practices I am learning is conscious thinking--which I tried to introduce to you guys a while back before I wallowed back into the funk again.
But I am back out of the funk (yay me!), so let us take another look at conscious thinking, and what it can do for you.
Conscious thinking is simply becoming more aware of your thoughts.
“Our thoughts become our words, our words become our beliefs, our beliefs become our actions, our actions become our habits, and our habits become our realities.”
~Jen Sincero "You are A Badass"
As I have learned in therapy, and in all my research, we have much more control of our minds than we could ever imagine. We have the power to reprogram our brains and our lives! Human beings are pretty friggen amazing.
In fact, yesterday while I was at my therapy appointment, my counselor gave me such a simple image that really struck a chord with me-- and I wanted to share it with all of you.
Imagine sitting down and stressing over your bills. (We all do this.) But while you were stressing out, have you ever once stopped to just sit and feel the chair underneath you? Have you ever just stopped and thought, "Wow. Chairs are pretty amazing. I don't have to sit on the cold hard floor. I am thankful for this chair and the comfort it brings me"?
By choosing to acknowledge that you are thankful for the chair doesn't mean you ignore the bills, but you shift your focus. The bills will come and go. They are part of life. (And remember bills mean you have electricity, water, and other services to be thankful for). But the chair is there for you everyday, brining you comfort--and I bet you have never stop to think about that.
Want to change your life? Change your thoughts. Want to change the world? Change your heart.
I am going to give you a few simple ways to start introducing conscious thinking into your lives today so that maybe you can practice at it and find yourself living a more authentic, truthful, and happy life.
1. Redirect Your Negative Thinking:
This activity is one my counselor gave me yesterday, and it is a simple one that anyone can do. You may have even heard of this technique but for different circumstances.
The goal here is to help you become more aware of your negative thoughts, and to help you start replacing them with positive thoughts. And you are going to do this by wearing a rubber band around your wrist and popping it (gently--please be sensible and use caution) every time you have a negative thought. Then to retrain your brain, you are going to replace that negative with a positive. Pretty Simple.
I think I am going to start this one today!
2. This Is Good Because:
This is an exercise that I found in one of my favorite books, "You Are A Badass" by Jenn Sincero.
With "This is Good Because," you are going to practice conscious thinking by pausing each time a negative situation occurs so that you can find the good in it.
Like for instance you spilled milk on the floor this morning. Instead of crying over spilled milk (ha! see what I did there), you could say, "Well this is good, because I needed to mop the floor anyways." Ultimately this practice teaches you how to learn healthier reactions and responses to the little quirks and situation life likes to throw at us. Because let's face it, even if you are the most positive person on the planet, sh*t still happens sometimes. But the way you keep winning at life and stay sane through it all is by building up a smart and positive response system.
Remember, "Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90% of how you react to it."
3. Conscious Writing
There are lots of different examples I can give for conscious writing. But because the book I am reading (listening to) right now has many conscious writing prompts, I am going to share some of the ones I have already done with you. The book is called Fulfilled: How The Science of Spirituality Can Help You Have a Happier, More Meaningful Life. You do not have to believe in God, to enjoy this book and to appreciate the science of spirituality. In fact, you can substitute a greater power (God), with love if you want--but I promise you by listening to (or reading) Dr. Anna's book and doing the exercises, you will find that there is a true benefit to freeing your soul from the negative thoughts your brain has been programed to accept and becoming a more "truer" authentic you. In the book, Dr. Anna gives several different practical ways to introduce conscious thinking into your lives, but I personally enjoy the writing exercises the most.
In this form of practicing conscious thinking you are given a writing prompt--something you can reflect on. Then you are to take that prompt and write about everything that comes to mind, without any pausing for 5 minutes. You should not stop or correct any thoughts or mistakes, you should just continue a steady flow of writing (or typing). Writing like this focuses on the thoughts that are forming in the moment. These thoughts are your truths.
"Perfection is the enemy of truth and authenticity so please do this exercise as imperfectly as possible."
I am going to share the first two sets of writing prompts from the book, so that you can try a little conscious thinking, if you would like.
The first set focuses on Your Deepest Desires:
Remember that you will be writing on each of these subjects at 5 minute intervals. Write freely and from your heart
1. What do I most deeply desire.
2. Do I deserve something even more deeper than that?
3. What surprised me in this exercise?
4. What is holding me back from actualizing what I want most deeply?
5. If I wanted to activate my most deepest desire, what would my first step be?
The next set focuses on: What Is Stopping Me From Living My Truth?
1. If I allowed myself to fully live my truth, how would my life be different than it is now?
2. What are my most common rationalizations? What purpose do they serve in my life? How do these rationalizations keep me from living my life fully?
3. What am I really afraid of? When does my logic most disagree with my instinctive reaction?
For a different, but highly effective conscious writing exercise I adore, click here .
Alright everyone! I hope I brought some enlightenment into your day! Don't forget to dream big, live bigger, and believe in yourself! Love you all.
As always, please keep praying for our world. Pray for our country. Pray for my family. Pray for me. Pray for you! And always always pray for my sweet sweet Elijah.
Thank you thank you thank you!
Oh my sweet boy.
Such a funny face you are making in this photo.
But also so such a face of wonder.
You were one bright baby!
I think you had all the answers all along.
We are so blessed to have held you.
I love and miss you so much.
Always.
<3
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