Have you noticed the latest and hottest trend for the past few years has been how we can take care of our bodies? From the trendiest diet, lifestyle hacks, to exotic supplements that are guaranteed to have you performing like you’re 25 years old again, there’s an expert in every field promising a solution for any ailment you’ve ever experienced.
We’ve heard over and over again how important it is to exercise our body. To start lifting weights in order to prevent osteoperosis as we age, or to take tumeric so that we can decrease inflammation in the body, the list is endless!
But how about our minds? Our minds are the driving force behind how we function and why we’d want to function at all. It’s the one thing we rely on and most often, we rely on it without questioning – it’s on autopilot.
If we really understood the implications of autopilot, we’d want to recognize the importance of exercising our brain, our mind.
For reasons that are far better explained on the internet, we’ve survived millions of years due to one thing – looking out for danger. And unfortunately, while our basic needs are met, our brains have become so adapted to protecting us it’s the first thing that enters our mind. And in so doing we’ve allowed other, not so positive ways, to also enter our mind – comparing, judging, labeling, etc.
Our brains are wired to think and analyze because it wants to protect us. However, we live in different times! It’s time to recognize our thoughts as thoughts and most all of the time our brains have been habituated into thinking the same thoughts every day, all day – autopilot at work in its finest form.
If you’ve meditated for a while you know exactly what this means. You’re able to notice “Thought A” at it’s 50th time and not follow the story down another rabbit hole. You’re able to notice “Thought D” and see its very beginning stages of cycling up to “Thought A” status.
Which is why we must exercise our brains. Meditation is the most powerful tool out there. Coaching is another powerful tool in order to physically hear yourself talk and have that gentle reminder and support, verbally talking to yourself as if you’re a best friend is another powerful way in which you can get out of your head, automatic writing and burning the paper is another physical and visual way of getting it “out of your system”.
Little emphasis is spent on actually doing the work. Our minds cannot be controlled by a pill or a one-stop shop magical experience on psychedelics, and while this might help, our minds, just like our bodies, NEED TO DO THE WORK. It needs the daily exercise so that it doesn’t go off forming neural pathways in your brain that doesn’t serve your highest good.
So, what tools and techniques work best for you? What thoughts have run through your mind already this morning? Can you notice repetitive thoughts? And how do these repetitive thoughts make you feel? Do you see the causal effects?
We already know our brains, our minds, are powerful. In recognizing this we should treat our brains just as well as our bodies.
And don’t forget, this is a life long practice. Let’s do the exercise together in loving compassion for ourselves and others.
In wellness,
Susan
Photo by Avrielle Suleiman on Unsplash