We are nothing but patterns

Kind of enlightening and empowering at the same time isn’t it?

When I first heard this yesterday it struck a chord within me. You see, I’ve been delving into the work and research behind the sub/conscious mind and everything is about patterns. If you remember this post, about 95%+ of our thoughts are mere repeats of what we were thinking the day before, and likely the days before that!

Simply acknowledging the fact that our brains are on constant repeat is power enough to know we can change the track.

So how do you change the track?

To start, I believe your state is everything. Are you in a high state or are you in a low state? Are you stressed, tired, or cranky? If you’re in a low state it will be much harder to get yourself to change the track. There are several ways to get yourself into a higher state:

• Take a deep breath in for 6 seconds, hold for 2, and let it out slowly for another 6 seconds. Do this several times.
• Try a cold shower, and I mean COLD!
• Go for a run or a HIIT workout
• List out your gratitudes
• Hug a tree

If you already have too much momentum going in a low state it might be time for a nap. Let it go. Accept where you are for the rest of the day and let your body and mind rest when you go to sleep at night. Remember, when you first wake up for a night’s sleep or a nap, this is when your mind is fresh and can start anew with higher state momentum.

Speaking of letting it go, let it go. Take a few solid minutes to observe why you hold the current patterns, whether it’s a way of thinking, the repeat stories you’ve been telling yourself, or actions, to such a high degree. Often times we are wound up so tightly in ways we don’t even realize this very thing end up running our lives on autopilot.

Need to let go of your high expectations of yourself and others? Or maybe you need to let go of the need to be perfect? There are a multitude of ways in the form of stories, habits, or negative self talk that we unconsciously allow to run our lives. Take a few solid minutes to truly become aware of this, and then let it all go.

Changing the track won’t happen overnight but I’ve found that building on each day will build enough momentum to see positive results. Here’s a few practical methods that have helped me over the past few years:

• Gratitude Journal: I’ve said it before and I will say it again. There is something about writing out everything that you are thankful for. And I mean everything. Write every little thing, however mundane, down until you reach the end of the page. You’ll slowly start to realize how much there is to be grateful for.
• Brighter Images: This is an NLP technique (neuro-linguistic programming) that helps to grow your positive experiences. Take a moment to think of a moment where you were in alignment, at ease, laughing, and happy. Don’t just remember it, feel it. Feel the sensation in your body and slowly start to remember exactly where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing, anything and everything you can remember about the moment. Another key point as you are feeling the sensations in your body is to actually experience the moment as if you were there and not to view the experience from afar. Then, when you’ve reached this moment, imagine the picture of this moment growing brighter and brighter.  By doing this with each positive experience you have as you go about your life you are putting emphasis on the positive experiences. Something that is very important for those that tend to ruminate on the negative experiences from the past or worry about the future.
• White Screen: This is another NLP technique. Remember how the screen turns white at the end of a reel at old movie theaters? Switch to the white screen whenever you become aware of your mind repeating the same negative scenario, problem, or story. The goal here is to break the cyclical nature of the same old loop you are running in your mind. Do this as often as possible until you are able to focus on the present moment.

The mind is a force of it’s own and it’s been interesting to see the correlations between the power of the subconscious and various spiritual texts.

Excited to dig into this 🙂

Namaste.