As I sit here in my little part of the glorious world, I think about my positive consciousness and what I can do to try and make a difference today. I often do this in my morning affirmations and daily meditations – helps give focus to my day.
First and foremost, what will bring joy and help us all carry that smile? And what needs to be sorted today?
It is important to me to try to be mindful of how I think, as I know this will form the thoughts and actions as I move forward. I have learnt from my many wonderful years on this earth that this way of being creates a calmer environment and happier lifestyle for me and my family. But is it easy to do?
Hmm…. Is it? Well, I have to say it is something I have been practicing for some time now (and preaching to my family) but not always easy to achieve; especially if I am having a difficult time, feeling stressed or just down. During good times, it can be easy to be mindful and remember my mantra “thoughts create things”, but when one is not in that state of mind it takes effort and want to recycle those thoughts and turn them into a positive!
Is it possible to change actions of the past by recycling or changing how we think today? My answer is yes – I can only speak for myself, but I believe it works!
One example I often refer to concerned my beautiful daughter as a young teenager at boarding school – hope you don’t mind me sharing your story, darling? For some reason she occasionally erred on the negative side of life back then, often believing the following…. ‘This won’t work, no one will listen, it won’t be nice weather, it’s going to rain’ and so it went on. Bit of an Eeyore, from ‘Winnie the Pooh’!
So when she heard at the end of a summer term that it had been decided to reorganise the dormitory arrangements, she panicked and assumed the worst.
For many weeks of the holiday she spent the time saying ‘I don’t want this room’ and ‘I don’t want to share with this person’, until I said to her, “darling, instead of saying what you don’t want, let’s try and focus on what you do want” – change those words!”
So for the remainder of the summer holidays, she tried to refocus her thoughts and think about what she did want when school started again in the September – I kept my fingers crossed. And as if by magic it worked – she received what she had been asking for/thinking about, which was also a great reminder to me that it works.
I suppose negative/unhappy thoughts come in all shapes and sizes:
- Dislike of oneself
- Past experiences
- Patterns
- Pain
- Frustration at other people
- Or just anger at the world,
…and so the cycle goes on.
Unless we decide to retrain/recycle those thoughts, take some responsibility when required and learn to forgive, life will continue on the same path.
So, this is all well and good, but how can we try to look at making those changes?
I read a study once, that if you want to get rid of unwanted, negative – recycled – thoughts, try just ripping them up and tossing them in the bin. It was found that when people wrote down their thoughts on paper and then physically threw the paper away, they mentally discarded the issues as well.
I also wanted to share other methods that I use to help me remember my mantra – thoughts create things:
- Forgive yourself or another person, to move on from the past and release yourself from negative emotions and thoughts;
- Meditate. Meditation has been used for thousands of years to clear and free the mind;
- Exercise – if that’s your thing;
- Spend time with people you love;
- Say 20 times a day ‘I love and approve of myself’ and ‘today I choose me’;
- Try to let go and release the past;
- Be mindful;
- Stop feeling guilty;
- Smile, laugh and find the joy;
- Watch a funny film;
- Stop being a people pleaser and seeking approval from others – believe in your own intuition;
- Just do it! For one day do something that scares you, step out of that comfort zone and see how it makes you feel;
- Decide to recognise, honour and let go of toxic relationships;
- Visualise yourself as the person you want to be;
- Let go of those regrets – they serve no purpose now;
- And finally,… practice ‘self love’ 😊
I would be honoured to know how you try to recycle your thoughts and do let me know if you have any other methods that help – it’s a continuous journey.
