Thoughts…What are they good for?

Thoughts, we are collectively having lots of thoughts in this isolation period we are in. Good thoughts and bad thoughts, crazy-making and sometimes violent thoughts, fearful and worrisome thoughts and even thoughts about possibilities for change in our lives. No matter where you are during this pandemic, you are probably having some of these same thoughts, perhaps many of them.

And what these thoughts have reminded me of is that our feelings and the way we see the life around us has a direct relationship with the thoughts we are focusing on. If we are having lots of great thoughts then life feels, well, great. If we are thinking worrisome thoughts, then life feels not so great. And whatever mindset we are in, we can find lots of examples to support that way of thinking!

This is not to say that we are bad for having these thoughts or life doesn’t have challenges for many of us now (and always). It IS to say that we have complete control of our thoughts, which is especially good to remember when many things seem out of our control at the moment. And, because we are all in this interesting isolation experiment together. It might be good to experiment with where you are putting your mental energy. What do you really want to bring into you life? Let your thoughts support that.

The more we focus on something, the more we it creates our reality as we see it. Here is a controversial example to make my point from an experiment performed on April 5th, 1968 by Jane Elliott, a third grade teacher. On the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, she wanted to give a lesson on racial prejudice to her students. So, she divided the children (who were all white) into two groups based solely on eye colour - blue eyes in one group and brown/hazel eyes in the other. She told the students that those in the brown eye group were smarter, faster and better than those in the blue eye group. Then, she saw how with this new thought in their minds that they began to act as either superior or inferior based on this new knowledge. Five minutes before the lecture, they were friends and five minutes after they were enemies all because of a thought!

Now, a questioning mind, especially in the face of something that seems to challenge your deepest senses. If you add in a compassionate heart to lead this conversation is a powerful way to transform your life. The questioning mind and the heart are needed together. If we, in my humble opinion, are going to collectively evolve as a species and move into a higher vibration beyond the petty that I believe we all want, then we need a new awareness of our thoughts. We will need find a loving way to hold them, act on the one’s which service our highest purpose and surround ourselves around those that support this desire. This will allow them to take hold and bit by bit shift the way we view life and the world around us. Everyone has this ability, however, it requires effort by each of us to step up and love ourselves enough to say yes I am the master of my thoughts. As we move through this process, remember to be gentle and forgiving as this is a life journey and you are worth the effort!