According to the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI), the average person has 70,000 thoughts per day or 48 thoughts per minute! That's impossible, right?! I don't know about you, but I sure didn't realize my mind was flying a mile a minute! Well, that explains why I'm such a scatterbrain! If you find yourself surprised by this as I do, chances are you are not consciously aware of your thoughts.
So why is this a problem? Our brains are like computers, downloading data and saving the information to recall at a later time. If we do not monitor the data we are receiving, we could end up being hacked. An easy example of this is the media, always urging us to be thinner and look prettier. This has been a constant message replaying in the background invading my mind since I was a child, and unfortunately, even now that I realize this and actively adjust my thoughts to a positive state of mind, we all know even if you delete a file, it's not really deleted. There is no fast easy way to just change our thoughts, just like there is no magic pill to lose weight overnight -- it takes exercise.
The purpose of meditation is to quiet the mind and listen to what the little voice in our head is whispering to us. Take ten minutes a day and just listen... Then write down every thought you had. Now I want you to analyze those thoughts. Every thought we have has an emotion tied to it, so how do these thoughts make you feel? Are they positive or negative thoughts and emotions? Do you believe them, or are they opinions from someone else that were repeated enough times so that now they stick in the back of your mind? Once we are aware of our thoughts and understand why we are thinking these thoughts, we can then begin to change them.
Again, let me stress that this is a daily exercise, and will not produce drastic results overnight, and you will not be able to leap from a negative thought straight to a positive thought. The Abraham-Hicks Emotional Guidance Scale explains that you can not jump from an emotion of worry to an emotion of joy. Smaller baby steps are required for you to believe your mind shift.
Here's an example, if I am currently thinking "I hate my body!" of course I want to change that thought, however, I can't just start thinking "I love my body!" There is no way I would believe that and feel better about my body instantly. So how can I get out of this negative mind frame? Well I know that "I have a body," this is a fact and it is a neutral thought that creates a neutral emotion. Once I have embraced this new thought, I can then begin to move towards a positive mindset.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg that is meditation. Meditation has many uses, and it all revolves around the power of your mind and spirit, so it's important to be self-aware of your thoughts. Be sure to practice meditation daily and we will dive deeper in a future post!
♥ Love + Light ♦
Danica Simone