Monday, January 20, 2014

BEING AWARE OF YOUR THOUGHTS

In the article, New Year’s Resolutions 2014: 14  Ideas and Goals to Adopt for the New Year,   Philip Ross ranks “to be more positive” as Goal #4:

“Being positive can do wonders for your psyche. It can also have a desirable effect on your overall health. Studies have shown a correlation between positive thinking and increased life span, lower rates of depression, better resistance to the common cold, lower levels of stress and better coping skills during adversity.

It’s as simple as looking in the mirror and saying, “I love my hair today!” instead of, “That zit on my cheek is hideous.”

There is no question that a positive outlook can improve your health and well-being. My  health drastically improved when I began to adopt positive thinking into my every day life. But before I turned the corner and made a conscious effort to be on the sunny side of the street, I had to do one essential and necessary thing.


I had to BE AWARE OF MY THOUGHTS!!!!

Most of us go through our lives, completely oblivious to the chatter that is going on inside of our heads. My "AHA" moment came after reading this passage from “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.


“Your mind is an instrument, a tool. It is there to be used for a specific task, and when the task is completed, you lay it down. As it is, I would say about 80 to 90 percent of most people’s thinking is not only repetitive and useless, but because of its dysfunctional and often negative nature, much of it is also harmful. Observe your mind and you will find this to be true. It causes a serious leak of vital energy.”- Eckhart Tolle

The concept of “observing the mind’ was not foreign to me.  Both Dr. Rasa and Dr. Gurevich made me aware of unresolved negative thought patterns that had been looping around  my head for years. Through their guidance, I was able to bring these harmful  patterns into my consciousness, unblock them and  ultimately, heal. This therapy was so profound in my healing, that I have come to believe that the root cause of my chronic health issues was unresolved emotional trauma. But I also believed that I needed a practitioner to help me to uncover these buried patterns. 

Until now

Through Tolle’s enlightened words, I became the observer. I became conscious.  And it was at that moment, that I realized that….Are you ready? 

I had the power to choose my thoughts! I had the power to change my thoughts so that my thoughts SERVED ME.

Tolle was right! As I became the observer, I became aware that most of my thoughts were not happy, loving thoughts! Most of my thoughts were not helping me.  And many of these negative thoughts originated from painful memories from my past that would surface through  seemingly benign triggers.  One trigger  that  would pop up almost on a monthly basis was…getting a  hideous zit on my face!

I had acne as teenager. This did a number on my psyche. I felt ugly. I felt unlovable. But most of all, I felt like God was punishing me!  I became  worried and anxious  every time a pimple blossomed and erupted on my face. This anxiety that I developed wasn’t helping to clear up my face. I was unknowingly creating a negative image of myself.   And to add to my angst, my well-meaning but overly  observant parents, were also obsessing over my zits.        

I felt like I was trapped!

With the help of dermatologists and treatment, my acne finally disappeared. But the emotional scars were still there. I had given myself a negative thought pattern related to pimples that would stay with me through most of my adulthood. Whenever I would get my period or get stressed, like out of the blue, a pimple or two would appear. Just noticing the pimple would trigger my sub-conscious thoughts into a negative spiral of anxiety and BAM!  I was back to my self-loathing teenage years all over again! And this was all from one pimple!


No matter how hard I tried to focus on one of my positive physical attributes like my “beautiful hair” for instance,  I could not get the “hideous” zit(s) out of my mind. I was stuck in this feeling of being punished, ugly and unlovable. I was stuck in this emotional drama from my past. And I had no idea how harmful and unhealthy this thought was to me. 

When I finally became the observer, I began to realize that many of my thoughts  were going into my past and even my future and making me absolutely miserable!

I became conscious of my thoughts and my life changed in a more positive and healthier direction. I  also became  aware that I could CHOOSE my thoughts. So I started  to choose thoughts that served me!

“Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in it.” – Eckhart Tolle

My zit anxiety  finally resolved just a few years ago. Through Mental Field Therapy, I was able to unblock this negative thought pattern and dissolve it. And the best part is…I did this on my own!

Yes, I did this on my own!

And you can, too! Everyone has the power to drop the negative chatter in their heads and replace the noise with harmony and light.

You have the ability…to change your thoughts to be more positive and loving.

But first, you need to be the observer and… BE AWARE OF YOUR THOUGHTS!!

Then it is possible, with a conscious effort, to transform your life!

And this is a goal that we can all aim for in the new year.

Blessings!

To be cont…