started to experience some inner calm, some sense of peace, maybe a feeling of
connection? Hopefully you have become a bit hooked on meditating and have resolved to make it part of your routine.
No? It’s not too late. If you do no other change or add nothing else to your life, you will never regret meditating. I promise. Start again; start now. (Go back and read Get Inspired #1)
For all of you who have been anxiously awaiting Part 2.....
Step # 2 for getting inspired is all about your thoughts.
As I indicated in step #1, engaging in your thoughts and observing your thoughts are very different activities with very different results. When we follow our thought trails we easily become entangled and very likely stagnated. By observing our thoughts we come to realize that we choose them, not the other way around and that, my friend, is huge.
How To Observe Your Thoughts
As you are meditating or right after you finish meditating, try to capture a thought. Perhaps
choosing one that consistently invades your mediation, or one that has a particular emotional charge.
Then, ask this thought some questions. (I actually write these out – ‘have a conversation with my thoughts,)
What exactly are you saying to me?
Is what you are telling me absolutely true? (Hint: There are really only 2 things we can know for sure; 1) we exist and 2) whatever we think we know for sure, we could be wrong.)
How does this thought I’m thinking make me feel?
How do I behave when I feel this way?
What are the consequences of this behaviour?
Are these the results I really want in my life?
Is there a better thought I can think or a better story I can tell myself, right here, right now?
If this results in better feelings, resulting in better behaviour, then I choose this new thought.
This seems that it would take a long time, but it really doesn’t. Once you get over feeling weird talking to your thoughts, you will be amazed at how much fun this is and how good you feel after.
Once your thoughts have had a chance to be ‘heard,’ it is as though you’ve done some mental house cleaning and you have now made room for inspiration to knock, or move right on in.
Any questions?
What should you do when you get an inspiration? Let’s think on it and talk next week!