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Dear Dishwasher,
How do I control my brain from thinking depressing thoughts? As thoughts
are things, it is very important to be careful that I don't waste my time
letting my brain conjure up such fearful and paranoid ideas that it likes to
dream up. Do you follow? Help! Help me train my brain! How??
Thank you.
Sandra
Hello My Dear Sandra,
I do believe there is a question in there somewhere between the pots and
the brains. Brains are very trainable. In fact, too trainable. Thought
patterns form habits. This feature of our brains defines us as human with a
subconscious packed full of habits and programs that run all by themselves
while we're free to do other things with our hands...like wash dishes. This
feature developed through evolution is a survival mechanism of adaptation.
To survive we had to learn to form habits like riding a bike and not think
about the pedals. What has happened is that your powerful survival oriented
brain has formed some habits of consciousness that you don't like.
The world is pretty divided over the question of how to change our
automatic thoughts, attitudes and behavior...hit the couch, pay $200 and
hour and learn all about how these habits were formed...that's one way. I
have found that to resist negative thoughts makes them more
powerful...remember they are survival oriented so when you threaten a
pattern of thought with the possibility of its demise, that thought pattern
will get defensive and start building resistance. This sounds kooky but you
have to seduce your thoughts into going away...love them...enjoy
them…simply observe them. This creates a separation inside your brain
between you the observer and your thoughts...you the observer is not
threatening so the thoughts should not get all excited...just observe them.
See what happens next...
This process is also called meditation. Go to http://www.shambhala.org/
for more on this, or try reading "Healing
Meditations" or "Insight
Meditation", also from Shambhala.
Yours sincerely,
The Dishwasher
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