One of the toughest things for people to do today is not to be engaged in doing something or having ruminating thoughts running through their minds. It seems that we are always on the go; our bodies are on the go and our minds are on the go. Part of this way of living is one of the greatest contributors to many of the stresses we have in our lives. We have detached ourselves from the most important state there is—the state of being. It is only within this state that we find a deep sense of peace, joy, and stillness.
Each of us spends every waking minute thinking incessantly, most of the time about the same stuff that is just useless mind chatter. This mind chatter takes over our consciousness and although we are “thinking”, it is very unconscious thinking that is quite mind-numbing and disempowering in most cases.
An Exercise to Take a Break From Thinking
Think of how amazing it would be to break the cycle, break the routine, and just be. Imagine taking conscious control of your thoughts instead of letting them control you.
How can you achieve this? It all begins with AWARENESS. When you become aware of your thoughts, take a moment to realize what it is that you are thinking about. Once you are aware, focus on the MOMENT OF NOW. Take your thoughts away from the past or the future and just focus on the moment just as it is.
Finally, look around you and take in the world brand new, all over again. Look around and take in the sights, sounds, and smells around you without any judging, labeling, stereotyping, or any mental commentary. In other words, just allow yourself to be a silent observer and just be. Are you still aware of what your mind is doing?
At first, this may seem awkward and really hard for some of us but allow yourself to become aware of your thoughts every time they slip away from you and re-focus. It will take some practice but the more you engage in this practice daily, the more you will enjoy states of being with less exhaustive thinking.
You do not need to do this all day either. In fact, it would be quite impossible for most of us as we live and function if we did not have appropriate times dedicated to planning for the future and reflecting to learn from the past. Simply use this exercise to start a new trend in your life and see how good and freeing it feels. You will literally feel your stresses melting away when you focus on the present moment and become aware of your mental activity. Then, try to incorporate this non-thinking state more frequently each day to enjoy more peace of mind and wellbeing. Before you know it, you will have more conscious control of your thoughts and will enjoy the pure state of being more than you were ever able to before.
Benefits of Less Thinking And More Being
For starters, you will feel a decreased level of stress and anxiety. When you begin to be aware and control your thoughts, you start to be in control of choosing what you want to focus on and what you do not.
Secondly, you will increase your consciousness. This is huge on its own, as the more conscious you are the more you can be responsible for your thoughts, words, and actions. No more burst outs that you later regret, no more promises to people that tie you down to things you never wanted to do in the first place or things said that you later wish you could take back.
Thirdly, increase your accountability. No one is in charge of your life, but you. No one is pulling your strings. There is no one to blame for what you have or don’t have. But it is only through increased consciousness that you can increase your accountability. When you become aware of your thoughts you have greater control to make the right decisions for you and have the life that you truly want.
Fourthly, increase your life satisfaction. There is nothing more relaxing and more enjoyable than just enjoying your being. When we can stop thoughts and just observe, when we can hold our words and just be silent, it is only then that our eyes and ears perceive the wondrous things in this world that we miss on a daily basis due to our incessant and unconscious thoughts.
Finally, increase your creativity. When we are aware of our thoughts and enjoying being, it is then that our true self comes through loud and clear, and out emerge creative thoughts. You are a creator by nature and it is only when we silence the daily unconscious thoughts, that we can bring out our creative conscious thoughts. This is how people find meaning and purpose in their life and no longer go around wondering what is it all for and what is their purpose in this thing called life.
So enjoy yourself today by shutting down the wheels that constantly turn in your head with vicious thoughts and enjoy just being – being aware, being complete, and being YOU!