Do you have a hard time silencing your mind? Do you have thoughts that seemingly come from nowhere and control you and keep you anxious and worried? Are you, like me, looking for more peace in your mind?
There are some people who have the “your thoughts are not your reality” thing all figured out. I’m not one of them. There is a fearful and judgmental committee that occasionally hangs out between my ears. It says things like, “Be successful, look cool, be more content, be funnier, don’t be a dork, and fit in.” Sometimes, it even says, “If they know you, they won’t like you. Don’t be You.” I know, right? Not cool. How about you?
What thoughts does your fearful mind relay to you?
Don’t get me wrong; your mind and the thoughts that arise from it are a crucial part of keeping you alive. They gauge true danger, and send you a hormonal signal when you should be experiencing fear, such as to run like hell when you’re being chased by an angry lion.
Yet many times, your mind creates thoughts of doubt and fear without any actual danger, like not being good enough, not succeeding, not being liked, being alone, or fearing rejection. Those thoughts aren’t reality. They aren’t an angry lion chasing you…yet they appear as reality and can still activate your hormonal responses of “fight, flight or freeze.” They have a way of perpetuating fear and anxiety. Like I said earlier, “not cool.”
Why does your mind create pesky little thoughts to keep you from experiencing life as it is, right here and now?
Why does it tell you elaborate, yet false, stories that create sadness and depression or fear and anxiety? An opinion: To avoid your present moment and to control you. To keep life “safe and predictable.”
Losing control is your mind’s greatest fear, so it compares all of your experiences to your past and makes judgments on what is okay and what isn’t. If you’re avoiding stepping into something new and possibly awesome, it’s because your fearful mind has connected to a time in your life where you felt pain, rejection or failure.
Your mind would rather keep you in a box where it knows what to expect than take that chance into unknown territory.
It will create all kinds of reasons to prevent anything it can’t control, anything new or extreme, like the agonizing feelings of pain, grief, and sadness, but also the powerful feelings of vulnerability, love, and tenderness. It’s trying to keep you from living from your heart because “it thinks” you will get hurt.
But not living from your heart IS hurting you, because being controlled into a “safe and predictable” life is killing your spirit.
If you want true peace of mind, you have to journey from your mind to your heart and listen, connect with and respect your heart’s messages. You become loyal to the messages coming from your heart and asking your mind to be a submissive servant to your heart’s guidance. This is how you find the peace in your mind that you seek. Your mind is creating doubt and fear, and your heart is creating expansion and love. It’s really quite simple, and it’s really not easy. You’re welcome 🙂
You can start by asking yourself one question, “Am I choosing love or fear?”
If you’re experiencing resistance, doubt and fear, you’re being controlled by your fearful mind. If you’re experiencing peace and love, you’re leaning into your highest good and honoring the wisdom of your heart. Your heart knows your truth…there’s really nothing to “think” about. It trusts, accepts, flows…it wants you to experience your life to the fullest…it always chooses love.
Your mind says, “Don’t do that, you might get hurt.” Your heart responds, “Step in. Live. You will hurt if you don’t do it.” You are here to expand and grow, not to become who you’re “supposed to be” but to “BE who you are.”
So, two choices. Always. You can slice it up anyway you want, but you can choose love and walk toward your highest calling, toward your God, toward peace of mind…or you can choose fear, and walk away from your true calling, from your God, from expanding, from your highest “self.”
Two choices.
It seems easy, but it isn’t. Your fearful mind is loud and anxious and scared and controlling. Your warrior heart is quiet and powerful and unafraid and peaceful. Your heart is waiting for you to choose love…it won’t pressure you…it will be patient…and it will overflow with joy when you hear it louder than the thoughts from your fearful mind.
It takes conscious practice. Listen in meditation…your heart is communicating with you. Listen when you feel peace-full and loving…your heart is expanding and connecting with you. Listen when you’re in pain…your heart is with you, not avoiding pain like your mind is trying to do, but feeling, honoring, and moving through it with you.
You are going to have times when you experience life in the extremes…extreme joy and extreme pain. The extremes will teach you the beauty of living in the “middle,” a place where “peace of mind” truly exists and a place of tremendous love, grace and harmony. A place where you hear your warrior heart as your loudest voice and your True North.
p.p.s. Cool image credit to HeartandBrain.Coffee