Be Aware of Your Thoughts

The first piece I wrote “As Within, So Without” was about realizing that you create your own reality and that everything on the outside reflects what is on the inside. If you have come to a place where you can resonate with that a bit, then the next step is to learn to become aware of your thoughts. Our thoughts are powerful. Thoughts are energy in motion. Thoughts are things.

“A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction. Pioneering physicist Sir James Jeans wrote: “The stream of knowledge is heading toward a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter, we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter. (R. C. Henry, “The Mental Universe”; Nature 436:29, 2005)”

Quantum physics is crazy interesting! Although I am not an expert there, I did invest enough time into familiarizing myself with the basics in order to really take hold of the notion that I am a powerful creator. We are all powerful creators and physical manifestation begins with thought. (If the physics side interests you, or if you are skeptical, Deepak Chopra does a wonderful job of explaining how this all ties together. Tons of his material is readily available on YouTube for free but I have also included links to a couple of my favorite books below).

When I was able to grasp this concept, it became alarming to me how for most of my life, I really didn’t pay attention to the thoughts that were running through my head! I realized that for most of my life I had been letting my mind use me, instead of the other way around. Many of us do not realize just how powerful our mind is, and what an amazing gift we have been given. If we take it for granted and do not take the time to nurture and feed it constructive material, then ego will take over and run amok. That’s what the unchecked ego does.

Our ego was extremely beneficial for survival. That is where instinct comes from. Way back in the day when we were hunting and gathering we would not have been able to survive without it. Nowadays though, we almost never have to outrun lions, tigers, and bears. Most of us don’t have to worry about successfully hunting down an animal or else starve to death. While the media portrays all sorts of danger and destruction, the truth is, we have probably never lived a safer life than we do today.

Since the ego is essentially a survival tool, it makes sense that it is the “selfish” part of us. The part of us that gives no f*** about anyone else. Our ego is concerned only with self-preservation, self-elevation, and remains in a constant state of fear. It is the part of us that is concerned with me, me, me, mine, mine, MINE!! When you see little children play, and they both fixate on the same toy, what happens almost every time? It becomes a tug-of-war and the little tikes will fight to the death to get what is MINE! And then when one child finally wins the fight, they toss the toy by the wayside and move on to something else. It was not the toy that caused the scuffle, it was a battle of egos.

Since we are born with this, many of us grow up identifying with the ego. We think it is who we are (Eckhart Tolle writes about this extensively and I have also provided links to his books below. "A New Earth" is a book that had a profound effect on me and my understanding of the ego). We fight to the death to prove that who I am is better than who you are. You can see the same childlike scenario play out with adults every day if you look. How many times have you seen someone who is clearly wrong argue with someone and stand so firm in their wrongness that no matter what is in front of their face that proves them blatantly wrong, they will not budge? Or both parties could be wrong. Or both parties could be right. “Rightness” and “wrongness” really are not the issue at hand. It is nothing more than a battle of egos and when we identify with our mind, with our ego, rather than our true self we will hold tight to the dumbest of dumb just to preserve and elate the fragile little thing.

So it seems a little contradictory right? Here I am telling you how powerful your mind is, yet at the same time I’m telling you how damaging it is too. I’m telling you it’s not who you are. Yes. Yes I am. Your mind is not who you are. Your mind is a tool. And when you realize that, you can put it to constructive use rather than letting it make destructive use of you.

Who you really are, is the observer. The real you is the part of you behind all the madness. The real you is connected to all the pure positive love and energy in the universe. The real you has no physical body. The real you is the unseen energy force behind all that is physical. The real you is an extension of the all powerful.

Start today to try to catch yourself. Catch the endless, nonsensical chatter that runs on non-stop through your head. Take 15 minutes every morning to sit quietly. At first let your mind go and just notice the noise. It’s maddening! Yet most of us live every minute of every day with this screeching in the background and don’t even realize it’s there. Start to take note of when your mind runs away with you. Take note of when you are blowing things out of proportion and creating huge problems that don’t even exist except in your head!

Once you can recognize all the chatter, you can take steps to start to gain control over all of it. That is when you can use your mind as intended. You can use your mind to create thoughts that result in a life that is more favorable rather than letting the chatter create for you by default.

Eckhart Tolle's most popular book. It explains his personal journey and how he discovered his "real self."

More on the ego. This book really put the pieces together for me.

If you're interested in the amazing subject of quantum physics, this will entertain you.

An easy read but very informative.