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Controlling your thoughts is not always easy–although it does become easier the more aware you are of what your mind is thinking. The ability to catch your thoughts and become the observer of them, as Michael Singer would say, is an important skill to work on.

I remember the first time I read about becoming the observer of my thoughts; my mind spiraled into confusion, trying to grasp how I could observe what I was thinking, as if I weren’t actually the one thinking it. And to be honest, I still can’t separate my Self from the thoughts (and emotions), but I can recognize when my thoughts are not serving me in a positive way–maybe that’s all Singer really meant, and it’s not as complicated as I have tried to visualize it to be.

The benefit of recognizing what you are thinking is that it allows you to change your thoughts or shift your focus to something else that serves you. For example, when something doesn’t go the way I want it to, and I’m frustrated or angry, I will eventually realize that my thoughts are negative and I will say to my Self, sometimes out loud, “Stop.” I’ll then turn my inner dialogue to remind my Self that if I don’t change my thoughts and energy, more is coming my way, and then I’ll intentionally find a silver lining in the situation or shift my thoughts to a positive experience from that day. Once I do this, it doesn’t take long for me to move past the anger or frustration.

I can’t prove it, but I believe this ritual has helped me avoid countless negative experiences, tons of stress, and maybe even worse.

Your mind really is that powerful, and ultimately, you have control over it–unless you have given that control over to others, which sadly so many people have.

I’ll touch on the web aspect of the mind being both one and many, and the spider analogy in a future Note, but today I wanted to first focus on the great force that your thoughts can be for your Self.

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC