Tag: mind

A funny thing

Posted on by philipdodson

It turns out we are rather good at that thing we’ve wanted to do but our mind has sabotaged us from trying it.

What happened? We decided to do it…1,2,3…let’s go. We braved it, we stepped out of our mind, we allowed the fear to be the guide instead of the inhibitor.

The things we fear are the things that matter and the more we fear the more they matter. Why? Because our mind is programmed to protect the self-image the same as our limbic system is designed to protect the physical us. So if a bus is hurtling towards us we react instantly thanks to our limbic brains.

The mind lives in the past or the future, constantly fueling the self-image and projecting forward looking for salvation or more of the same. So when we try to do something, the mind creates worry, anxiety, fear through future projections of what will happen if we try. The mind does not want anything to happen to the self-image so the future projections are usually gloomy.

The moment we step away from our thinking and just do, focusing on that thing and that thing alone, deep focus, then the mind is silent and disarmed. What happens then is we learn, get even better and realise the fear/worry/anxiety etc wasn’t real.

We realise that the thing we’ve wanted to do, we can and we can do it and enjoy doing it.

Stay away from the mind and a funny thing will happen, we’ll fear things less.

Being you

Posted on by philipdodson

The best thing in the world to do is be you.

Yet strangely it is the hardest to achieve.

It requires us to let go of our internal self-image that the mind will protect at all costs.

This requires taking a step off the highest diving board with no experience. But gradually it gets easier. It requires us to observe our mind and what that inner voice is saying without any judgement, simply listen to it.

Like a toddler throwing a tantrum, the less we react the more the tantrum subsides. So with the thoughts in our minds, which are primarily engaged with the past bad things that happened to us or invented bad things that are going to happen to us, if we leave them alone and simply listen, they subside as we feed them no energy.

If we give recognition to the negative thoughts of our mind and it’s constant effort to preserve this image we have created of ourselves, so it continues. Let go of this image and we can be truly ourselves.

It’s a hard path but one worth trying as real peace and happiness come when we are just us instead of being controlled by our minds.