How we Think

Few people realize how their mind is actually is working. I am not talking about the neurology of the brain, but rather simply our layers of thinking.

We have our conscious thoughts which are the thoughts we almost choose to think and are involved in our decision process when we have almost a dialogue in your brain about what we will do.

We then have our subconscious thoughts that are constantly hammering away in the background and generally we pay no heed to them. But as soon we start to focus on these unconscious thoughts we can bring them into our conscious and analyze them.

Our background (or as I like to call them secondary) thoughts are at the forefront of who we are as a person. They highly impact our decision making even though many people are not even aware of them. I have heard people refer to these thoughts also as the “little voice in their head”. Often this voice is what tells people they can’t do something. It is the secondary thoughts that flash through our mind at the last moment before we are about to approach the man/woman we like, or apply for that dream job, or ask our boss for a raise; it is the the voice that says don’t bother ever writing a book – no one will read it, or doing what you really want is a childhood fantasy and can’t be reality.

If you tune into this thought process right as you are experiencing that doubt, you will likely see those quick extemely negative thoughts that are running through your mind. You may have even already witnessed this seemingly self-destructive alter ego, but did not know what to do about it.

Our secondary thoughts are the beliefs that we have picked up throughout our life from what we have witnessed and experienced often in a repetitive fashion. They also come from people we have built up and thus take their words or actions without filtering what is being said as truth. Even further we may have picked up our beliefs when we were vulnerable or suceptable to implementation of false beliefs that either rationalized or helped temporarily ease our pain.

The beliefs we have picked up that divert us from following a path that we truly want to journey down in life are the beliefs we need to become aware of and correct.

Often simply becoming aware of this thought process is enough for us to analyze the belief that is portrayed in the thought and realize that it is based on faulty logic. We can then begin to change that belief by realizing where it may have come from in our past (so we don’t repeat the same mistake of adopting that belief again) or simply dismissing it in some cases because is so overtly outrageous.

We may have by repetition and cummulative experience around us made the assumption that no one is truly happy, and thus by adopting this belief came to the conclusion that we could not be truly happy either – nor should we be. Obviously, when we just think about this, it does not seem right. Why can’t everyone be happy? Why can’t I be happy? Of course you can, but even though you may accept that on a conscious level, your subconscious has accepted the first belief that you will not be happy, and so you are not. Each attempt you make at being happy is thwarted by your own belief system that no one can attain true happiness.

To correct this or any problem you need to first become aware of the thoughts that are going through your mind. And then you can either try to dismiss them simply by not thinking about them and choosing to disregard them when the thought is going through your mind right before you intend to do something – in other words, act regardless of the thought and thus create a new experience to base a new more positive belief on. This is probably the most effective and the result are instant (you start doing what you intend to do) but can be difficult to actually implement. Or you can do a “melting” exercise (I will soon be posting a exercises/meditation page) or you can begin to replace that negative belief with a positive one. This last one is quite affective, but it will take some time to let go of the old belief and replace it.

To replace the old belief with a positive one, you must be extremely repetitive in consciously thinking about this new positive belief. It will eventually become your default response and you will be freed from the negative secondary thought. In essence your secondary thought (although now I guess you could say it is conscious) will be the positive one you hammered into your skull.

In conclusion we must be aware of the negativity that is hidden within us that makes us deviate from the path we want to be on. Once we are aware of this negativity we can begin to work on changing it. If negative thoughts we preventing us from enjoying our journey or preventing our true journey it will be impossible to reach peace and true happiness. Take heed in the knowledge that nothing is beyond your grasp and your path to happiness may not be as tough of a road as you may think.

This is basic psychology but it can greatly aid us in our spiritual journey.