Who is controlling thoughts? When I was young I was taught that I have happy thoughts and bad thoughts. I remember a story that was read to me. It was about the good angel and the bad angel who sat on my shoulders. The good angel whispered thoughts that were good. And the bad angel whispered thoughts that were bad. I loved when my mother would find time to read to me at bedtime. Little Tommy would be tempted to steal a bicycle, — or maybe it was a pair of skates that were fastened under his shoes, — from a neighbor’s house. He could be fooled into thinking that his actions were good when, in fact they were not good for him in the long run. After taking the skates, he had to return them. He felt oh, so bad. He had missed the happiness mark and was now separated from everyone else. He felt all alone by what he did and I felt bad for him. I was taught about choosing good and avoiding evil by hearing these stories over and over. The good angel sent happy emotions and the bad angel sent unhappy emotions. I was learning to listen to my emotions to help me make sense out of life.
In remembering this, I begin to check with what is serving up my inner conversations. I seem to Happy have a playlist that is not serving me at all. I want to keep checking these endless, inner conversations that produce and often times, prevent my actions.
Why is it important to run playlists that are happy? Happy thoughts serve me! Happiness allows actions that support health, wealth and peace of mind. Happiness produces clarity and stamps out confusion. Happiness allows love to energize me. Connect to feelings of happiness and I will act in ways that help me lose weight, create wealth, and live a peaceful life. Happiness is my guiding force to help me get what I want.
Who is the gatekeeper of thoughts, if not me?
I bring out all sorts of thoughts on any subject matter without even being aware of it. I can be unconscious and let an assortment of past experiences, mostly bad experiences, play on a looped setting. I can play this endlessly until I become conscious and choose to change my thoughts. If I check, I can recognize that only one thought can be entertained in any given moment. It is very reasonable then, to change my negative and hurtful thoughts to thoughts more positive and supportive of me.
Negative thoughts that are looped brings discouragement and self-doubt into my existence.
What does all this mean? How can I make a happy day out of this?
- Happiness is the core value of my life.
- Begin and end my day with a moment of quiet. Focus on nature: waves, trees, flowers, animals, rain, snow, sunshine. Focus without attaching any judgement or description to it. If I become aware that I am lost in thoughts about the tree, (like I find I am thinking about how dry the tree looks and how I better water it), I will bring myself back to meeting the object of my focus as if I have seen it for the first time.
- I have stopped the looped playlists when a deep breath, perhaps a yawn, takes place, but don’t wait for it… that will be a thought.
- Commit to regularly checking in with my feelings. When I am unhappy or anxious, I will veer my actions toward something I particularly like to do.
- New, improved actions can bring about new, improved thoughts.
- Keep refining a list of actions that particularly allow happiness to shine through to my conscious mind. Keep 5 actions updated and kept in a place I will view frequently during this day. Locate actions that increase my ability for happiness on a daily basis.
I am hopeful these two actions can help me change my direction
We have lots to do on this journey of life. If you haven’t The Longest Journey, perhaps that will be helpful also.
We are destined for an enjoyable life!
