Train Your Thoughts for a Peaceful Life

Our thoughts create our experience. From the time of Buddha, this has been a truth revealed to us as humans. Unfortunately, for many of us, we have no formal training in how to manage our thoughts and therefore have some control over our experience. Instead, we form a habit of looking for what is wrong or what is missing. We go over mistakes from our past and worry about the ones we may make in the future. And then we wonder why we are anxious, depressed, irritable and unable to fall asleep.

You could embark on the path of meditation. You could also enter therapy to notice your thoughts and decide which ones to keep and which ones to discard at any given moment. But, you already know this. This information has been around since the 60s. You don't want to (and I don't either) for several reasons including: it's too hard, it's expensive and it's time consuming.

So what to do? Find a mantra. What's a mantra? It's a simple sentence that you can repeat to yourself over and over, when you are driving, when you are falling asleep, when you are worried. It is a focal point for your untrained mind. It is the habit, the habitual thought, that will replace your current habit of random fears and judging others.

I have some suggestions, but I strongly urge you to find your own. It should be FUN to find your mantra. And it should create a feeling in you that calms and comforts you. It should seem like a universal truth to you, not wishful thinking or positive thinking.

"Thank love for this moment in its perfection."
"I can do all things through (Christ, Buddha) who strengthens me."
"In this moment, everything is okay."
"I am supported in each moment."

Thoughts are not benign. They literally create reactions in our bodies. These reactions range from adrenaline surges to dopamine releases; cortisol and hormones. Your physical body's state will determine how you feel. And this feeling stems from the thoughts you are constantly thinking.

Choose your thoughts, choose your experience.


See Stephanie's site Work Stress Solutions for more information like this.