The Importance of Choosing Our Thoughts Wisely!

Welcome to my evening brain rant below. This is the sort of thing I think about all day, so kudos to you if you can follow along!

Visualization: the practice of using mental imagery to affect the outer world by changing our thoughts and expectations.

Law of Attraction: the belief that “like attracts like” and that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, we can bring about positive or negative results.

Prayer: the act of communicating with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity.

These all essentially centre around the same theme. They are about focusing on our dreams or desires, throwing the energy into the universe and calling them back to ourselves in order to make them happen. There are several other similar concepts but these are just a few.

Now the next thing. Filtering.

Filtering: is the process of noticing external information that is relevant to what our mind is focusing on, whether consciously or subconsciously. These make up our perceptions. And our perceptions shape everything we believe about the world and how we experience it.

 So, when we throw our energy into the universe, we allow our minds to filter the information that comes in and we begin noticing everything that is related to it. This can either be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on what we focus on.

There are also two concepts that capture unique filtering, when we notice information in an unexpected and meaningful way. They are the:

Baader–Meinhof Phenomenon: “the phenomenon where one happens upon some obscure piece of information– often an unfamiliar word or name– and soon afterwards encounters the same subject again, often repeatedly. Anytime the phrase “That’s so weird, I just heard about that the other day” would be appropriate, the utterer is hip-deep in Baader-Meinhof.”

and

Synchronicity: the experience of two or more events as meaningfully related, where they are unlikely to be causally related. The subject sees it as a meaningful coincidence.

So what is my point? Well, our brains are wired to notice patterns and filter for these patterns, and we don’t necessarily have conscious control over it.

The conclusion? We’re only limited by our thinking. Therefore, it is SO important to be carefully selective of the thoughts we have inside our heads. If we can master our thoughts, this can lead to wonderful things!

We’ve all known that person or friend who keeps telling us how unlucky they are, and how nothing ever works out for them. And we see it again and again. Their car gets broken into, they choose people in their life who are bad for their soul, they stick around on a job where they are treated like crap, they’re always in debt and as a result their life is never what they want it to be. They don’t see what’s beyond the moment, and think they are completely stuck. And we think to ourselves, of course if you think that, that’s the life you’re going to have. (I realize there are many arguments for this, but bare with me)

I like to take synchronicity a step further, and believe when we start noticing these meaningful patterns/filters/coincidences, then that is when things are starting to line up for us. When we start living according to our values, and when our dreams or desires come from a genuine place within our true selves, things will start to fit together like puzzle pieces that are meant to be. I know some people will disagree and choose a more scientific approach but in my experience it has worked out this way anyhow, so I’ve taken a spiritual approach.

Anytime I’ve wanted something SO badly, and it was RIGHT for me and was lined up with my values and who I wanted to be, it has worked out. There were times when I’ve wanted things badly, but they didn’t work out, but in retrospect, they were very very bad for me but I couldn’t see it at the time.

With all that being said, here are some techniques on how we can filter our minds and create the life we want!

• Strengthen your mind and learn to focus and choose what your thoughts are, instead of letting them choose you.  In the book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, there is a technique using a rose. Find a silent place and a fresh rose, stare at the the heart of the rose, the inner petals, concentrating on the folds of the flower, the texture, etc… push away other thoughts that come to you and do it for 5 minutes, and gradually increase the time up to 20 minutes a day.

• Write a list of words of how you want to feel. Read them out loud to yourself every morning and evening. Or place them in an area you will always look at, such as a post-it note on your computer screen. You will filter for these emotions and notice you will start feeling them.

• Keep your goals constantly and obsessively at the front of your mind. Let every step you take be a step closer to that goal. Take action and seize any opportunity that brings you toward your dream. It’s one thing to want something, but if we just sit there and don’t act on it, then it’s just a dream, and will not become reality.

• Get rid of negative or distracting thoughts. Remember, what other people think of you says more about them than it does about you. Banish negativity from your thoughts and don’t filter for them.

• Know what you value, and make sure every decision you make lines up with these values. The more you do this, the closer you will get to happiness, and the life you want.

Remember, anything that you are constantly thinking about, will be what you manifest into your world. If you’re obsessing over losing weight, you’re probably noticing everyone else’s weight and how it compares to yours. If you are looking for a new bicycle to purchase, you will start noticing all the bicycles around you and their various styles. And most importantly, if you focus on fear, it will hold you back, and we don’t want that, do we!

Yep.

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