We’ve all been there – Stuck in a loop of destructive thoughts, like a bad song you can’t stop singing. You try and try to stop, to no avail. Your best friend is helpless, doing their best to give you a shoulder to cry on or a drink to make you forget your sorrows. “Have a Drink on me!” Good luck with that. You seek professional help, and they tell you to try this and do that. Just “think positive thoughts!”
My favorite line – “Just be positive!” they say. How could I sing a song that isn’t this sad song stuck in my head like broken radio I have no control over?
Why you can’t get someone off your mind
Let’s start with the bad news – trying to get someone off your mind is not going to work. Don’t dwell on the bad news! Trying to get him off your mind won’t work, but it doesn’t mean you won’t get him off your mind!
Here’s some free advice that even the best meditation books won’t give you. Stop Trying! You simply cannot try to not think of something. Adults always challenge kids to ‘not think of a penguin, or an elephant’, just to watch them smile at their own failure of what they perceived as such a simple task.
Trying is an action, and what you need in inaction. Your negative thoughts activate a cocktail of emotions and feelings. This is what ego is going for. Your thoughts, behaviours, and emotions are food for Satan. Your inner voice feeds off this activation within you. The more you fight it, the more you’re activated.
How to control your thoughts
Stop fighting. Instead, let your thoughts come and go. Have a seat, close your eyes, and observe your thoughts. Get out of this train of thoughts and just watch it pass by. Breath, in and out, and watch them come, and watch them go. And as soon as ego realizes that you’re not trying, you’re not fighting, you’re not activating, the train will go. We let them be, your task is not to control your thoughts, but to prevent your thoughts from controlling you.
Meditation and breathwork should be part of your spiritual goals, and hardship is a great time to build these crucial habits. There are thousands of different breathing techniques you could try. Some will work for you, others won’t. But rest assured, understanding breathwork is a key component to your spiritual health.
If you’re a beginner, patience is your friend. You’re here, you’re now, and you know now. Step 1: Stop Trying. Progress made. Here’s to step 2 and step 100 along your stairway to the heavens. Here’s to your spiritual health. Cheers.
