Mental Training Week 3

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

— Aristotle

As we move into the third week of December, where is your focus? Is it on all the distractions, “to do” lists, and obligations? Or can you be open enough to also feel the joy of giving, the warmth of community, and the power of self-reflection? This is how mental training can empower us to be more open to all the experiences in our lives. Especially at so-called “busy “times, think of it as having a  “full life”. When we are in the middle of it, even though it may be hard, it is the perfect time to begin a mental training practice called noting. 

A noting practice, used in meditation, is a retraining of thinking.  As thoughts occur, you note them, but you do not pass judgement. We have 60,000 thoughts per day, 75% of these thoughts are negative, and 95% are repetitive. Just reading that you can understand how critical it is to not get caught up in them. As Aristotle says, entertain the thought, without accepting it.  

As always this is a practice, you can’t expect to change the way you think overnight. But every time you have a repetitive thought, imagine if you could note it and remind yourself, I already thought that. Maybe ask yourself the question, is this helping me? Then take a 4-count inhale and a 6-count exhale. The point is to not get stuck in a useless thought pattern, but notice it, and observe your body, again without judgement. You may find the repetitive and or negative thoughts tense your body. Be patient, and kind to yourself as you accept this new challenge.