One of the elements of Ahimsa is not inflicting harm by the thoughts we think. How often do we find ourselves thinking thoughts about ourselves or others that are not in harmony with loving and kind thoughts? In this module of Ahimsa we will be digging deeper into our mind, how our thoughts affect us and how we can become more aware of our thoughts that don’t serve us and those we love.
Most of our day and night our mind is running from one thought to another. In fact, during an average day we think the majority of thoughts we did the day before. Our mind is even running when we are talking to others or doing other activities like driving. It is these thoughts that Ahimsa is asking us to become more aware of. Do these thoughts serve our greater good or do they pull us or others down?
Why do our thoughts even matter?
Our thoughts can impact our self-esteem, our future, our mood and how we interact with others. You see the thoughts we think impact our lives at a deeper sub-conscious level. Repeated thoughts are based on beliefs that are ingrained within us. This greatly affects our moods. These beliefs were there to at one time to serve us but as we grow and expand in life, we tend to hold on to beliefs that no longer serve us or our relationships with others. This brings us to that place where we struggle to grow. It is kind of hard to really connect this all because our brain is so complicated but, from our thoughts we create beliefs and over time if we keep them going our thoughts will hold us back from what we want the most. This is just one way our thoughts can affect our future but, I have a whole year long course on how our minds work and how to sort all this out on numerous topics. Let move now into another aspect of how our thoughts affect others.
Our thoughts of others affect how we feel about the other person and how we interact with them. Have you ever started seeing where you once were really close with someone and over time your thoughts about them started to turn negative? Maybe over time you just drifted away or no longer wanted to spend time with them. Well the same reverse pattern is used all the time in relationships. If you daily look for positive aspects you like in your partner or spouse, over time your love for your partner will grow. It is our thoughts that affect this change within ourselves and in turn it affects others’ lives as well as our own.
So how do we become more aware of our thoughts? Simply like in part one, being more aware of our thoughts. Taking our focus purposely into our thoughts routinely will allow us over time to become more aware of our thoughts so we can change them to something more positive. Maybe play around one day and see if you can find something positive about every activity or interaction with another. This is sure to make you more aware and expand your thoughts to a more positive place.
Becoming aware of your thoughts is truly one of the best mind skills you can learn. Your thoughts not only affect your future, your relationships and your mood but most people use their thoughts as the means for moving into action.
For a more fulfilling and joyful life, I can’t stress enough learning how to connect with your thoughts and allowing them to stay positive, grateful and loving. It was Rumi that said,
“Love is the bridge between you and everything,”
It is from this place of love that we all will find peace of mind, contentment and joy in all we do and all that we interact with.
In part 3, we will be digging deeper into the words we use and how our words affect ourselves and others.
Until next time, let’s all become more aware of our thoughts and allow them to keep returning to a place of loving and kind thoughts towards ourselves and others.