Beware of the Mind

The mind is cunning. It has a way of trapping you into it's thoughts. It has a way of making you feel like it is the one controller of your life, the all seeing, all knowing entity that is your brain. Those that believe their mind more than 90 percent of the time are said to be "asleep." They are sort of lost in the dream of consciousness. Those that are "awake," know there is some thing, some spirit, some entity that is aware of those thoughts and don't believe those thoughts at least some of the time. It's very hard to be the conscious witness to your thoughts all of the time, and this is why we train.

What does it mean to train, or to be the conscious witness of your thoughts? It means to practice opening up to your awareness by making a concerted effort every day to meditate. Meditation, especially early or first thing in the morning when you have no interruptions is so important. It sets you up for your day.

The key to meditation and working on being more aware of your thoughts throughout the day is consistency.

I myself have gone through long periods of my life, sometimes spanning many months "asleep," simply lost in the dream of thought, the stream of thought, only to wake up after this long stint of unawareness to realize that I had been unaware, caught up in my thoughts the entire time, without any breaks of awareness. When I realize this, I can't help but to think that I have wasted so much time, just going in the direction that my mind would like me to go in. It's nightmarish in a way.

This proves my point of the cunning mind. It is your ego at work. The late Dr. Wayne Dyer used to call the EGO, "Edging God Out." Which is essentially what we are doing when we get lost in our mind and it's endless stream of thoughts.

Understanding the importance of meditation in creating periods of awareness throughout your day, to take a break from the stream of thoughts is vitally important to our mental health. Holistically, one could say that listening and believing your thoughts also has a detrimental impact on your physical well being as well.

Finally, carving out time to meditate, doesn't have to be an hour, or even a half hour ordeal. Just a few minutes a day where you practice letting go and watching your thoughts, is all you need to get started on the habit of consistency to bring more presence into your day.