Managing the Mind

Managing the Mind
Tracy Becker, MS, LPC, NCC, DCC
www.tracybecker.com

Wow, this one can be tough. We have between 65, 000 and 80,000 thoughts each day attempting to get our attention and here I am, and many other leaders and teachers are asking you to stay present in each moment by managing your mind. Yet this is such a fantastic practice in self-awareness, peace, joy, ease, love, etc. Just give it a try for 1 minute each day and when you master that, make it 2 minutes. Managing the mind is truly a practice.
If you ever started a meditation practice and you were attempting to do this by focusing on your breath. You can do it for a couple breaths in the beginning without losing focus, and then you can do it for more and more breaths. But you do have to practice it daily, just like any other skill you are attempting to master. When we set time aside to practice during a meditation that is intended time to practice managing you mind, but what about the rest of the day?
Here are some useful tips to what to do the rest of the day:
1. Come up with a way to remind yourself that you are supposed to be managing your mind/thoughts. There are so many ways you can remind yourself from setting an alarm on your phone for every few minutes to remind yourself to check in and see where your thoughts are. You can put a reminder on your computer, in your car, on your water bottle. Find a way that works for you and don’t just practice during your meditation, practice as much as you can. You will find joy in this, I promise! It can be frustrating or humorous you will decide which, when you realize how distracted and lacking focus your thoughts really are.

2. Practice this with some love and gentleness. Remember that our mind is made to think like our heart is made to beat if it stops thinking, you’re sunk. It isn’t that you want to stop your mind from thinking it is that you want to decide what your mind thinks about. For what we think on, is what we act on, and how we see ourselves and the world around us.

3. Don’t believe everything you think – REALLY. Take time to assess what your thoughts are and decide if they are true and useful, if not, dismiss them. Ask yourself, “Is this thought, if acted on going to help me find my path to divinity and my true purpose? Is it going to help me transform into the greatest and grandest version on me?” If the answer is NO then let it go and create a new thought that you can act on that will!

You are bright and brilliant beyond imagination, act accordingly!
In joy, Tracy