by Parmjit Singh, PhD
As an old adage goes, we become what we think. Therefore, it is imperative to keep a tab on what sort of thoughts we usually entertain or allow taking home in our mind. Normally, each day we think many thousands thoughts which decide the fate of our physical, mental and emotional life. But that number is not the only problem. Mostly what we allow our self to think does not do any good for our mental and physical health. Thinking then becomes a source of confusion and misery, as one mystic once retorted, “I think, therefore, I am confused”.
Thinking thoughts is uniquely human; our cortex allows us to indulge in this luxury. Despite its blessings, it has its dark side also. Thoughts can also act as a double-edged sword; they can potentially wreck our life if the general drift of our thought patterns are generally negative or compulsive.
Additionally, we keep on thinking the same thoughts over and over again. Because you are not generally aware of what you think and keep on recycling the same thought process day after day. But this compulsive repetition over the period of years takes a permanent shape and expression in life. You will start seeing its ‘physical’ evidence. E.g., if you keep on thinking bad thoughts about yourself or keep putting yourself down unchecked, you become like that. Recall that our brain changes, not only functionally but also on anatomical level in response to our thoughts and experience. Brain’s structure and function reflects the material manifestation of your thought process.
Developing Awareness
Given that, it is important to keep a tab on what you think throughout your days and nights. One way to do it is to survey your thought process by putting down on paper through a specialized part of our program where we ask people to go through ‘Thought Surveillance’, a three week personal-sampling process in which you are supposed to write down your running thoughts without any judgment or active manipulation. It is not Journaling. During this process, it is imperative that you just remain a witness.
There are few other steps involved in how to turn around your thinking to make it more positive and healthy and escape the vicious cycle of compulsive negative thinking. If you would like to know it, please contact us as we offer programs of variable duration to help you do that.
Please get in touch if you want to know more about Thought Surveillance.
