You are not your thoughts. But the ideas you entertain can grow entangled with your reality, internally and, over time, externally. So, it’s essential to weed out the ones that make you feel bad and nurture the ones that bring joy.
You can train your thoughts like you can train your physical body. For example, over the last many months, I went from being unable to run across a street to explosive sprinting. I could no longer run–at all–but ambled as my life force was leaving me. But now I sprint with a force that shocks me.
So, what if we trained our minds with the discipline we use for training our bodies? In light of this question, I will compile strategies for training our thoughts. Controlling our thoughts could result in greater resilience, happiness, and love. So, here are several ways to train our minds like we do our bodies:
Reframe all negatives and neutrals to positives. Why waste a moment in anger, jealousy, fear, worry, or anything that doesn’t generate bliss? Choose bliss! It’s as easy as flipping a switch! We have free will, and nothing can stop us from choosing happiness regardless of outer circumstances.
Practice loving-kindness meditation. Run through a list of people you love and say, “I love [person’s name].” Then, do the same for people you may not like, and follow up with people you consider enemies. There are no such things as enemies. The idea that another soul can be an enemy is a delusion. We are meant to love one another; I believe, in our highest natures, we do love all others. And the more people we love, the easier it gets to generate love. After all, what feels better than the bliss of love?
Take a critical thinking course. I’ve enrolled in a critical thinking and problem-solving course from Australia called Black Belt in Thinking. It costs around $350, but it offers payment plans. I aim to apply the strategies and mental training to my higher quest for enlightenment. The course provides a slowed-down mechanism for logically controlling one’s thoughts. However, I want to apply a heart connection to that logical process.
Journal about your dreams and the lovable qualities of everyone you encounter. Don’t journal complaints or criticisms. It’s counterproductive. Journal instead about things that generate love and joy. Write down an impossible dream and imagine yourself attaining it! It may become a reality. Or journal about people you meet, and write endlessly about the qualities that make them magnificent. Don’t even think about any apprehensions—just the love and joy.
Practice self-hypnosis. Place yourself in a profound meditative state and apply positive affirmations. I bought a book on hypnosis, but I still need to read it. However, a psychology professor taught my class to perform hypnosis, so I did self-hypnosis with incredible effect. Self-hypnosis is a way to control thoughts.
Consider trying one or more of these strategies. Then, we can genuinely control our minds to be happy and loving. The more thoughts we manage, the better our outcomes. It’s a 24-7 vigilance with bliss as the grand prize!
