You are NOT responsible
You ever have a thought pop up into your head that is totally from left field? You think “What? Where the heck did that come from?”
It’s like an air bubble floating up to the surface and we think, how did that get in there? Sometimes the thought can be a little frightening if you don’t know where it came from. You might conclude that something is wrong with you.
First let’s start with this: You are not responsible for a thought that just pops into your head.
You are however, responsible for the next thought after that.
The thing with random thoughts is that sometimes we just need to let them go. Dismiss them. If it’s a negative thought, don’t give it any energy and move on.
Don’t give it power
But what do we often do? We think about the thought. If it’s a judgement we add a little more to it. We consciously begin to ruminate on the thought. Sometimes we judge ourselves for the thought. “I must be a bad person if I thought this.”
The more energy we give it the more feeling becomes attached to it. Before you know it you are obsessed with it and your day has spiraled out of control. You feel bad, unhappy and miserable.
Your Subconscious mind
Your mind will capture thoughts that bubble up from your subconscious. These thoughts may have come from a part of us that we would like to keep hidden. This could be coming from the shadow part of us that we often don’t like to acknowledge or accept.
Knowing that you are not responsible for the first thought that pops up, but you are responsible for the next one, can help you to not only dismiss or reject the thought but not judge yourself for it.
My shadow is an angry adolescent
At some point it is important to acknowledge and get to know your shadow self. I affectionately refer to mind as Grenelda, the angry adolescent. When she appears or speaks up, I know she is trying to protect me from something. She wants me to retreat and at times has a bit of fear when in new situations.
But now that I know that, I can dismiss her thoughts quickly and move on with my day.
If you have a critical negative voice within that you have not explored, believe me, it will not go away until you acknowledge them and unfortunately the only way to do that is to look at him or her and those dark thoughts, so you can get to know them better.
But let’s say you’ve already done some inner work and accepted this shadow part of yourself, and then an inappropriate thought just pops up at the dinner table (or wherever). You can look at the thought, acknowledge it internally and give a chuckle about where it may have come from and let it go. Acknowledging it gives your teenager a little shake to get her back in line but you don’t allow a huge conversation to pop up.
It doesn’t have to snow ball into a big deal in your head. Let it go! Watch it float away. Decide not to allow that thought to ruin your day or make you judge yourself unnecessarily. It’s just a thought for goodness sake!
Your inner genius
Now if it’s an idea that pops up? Well that may be a wholly different kind of thought bubble coming to the surface from another very quiet incubator. Your inner guidance system. Your intuition. This is the little creative genius who quietly goes about your business and doesn’t say much but when they do say something it gives you pause to stop and listen.
We can dismiss that thought too, like the angry teenager thought, or we can soak into it and try it on to see how it feels. If it feels good or it gets your heart pumping and you feel excited then you should probably stop and check it out a little more. Add to it. Ask for clarification. Write about it. Chew on it. Talk about it. Pull it closer and really see how it feels if it could change or shift your life at all. If the answer is yes, then take action!
Our minds can give us thoughts that can be a wealth of abundance or it can be a part of ourselves that we’d rather keep hidden hoping never to hear from again.
Your voices
The thoughts you pay attention to and give energy to will grow.
If you are unhappy in your life, my guess is that negative thoughts plague you and doubts are always present trying to get your attention. Have you done your shadow work?
If you are not paying attention to loving ALL parts of you, then you will be reminded and nagged again and again with doubts and negative thoughts.
But if you already know, love and accept all parts of you, then perhaps you can simply shrug off that random thought and let it go. You are the boss and the parent of how you think.
Take control of your thoughts and don’t let your thoughts control you.
All my best,
Maureen
P.S. If you’d like to explore how your shadow self may be holding you back, I invite you to sign up for a complimentary discovery session with me at https://maureenrg.youcanbook.me.
