Questioning the Validity of Our Thoughts

Thoughts About Thoughts part 1

Preface:

Many meditative practices help us calm the mind and expand into a state where we can see our thoughts, their patterns, and even allow our subconscious thoughts to surface into our awareness. Awareness of what we are thinking gives us the opportunity to question the validity of our thoughts. We can then release or modify ones that are depleting and restrictive or reinforce those that are supportive of our well-being.

As we become more accustomed to being aware of what we are thinking, we can start categorizing the types of thoughts we are having and then work with them as allies to our healing and empowerment.

Questioning the Validity of Our Thoughts

“A thought is an offering of a choice.” - SLK

Our thoughts are powerful. Thoughts are part of our creation process. We create based on the thoughts we choose to enliven. Our bodies along with our perspective of life will cooperate with the thoughts we believe are true. As we become more accustomed to being aware of what we are thinking, we can choose which thoughts we want to discard or cultivate. We can then work with our thoughts as allies to our conscious creation of our view of reality, our healing, and our empowerment.

Thoughts that Just Aren’t True (unless we make them so)

I had a very bright piano student around age 11. She said something self-negating to which I responded, “Don’t believe everything you think.” She furrowed her brow and looked at me. “Not every thought you have is the truth,” I reinforced. From the perplexed look on her face, it was clear that was not a thought she had considered before.

July was a bit of a wild ride for me. I threw out my back during the first week of July. It caused me pain with certain movement and general discomfort. It disrupted my activities and sleep for over a week. One day I heard the thought, “I’m in excruciating pain.” I laughed out loud, “No I’m not!” I know from experience, if I put energy and attention into that kind of thought I would create the experience of more physical pain, and I choose not to create that. I did check in with my body letting it know I was doing what I could to relieve the discomfort and asking it if there was anything else I could do.

Practice: If a thought is making you feel constricted or heavy, ask if the thought is true. Even if it is not true, you can also ask yourself if it is pointing to something you need to attend to. Or you can, as Girez suggests, ask the mind to show you evidence to the contrary.

Thoughts That Are True or True Enough to Invest In

A week after I threw my back out, I came down with an intestinal virus that lasted several days. Since I work remotely at my day job, I was able to continue working and just excused myself from online meetings to take breaks as needed. My current job was ramping up for the start of an initiative. So, I also ended up working more hours than normal while dealing with this virus. One evening, after my back was better and the virus was almost gone, I was unloading the dishwasher. I heard the thought, “My life is so easy.” I responded gleefully, “I’ll take it!” For it was true, my body was healing, I have a job that supports me financially, and I have a machine that does my dishes for me. (Never mind my ongoing gratitude for hot running water, which I assume is some past life “isn’t this amazing” imprint.)

It wasn’t that I was denying the difficulty of that last two and half weeks. Instead, I was seeing a bigger picture of what is here in my life which includes ease and support.

Practice: When you notice a positive supportive thought, ask your brain to show you in which ways it is genuinely true and how it can be reinforced. In this case, I could ask my brain to notice when things are done with ease, or other things or circumstances in my life that support me.

Thoughts that Belong to Someone Else

Years ago, I was helping friends who were going through a rough time. The one had a case of Lyme Disease that was in her neurological system and eventually she died of. Her partner was working full-time, as well as being the main caregiver in the situation. One day I heard my thought, “Everything is falling apart.” I took a quick survey of my life at that moment and recognized that this thought is not true for me. Then I realized it was coming from my friends; their thought had come into my mental field.

Practice: If a blanket statement arises, ask, “Is this my thought?’ or ask, “Am I choosing to think this?” You can feel into your body to get the Yes or No (or use muscle-testing if that is a practice you use).  If you get a “No”, you can dismiss the thought as not yours. If you get a “Yes, this is mine,” then it may be time to question if it is a core belief that is ready to be examined.

Thoughts That Point to a Core Belief

I first started working with a particular energy healer/intuitive 20 years ago, who introduced me to the concept of core beliefs and could hear my unconscious thoughts. I set the intention that my mind show me these hidden beliefs that were controlling my reality. That was enough to allow them to start coming into my awareness, at random times not just in meditation. A core belief, or what the Toltecs call an agreement, are beliefs that are deep in our subconscious. They quietly run an on-going loop that reinforces itself by noticing experiences that match the belief and its resonance while filtering out those things that don’t. They become part of our constructed identity.

With her permission, I share an experience that a participant in the last group call told us. She was in the gym and physically was unable to do a particular activity. She felt sad and heard the thought, “I can’t do it.” She was quickly able to realize that the thought and tears were from her younger wounded part. She gently asked that younger part to sit on the other side of the room. To her surprise, now fully engaged as her adult self, she was able to do the physical activity. The fact that the thought had enough power to control what her body was capable of doing, is an incredible example of how powerful our thoughts are.

In this case, she had uncovered a core belief. Now this woman was smart and kind enough not to leave that wounded part sitting on the other side of the gym, she took it home with her. She recognized the awareness of the belief as a potential for healing. She spent time looking at how that one belief had been limiting her and causing her emotional pain throughout her life. And how it had become a structure within her self-identity. During the call, Girez did a soul-recovery*, accompanying the adult woman on a journey to bring that young wounded part of soul/light back to the present time. He showed the wounded younger part that the belief was a lie, and that was why it was so painful. After this journey Girez showed the woman everything that she “was doing” throughout her life even with this powerful belief of “I can’t do it” running in the background. (He showed her the evidence to the contrary of what the thought/belief had proposed.)

So, I think that is enough for part 1 of this series.

Wishing you the clarity to use your thoughts as guides and your mind as an ally,

Love,

Karen and Girez

*Soul-recovery refers to when the experience is shared between the person having the soul retrieval and the shaman facilitating it. Girez prefers this empowering method of healing, though I have witnessed him doing soul-retrievals on behalf of the client in cases of severe trauma to reduce the risk of flashbacks and re-traumatization. Many of Girez’s private sessions involve a form of soul-recovery; by including the client it gives them the training to do this on their own if that feels safe for them. For those who have suffered significant trauma, I strongly suggest you seek out experienced support when first engaging in soul-retrievals.

I heard Sandra Ingerman say once, in Shamanic cultures a soul-retrieval was normally done within 3 days of the traumatic event. Now we are doing them decades later. I say, “Better late than never.”