The name for the blog transpired through a combination of aspects…
POSITIVE QUOTES
I have come to love positive quotes; I find hope, solace, inspiration and deep meaning in them…
And two particular quotes that have been influential to me are:
“Recognise Yourself As An Ocean With Your Thoughts And Feelings As Waves, Waves Can Be Beautiful Or Terrifying But Always Return To The Ocean, While Never Being Separate From The Ocean”
Tara Lee
I harnessed a love and appreciate for yoga through Tara’s DVDs (gosh that makes me sound ancient! I promise, it wasn’t that long ago… but definitely before the explosion of Lockdown home workouts on YouTube!)
Anyway this quote reminds me that thoughts are just thoughts, they may be calm or turbulent, peaceful or distressing… but they will always come and go…
AND…
“… Become An Island Of Peace Within An Ocean Of Chaos”
Cory Muscara
Cory Muscara captivated my attention and immersed me into the world of meditation. And this quote reminds me that I do not have to be swept away by my chaotic thoughts … I can choose to gain some distance from them and calmly observe their ebb and flow from the detachment of the shore…
These quotes are written in my little butterfly emblazoned notebook, and they both allude to our thoughts being like ‘waves’.
PEACE
Yoga and meditation provide me with essential escapism… grounding… focus… and descent from my bustling, overactive mind…
And both of these quotes give me a visual foundation on which to gain some distance and different perspectives on my thoughts… attaining more clarity.
INTRODUCTION TO ‘META-AWARENESS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS’
A second-year university module, entitled “Meta-Awareness & The Unconscious” had the most profound effect on me and my understanding of our mental processes and capabilities.
I was gratefully immersed into this new world of awareness, that was occurring right inside my own head!
From METACOGNITION; ‘thinking about thinking’…
To DREAM ANALYSIS; and the potential for messages to be communicated through the unconscious… (You can read about one of my experiences of dream analysis in my post “Left Behind”.)
“The Interpretation Of Dreams Is The Royal Road To Knowledge Of The Unconscious Activities Of The Mind”
Sigmund Freud
From DEFENCE MECHANISMS; the many unconscious strategies we use in an effort to protect ourselves, from both real and imagined threat…
To the FELT SENSE; and how intrinsically connected our minds and bodies are – the mental and the physical…
Sometimes a feeling can say it all, we do not need words to explain or validate!
I suddenly became consumed by how the inner workings of our mind can have such an effect on our everyday wellbeing, and the roles our thoughts and emotions have on our mental health… whether we are consciously aware of them or not.
SELF-HELP
But also, I began identifying and understanding tools and techniques that can help us adapt, manage, or ‘reframe’, in order to become more CONTENT, more RESILIENT, and more SELF-AWARE!
Things that help us to recognise and even alter how we behave in certain situations.
Like, for example, how our past experiences are carefully stored in the back of our minds and recalled unconsciously if we find ourselves in a similar situation… and we’re probably not even aware of it! We’re just left wondering “why did I over-react just then…?!”
Because there’s always a reason… and the better we understand ourselves, the better our emotional wellbeing.
“It’s Not Our Fault, But It Is Our Responsibility”
Paul Gilbert
Essentially, although the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that arise for us may not be our fault, through self-awareness we can learn to understand and take responsibility for them… which ultimately gives us greater control!
THOUGHT WAVES
Just like sound waves, which are caused by a movement of energy, I see ‘thoughts’ as similar; whereby energy from our mind is dispersed as waves of thinking, and depending on their ‘pitch’ and ‘frequency’ we can either notice and hear them, or not… we are in control of the volume!
Thoughts will always be there… as our hearts constantly beat… and our lungs consistently breathe … our minds will continually think.
Coming and going…
…like the continual turning of an introspective cog in our physiological machinery…
They have this far-reaching complexity that is beyond any practical attributes … they can greatly influence how we feel and behave… piloting our emotional state.
THE POWER
Our thoughts can hold so much power over us… IF we let them!
You see, it may not always seem like it, but we do in fact have control over our thoughts… or at least we can learn to gain better control (although try telling that to my socially anxious brain whilst I try to make customary conversation at a social gathering … and sober!?!?!)
BUT it is always within our capabilities to choose whether we believe a thought and run with it, or kindly and gently let - it - go…
Ultimately, thoughts are at the centre of our wellbeing… but we hold the POWER…
and sometimes, just being aware of this, is the power itself!
It’s important to remember…
Thoughts are just thoughts!
They are not facts!
They are not always truthful or reliable!
Finally…
Like most things in life(!), it’s not always easy…
It can take time and practice to notice our thoughts, and explore their intentions… but believe me it’s so beneficial in the long run!
“You Are Your Own Greatest Teacher. Learn To Trust Your Internal Source Of Wisdom”
Tamara Levitt