Is Your Reality in the NOW or in Your Stinking Thinking?


 Practice is the word of the day. I've read plenty about staying in the NOW but I don't practice what I've learned very well. Instead, like the above meme says, my mind always seems to be stuck in memory or imagination. And when I say "imagination," I really mean "nightmare."

I constantly misuse my imagination by creating nightmare "could happen" scenarios in my head. I also take actual, REAL problems that I face on a weekly basis (as all of us do), and make them into bigger than life, monster-sized problems. I reek chaos through my whole body with obsessive-compulsive thoughts that are truly blown out of proportion to the REAL problem.

And I'm sick of it. In recent weeks, my thoughts have clearly been in control of me, instead of me being in control of my thoughts. Granted, we don't always choose the thoughts that come into our heads. But we can choose to either reject them or to create total chaos out of them. 

Staying in the NOW requires observing everything around us through our eyes, ears, noses, taste and touch. When we truly observe everything about us and around us, moment by moment, we don't have the capacity to entertain chaotic thoughts. Of course, it takes work and that work can seem laborious at first.

Like this morning, in order to get out of my head, I had to start thinking to myself "Feel the water of the shower... smell the soap... I am now washing my arms,,, I am now shampooing my hair... feel the tingle...see the suds, etc. Yes it is monotonous but it works. As long as I'm observing what I am doing-- and experiencing it completely-- I don't have the ability to remain trapped in negative, imaginary thoughts.

And monotony is actually preferable to anxiety. It's much nicer to be smelling the fragrance of a good soap than worrying about a prescription that insurance doesn't want to cover-- worrying over and over how that problem is going to get fixed. Once we're back into reality, it's also easier to call on our Higher Power to help us do what we cannot do. It becomes clearer as to what we still need to do to take care of ourselves and our problems. And it becomes easier to reach out to trusted others for help.

Whenever we're trapped in the endless cycle of negative thoughts, helping ourselves and reaching out for help are pretty difficult. That's why a small problem can suddenly seem insurmountable to the point of depression. We're so stuck in our heads that we can't see the light calling us to reach out to God and friends. Nor can we see more productive ways that we could be helping ourselves. We just see darkness and doom.

So let's pay attention to this meme today. Let's make it a mantra. If I'm not in reality, I'm stuck in a memory or stuck in a bad corner of my imagination. I will remind myself to see reality, I have to look beyond my thoughts, I have to see all that is REAL around me by paying attention to all that is happening in reality, while closing the door to my vapid, self-destructive thoughts.

God grant me serenity to stay in the NOW.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 9, 2022 at 9:40 AM

    I have just discovered your blog. I'm so grateful for your insights.

    ReplyDelete

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