The Spirit Level - Thoughts

Out of the 65,000 thoughts we have a day, 95% are largely sub-conscious. How many of those are kind reflections, and how many are deeply critical? Well, that is difficult to know, simply because of the very nature of the “sub” conscious.

Pause for a moment… What are you thinking right now? What little tiny flash did you just have? Was it gentle and loving or carry a hint of judgement?

Where do our thoughts come from? They don’t appear from nowhere. They are shaped by the here and now, our immediate environment and the stories we’ve absorbed even before we can form the words to express them.

As children, before the age of 7, we were predominantly in a "theta" state - relaxed, creative, intuitive. This is why it is easier to learn languages when we are young, when we are impressionable, spongy and open, basically absorbing up everything around us. So, certain things may be easier to learn, but this is also when we form our core beliefs and our fears.

Later when we put our thoughts into words in the efforts to share them, they already come with meaning that is personal. The exact same phrase to me, might mean something slightly different to you due to the memory it carries.

Guided meditations are a perfect example of this. I was listening to one the other night…“Picture yourself floating in the middle of the ocean…” What?!! I can’t think of anything more frightening! I’ve seen Jaws and Open Water. I prefer a forest path, which to someone else might be riddled with bears, snakes and all types of creepy crawlers…

Words are neutral, but the thoughts behind them are anything but…

From the day we were born, our ego-brain has had but one task - to protect us. Keeping us safe is its full time purpose and for the most part it does a darn good job. If you are reading this, it has kept you from all types of disasters, actual and imagined. But has it also kept you stuck in that safeness?

Is there something you want to do, but just can’t seem to get there? Can’t see how? Or fear trying? Or get 90% there and self sabotage kicks in? (This is a whole other subject!). Your ego isn't there playing tricks on you. It isn't unkind or jealous, spiteful or cruel. It just isn't very bright. It wants you to stay alive, even if that means being frustrated in the process.

One question I have been asking myself is “what are you trying to protect me from here?” It isn’t danger in the obvious sense. There’s no monster under my bed or sharks in the bathtub (last I checked).

Going unchecked, the subconscious leads our lives, our thoughts the best way it can. It’s extraordinary, working at astonishing speed, constantly scanning for threats, patterns, differences, but it’s as naive as we were when we were born. It’s literal and doesn't get jokes or sarcasm. That love you avoided for fear of abandonment, that puppy you didn’t get because one day it might pass away and cause future pain, that dream you didn’t chase because it wasn’t a sure thing... this isn’t protection. Yes, it’s probably safer if we are trying to avoid pain, but we also throw out the beautiful experiences with it.

At the end of our lives, we probably won't be saying "wow! I got through that unscathed!" It'll be all the experiences we didn't have, things we didn't say or do...

Life isn’t about safety. It’s about bravery.

With awareness, we can shift the narrative and become the leader of our own minds. Scrolling could be the new shark in the water, boredom, the monster under the bed... However you redefine it, with curiosity, compassion and a LOT of gratitude, your subconscious can be your greatest ally, because let’s face it, it got us this far… How much more is out there?

So, of the 65,000 thoughts you have today… which ones will you explore? What's an old one that is no longer true for you, years later? What will you keep and what can you let go of?

The Year of the Snake is about shedding, in order to find our true power of the Horse.