In our daily lives, we may find ourselves running an outdated program of thought, stuck in the subconscious files of our brain. This thinking isn’t really tapped into anything Higher and Wiser - a big picture frame of reference. In fact, these daily ruminations can be short-sighted and myopic, only taking in a slice of awareness, just enough to keep us going. Our thoughts seem to run closer to lower vibration thinking such as ruminations on the past or future, rarely in the present moment. Then there are feelings swirling through it all, coloring our perspective, causing the left brain to categorize things as good or bad. This isn’t to say that we don’t have our enlightened moments, however moving from unconscious to conscious thinking can have some unconscious moments.
I was talking to a client with a serious case of the Stinkin’ Thinkin”. He told me that in this state he feels stuck, cannot envision a way out and in fact, feels hopeless and like a failure. This is not an uncommon report from the front lines of life. Days can go by in a fog of Social Media or Digital mind-numbing, food/alcohol/drug binging until feeling ughh! lethargy and various other energy-sucking automatic pilot activities. On these days we don’t feel so great and our thoughts which we may try our best to just shut up through ongoing distraction are not positive. We feel stuck in these moments and the feeling of being stuck in melancholy seems to last forever. We become plagued by an overall sense of ennui, listless boredom that resists doing anything and with a mind that fixates on everything that isn’t “working”, whatever that means. People can tell us all the well-meaning words of this too shall pass and in fact, it really does, however in those forever moments our thoughts are centered on fear and lack. Powerlessness regarding our finances, our jobs, family, marriage, or our destiny. Everything feels insurmountable. And do we not isolate as being around people doesn’t help? In fact, we may pick fights in an effort to transfer our discomfort onto someone else by somehow making them the cause of our discontent.
Does any of this sound familiar?
When stuck like this and in recovery from addiction things can get dangerous. The addict mind starts to whisper of how we can find relief, how we have always found relief. And doesn’t that voice sounds so good, so sweet, promising sweet release from the feelings of inadequacy that are plaguing us? In those moments (and that’s all it takes, moments of unconsciousness that put us in a trance, causing us to find ourselves at the beer store or LCBO buying what we think is relief in a bottle, or going to the medicine cabinet, driving to our old haunts or dealers or picking up the phone to call that number that seems burned into memories to score some “relief”, and just like that we enter into another hell. Our minds tell us we are getting relief, but the reality is the shame, sense of failure, feelings of being stuck get worse after the haze of consumption dies down. We look at ourselves in the mirror and feel worse. In that state we can even manage to convince ourselves that recovery is too hard and not worth the effort and fuck it, let’s just fuck it! We tell ourselves we have never been good enough anyway so why bother?
Times like this require a mindful moment to STOP! Notice you are having Stinking Thinking. First and always start with a deep cleansing breath in and allow the out breath to flush away the stink from your mind. Take as many breaths as you need to gain clarity. (See post on Tips for Mindful Breathing) Sometimes we gotta flush more than once!
Redirect your thoughts towards inspiration instead of negation. Read some of your favorite inspirational authors, check out my Facebook pg, I post plenty of things to help with this. See next blog entry for Tips on Fueling the Positive…