Week Four of 50 Weeks to a Lighter More Loving You: GIVE NOTICE

This week’s task was to GIVE NOTICE to the not so wonderful thoughts you have that are critical or judgmental of yourself or others.  You are to acknowledge them but do nothing about them.

How’s that going?

MINDFULNESS is a big buzz word these days.  I even noticed a whole magazine on mindfulness at the grocery store.

What’s up with MINDFULNESS?

• It helps us become an OBJECTIVE OBSERVER...one that does not judge, label or classify.   In mindfulness we are just acknowledging and being aware of our thought life.
• It helps us see that WE ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS!  They are just thoughts. We have the choice not to believe everything we think. (Thank goodness, right?)
• It helps us BE PRESENT.  Many times when we have the critical/judgmental thoughts of our self or others we are:
  1.  FIGHTING SOMETHING.  Sometimes it is with who we are and who we want to be.  We are fighting with what is NOW.  Example: If you are judgmental about your body size, are you wishing you were smaller (future); condemning your self for something you ate (past)?  Are you fighting who you are exactly at this moment?  NOW, HERE, THIS VERY MOMENT of how and who we are, is where to start for a better  life.
  2. FEARING SOMETHING.  Fear also stems from not being present.  “Maybe I’ll fail again” (past); “maybe I will fail” (future).  Right in this very moment, neither of those are true.  Right here, right now is the best…and only…place to start.

SPIRITUALLY, how does this make me a lighter more loving person?

In the bible, God is quite keen on wisdom. Proverbs is often known as the book of wisdom.  Words that often accompany WISDOM in the bible are INSIGHT and UNDERSTANDING.

Some of this “insight and understanding” is about who God is.  Many scriptures, however, are talking about having insight and understanding with ourselves and others.

Here are some words and phrases you’d find if you did a word study on INSIGHT and UNDERSTANDING:

• apprehending the true nature of things
• discernment
• perception
• awareness
• knowing
• sensitive
• compassionate
• kindness
• realization

If you take the time to become more aware of your thoughts, you will be better able to choose a different path, especially in regards to your thought life, and, thus in what you choose to do.  This is wisdom.

Being mindful will lead you to be more sensitive and more compassionate with you and others.  This will make you more loving,

Mindfulness (acknowledging, being aware of, and noticing your thoughts), which is what you are doing this week, is the fist step to wisdom and towards change.

Encouraging You to a Whole Mindfully Wise Heart,

Barbara