One thought closer to enlightenment

Would you like to be more enlightened? Well, guess what? Part of the enlightenment process takes place between your ears; it involves a state of mind. Furthermore, you can improve your chances of reaching a state of enlightenment by changing your thoughts. That’s the power of cognitive reframing.

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What if you had a tough day? Is that good or bad? Well, it all depends on how you look at it. (Or perhaps I should say it’s how you “think” of it.) Since it’s your thoughts which determine whether you perceive something as good or bad, you can choose to view any situation from an enlightened perspective.

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So how do you do this exactly? How do you reframe your thoughts from negative to positive? Well, it’s no secret. It is essentially a matter of where you place your focus. For instance, what if you were facing a stressful situation such as being stuck in slow moving traffic when you are already running late? In such a case, you can choose to think of that time in your car as an opportunity to practice slow, deep breathing. (I understand this may sound corny at first, but I do this, myself.)

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So how else can you put a positive twist on negative thoughts? What if you tend to focus on only the disappointments in life and overlook the positive? What can you do about that? For one thing, you can start by broadening your point of view and acknowledging the good along with the bad. There’s always something positive in every situation if you look hard enough.

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Here’s another example: what if you had a propensity to think of any given situation as totally good or bad with no middle ground and no room for mistakes? What if you believe you must be perfect at everything you do, or you are a complete failure? What would be a more enlightened perspective of this situation? Instead of holding such extreme views, you could look for middle ground and strive for a balance.

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Perhaps you have a bad habit of generalizing people based on a single incident. You are quick to leap to judgment and slap labels on people. You identify everyone as a certain “type.” In this case, an enlightened way of thinking could result in a fresh view of people. Seeing others as individuals instead of lumping them together in a category could greatly improve your level of awareness.

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There are a plethora of other maladaptive thought patterns. For instance, you might falsely assume you know what’s going on in someone’s head without asking that person for clarification. Or you anticipate disaster by asking yourself, “What if it happens to me?” Or you exaggerate the degree of a problem by turning up the emotional volume on anything bad, intensifying it!

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One of the most common destructive thoughts is to assume an incidental scowl on the face of another mistakenly is somehow meant as a personal insult to you. It is right up there with comparing yourself to others and trying to determine who is smarter, more competent, better looking, and so on. Let these destructive thoughts go. Do not even feed them any energy.

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A great way to improve maladaptive thinking is to replace the word “should” in your vocabulary with the word “could.” Why? Because “should” deals with the past which you cannot change, and it engenders a note of shame. Whereas “could” focuses on the present moment and empowers you to act purposefully. If you have a list of ironclad rules about how you and others “should” act, then you will get angry when people break those rules. And you end up feeling guilty when you violate the rules yourself. Who needs that?

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Something to meditate on today. Many paths lead to enlightenment. It may help to become more aware of when you engage in negative thinking. Just deal with one cognitive habit at a time. Don’t try to change all your self-defeating thought patterns at once. That would be too much. Focus on the solution and enjoy the process of thinking more enlightened thoughts.

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