33 | We are what we think

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.

Buddha

I hope that this saying of Buddha is true. I sincerely want to change my life striving for improvements in many areas. I want to have a great relationship and a large family, strong friendships with great friends, a reliable income stream, work that fulfills me and enables plenty of leisure time. I collect books, preparing for a large personal library in my house. Reading, listening, and talking inspire my thoughts.

There are some days though where my thoughts pull me down to the floor. I feel so sad then, so depressed and absolutely unsuccessful. During these times, I seem to be very far away from achieving my goals. My thoughts circle around in my head. Sitting on the floor, my thoughts open a hatch. It directly leads onto a chute. There is no escape! My thoughts push me down. My thoughts and I are sliding down a huge downward spiral. As my thoughts pick up speed, I do too. Together we are racing to the bottom. Yet, I cannot see the end.

Only my calm breathing slows me down. I breathe in and out. Concentrating on breathing helps me slow down my thoughts, relax my mind, creating a new picture. The downward spiral is gone. Quickly I feel better. I imagine myself in better times. I am successful in my job. I sit with people I like. We are laughing. In my imagination, we have happy faces. Our eyes sparkle serenity. I feel good.

Self-fulfillment is powerful. Buddha realized that and lived accordingly. We can do that too. We can think positively of our lives. We can adjust our inner attitude. We can talk that way and we can walk our talk. Sometimes though, negative thoughts will come our way. That is fine and normal. It is at us to give these thoughts some space and behave mindfully. Just try not to hop on the downward spiral and shoot down the chute.

Instead, you could influence your mind. I do it this way: Pull up your eyebrows and try to be angry. It just doesn’t work. Then laugh for 90 seconds. Laughing, even though it doesn’t come as a reaction to a great joke, sends signals to our brains. The brain thinks that we are happy and acts accordingly. The hard drive is cleared and positive thoughts develop.

Thoughts are strong. They can either prevent our doings and set us up with procrastination or they get and keep us going after our personal goals and dreams. We create the world by taking action.

Create the world as you like it!