Quiet A Compulsive Mind

How to Quiet A Compulsive Mind

Because your mind does not voluntarily stay in the present moment, constantly shuffling back and forth between the past and the future, the only way to stop the thinking mind is to direct it to the present moment. When your mind stays in the present moment, it stops its thinking process of the past or the future—at least for the time being. To make your mind remain in the present moment—even though for just a short moment—you need acute awareness and deep concentration. To do that, you need constant and regular practice to focus or re-focus your mind on the present moment.

Once you can stop, at will, your mind from thinking, you have control over your thinking process, you are no longer a slave to your thoughts, and your mind becomes once again your friend, instead of your enemy. Learn to switch your mind on and off, just as you do with your computer.

Remember, we are all addicted to thinking, whether we want it or not; we must stop our thinking sometime and somehow.

Mind Training to Focus on the Present Moment

In your everyday life, you can practice mind training to focus on the present moment. Essentially, you are giving your full attention to what you are doing at that very present moment.

Reflective Thought

Focusing on the present moment makes you forget the past and the future.

Case in Point

Some people like to engage in dangerous sports, such as car racing or skydiving, because they would like to obliterate thoughts of the past and the future by focusing only on the thrills of the present moment.

If your mind is fully engaged in doing something, you will not be thinking of the past or the future, just like the car racers or skydivers. It is only when you are half-engaged mentally, then your mind begins to wander, letting your subconscious mind take over.

There is a difference between the knowledge mind and the thinking mind. The former provides facts or information about something or someone; the latter provides labels, judgments and opinions. Practice mind training to focus on the present moment so as to withdraw the thinking mind from the past and the future whenever it is not needed.

For example, you can focus your mind on your breathing. Notice how you breathe in and breathe out, how your body feels during inhalation and exhalation, and how the flow and rhythm of your breaths are affecting your mind. Put some stick-on notes on your computer monitor or anywhere in your house to remind you to practice conscious breathing every now and then throughout the day. Practicing conscious breathing for 2-3 minutes every hour or so does not interrupt with your daily work; just form this good habit of mindfulness and internal focus.

For example, you can focus your mind on your walking. Pay close attention to every step, every movement of your hands and feet, your breathing, and your body sensations while you are walking. Many people do their walking while listening to their music, or worse, talking on the cell phone; they are not letting their minds focus on the present moment.

THE POWER OF NOW

THE WISDOM OF LETTING GO

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The Law of Attraction

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”  - Napoleon Hill

The wisdom is that an adversity may be a blessing in disguise. Worse, if one dwells on the adversity, one may attract more adversities.

The Law of Attraction is about energy attraction: positive energies attracting positive energies, and the same for negative energies. This revolutionary concept has been exponentially popularized by the film "The Secret" as well as by the bestseller book and other related publications across the Internet.

Is the Law of Attraction a myth of the mind or a reality in real life? Can the Law of Attraction really help your healing from rsdiseases and disorders?

Say, when an individual is diagnosed with cancer, that individual often becomes obsessed with anxiety about its treatment options as well as the prognosis of the disease. Obsession with cancer may internalize it into self-doubt and even fear. If an individual is preoccupied with the thought that breast cancer runs in the family, that individual may have predominant thoughts of cancer. Even "positive" thoughts, such as "I am not going to get breast cancer like my mother, my grandmother, or my sister" will only attract negative energy into that individual's life, because the mind only sees the word "cancer" and the "cancer fear" and nothing else. Just as a person buying a lottery ticket will not be attracting energy of abundance, because the mind is focusing on the lack rather than on the abundance, and thus attracting negative and not positive energy.

Once you have decided on what you want: a clean bill of health, you proceed to changing your thoughts and feelings. This may not happen right away, it may take time and effort to shift your thoughts, language, and emotions. Develop positive affirmations and self-suggestions to help you day in and day out. Keep the end in mind, that is, the core values in your life. Live everyday of your life in alignment with what you believe in Hold in your mind the ideal of the condition you wish to realize, the ideal reality you want to experience. The affirmation "I am whole and healthy .....I am loving and compassionate.....I am strong and powerful" holds the key to attaining natural health wisdom.

Abundance in natural health will not come to you out of the sky; neither will it drop into your lap. You must focus on the Law of Attraction and how you will bring this law to attract positive health energies. Make a powerful statement of intent to regain your natural health at all costs. Hold in mind the ideal condition you desire. Use a powerful affirmation and mental imagery to affirm it as an already existing fact until it is absorbed by your subconscious mind to give you the internal life energy.

Congratulations. You've Got Cancer: Learn how to use your mind to overcome the anxiety of a cancer diagnosis. Empower your mind to cope with cancer.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

                                       

Be A Beautiful Woman

If you are a woman, you would want to be beautiful, youthful, and forever young.

What is beauty? Is beauty only skin deep, or something only in the beholder’s eye?

In the Orient, the perception of beauty may vary from that in the West: the focus in the East on inner beauty or the "inner eye" may sometimes seem difficult for the Western mind to comprehend.

The traditional Oriental perception of beauty may have the following inner innate qualities:

1. Compassion for others

2. Detachment from negative thoughts and feelings

3. Peace of mind and inner tranquility

4. Right-mindedness from a true heart

A truly beautiful woman has a serene face with a softening spirit. Such a face is often a reflection of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual aspects of that individual. Beauty is more than skin deep: it exudes inner confidence and radiance.

You may become aware of the first click of your biological clock around age 30, when your first streaks of silver appear on your hair, or around 35 when you first notice your crow’s feet (for some, this may have happened much sooner). Can you turn back the biological clock?

According to Phyllis R. Koch-Sheras, clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, understanding the changes and learning how to accept and cope with them are anti-aging strategies.

Complement your inner beauty with your extrinsic beauty. Nature has given you a lovely face: take good care of it and preserve it diligently with daily facial regimens to make you forever look the best of your age.

Your skin is your beauty. The youthful look of a person is primarily based on the skin of that individual. After all, the first impression of a person is the face: the skin color, the skin texture, and the feel and touch of the skin. Your skin renews itself every 35 to 45 days. Do not interrupt or slow down that skin cell replication process with alcohol or nicotine. Get right and get enough sleep. Above all, do everything you can to maintain its color, texture, and softness. Makeup only masks the defects.

YOUNGER AND HEALTHIER FOR LONGER

THE DOS AND DONT'S DURING PREGNANCY


Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

How to Rethink Your Mind

An empty mind

The first step towards rethinking your mind is to have an empty mind in order to help you better understand your mind.

There was the well-known story of a professor visiting a Zen master to get more information about Zen, an ancient Asian philosophy. The Zen master kept pouring tea into the overflowing teacup held by the professor, who kept on talking. The moral of the story is that you must have an empty mind first before you can receive new ideas. Having an empty mind is surrendering your mind to be transformed in order that you may think differently—a prerequisite for rethinking your mind.

Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China, who was the author of the famous ancient classic Tao Te Ching (Book of the Way), said that having an empty mind holds the key to  attaining human wisdom.

“Letting go is emptying the mundane,

to be filled with heavenly grace.

Blessed is he who has an empty mind.

He will be filled with knowledge and wisdom from the Creator.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 9)

Once you have an empty mind, you can rethink your thoughts and revalidate them. Remember, the thoughts and memories coming from your subconscious mind are simply the unconsciousness that controls and directs your conscious mind. They are no more than memories of your past experiences, the data and information acquired from the media, the Internet and elsewhere; they represent neither truths nor realities, and you must take some of them with second thoughts, if not with a grain of salt.

Lao Tzu also stressed the importance of developing a reverse mindset in an empty mind:

To rethink your mind is to avoid any pre-conditioned thinking. For example, we are living in a culture that says if you feel good, just do it, and a culture that says surrender is weakness because you are entitled to everything in life.

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” Bill Gates

Recently, a psychologist even said that it is okay to brag to enhance self-confidence, which is much needed in teenage girls in order to shine or outshine others, in this competitive world. Reverse thinking is emptying your mind of such pre-conditioned thinking, and seeing things differently, if not in their opposites.

“We are all desirous of making the right choices,

fearful of making the wrong ones.

We all pursue what others say is good,

avoiding what they say is bad.

We all follow the popular wisdom of judgment and preference,

instead of the wisdom of the Creator,

requiring us to be undesirous and unperturbed, just like a newborn.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 20) 

An empty mind enables you to see things as they are, and not as people say they are. More importantly, it lets you let go of everything in this mundane world.

“An empty mind with no craving and no expectation helps us let go.

Being in the world and not of the world, we attain heavenly grace.

With heavenly grace, we become pure and selfless.

And everything settles into its own perfect place.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 3)

Presence of mind

Reverse thinking requires acute awareness, which is presence of mind, to be able to discern the truths from the half-truths or myths; it is more than just thinking out of the box; it is creating your own box of thinking. There is no better way to cultivate this awareness than the moment-to-moment presence of the mind. The human mind is often a compulsive mind in that it continually alternates its thinking between the past and the future, but seldom stays in the present moment. 

Do you have a compulsive mind?

You do if you talk on your cell phone while walking, or, worse, driving your car. You do if you watch television while eating your dinner. You have a compulsive mind when your mind is not focusing on what you are doing at the present moment. A compulsive mind is too preoccupied with thinking past thoughts and projecting them into the future as desires and expectations. A compulsive mind is not focusing on the present moment, and therefore is not attentive to the present surrounding with its details. Without acute attention, there is no awareness; without awareness, there is no deep perception, and hence no profound wisdom, which is deep understanding of the nature of things.

A quiet mind

Without a quiet mind, there is no presence of mind. Meditation holds the key to not only quieting the mind with its rambling and compulsive thoughts, but also enabling the mind to look closely at its thoughts and objectively validate their veracity. Meditation makes you become wiser because only a calm and clear mind can let you see things not only in their true perspectives but also as they really are. Remember, your memories do not create your realities, but your mind does, using your memories as raw materials to create the illusion or self-delusion of your realities—the composites of your ego-self.

Therefore, to facilitate the process of rethinking your mind, practice meditation to enhance your mental faculty and perception.

Meditation is an ancient practice of quieting the mind. Sitting erect in a quiet place with a relaxed body, simply close your eyes and wait for the next thought to come. Surprisingly, it may not come right away, if your body and mind are relaxed. When a thought ultimately comes, let it go and focus on your breaths by gently breathing in and breathing out. If the same thought or another one comes to your mind, dismiss it gently by re-focusing your mind on your breathing again. As you continue to repeat the process, you will soon find that your thoughts do not come so frequently in a quiet mind. Meditation is an effortless practice to calm and clear your mind for better and clearer thinking through your deliberate and sustained mindfulness.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Letting Go Is the Way to Go

“Letting go is emptying the mundane,

to be filled with heavenly grace.

Blessed is he who has an empty mind.

He will be filled with knowledge and wisdom from the Creator.

Blessed is he who has no attachment to worldly things.

He will be compensated with heavenly riches.

Blessed is he who has no ego-self.

He will be rewarded with humility to connect with the Creator.

Blessed is he who has no judgment of self and others.

He will find contentment and empathy in everyone.

Letting go of everything is the Way to the Creator.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 9)

 

“Not of the world” means letting go of all mundane matters in the physical world.

Attachment only reinforces your identification with the world, while detachment empties your mind of its invisible control and manipulation. Letting go is the beginning of humility.

With humility, comes enlightenment, and letting go becomes simple and spontaneous.

Stephen Lau        

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

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The Ancient Human Disease

Depression is an ancient human disease or disorder; it is as ancient as man.

Depression is a mental disorder that affects not only the mind with its multiple moods, but also the overall wellness of the body as well as the whole being of an individual. Depression is an inner struggle striving to escape from the harsh realities of life.

“Depression has been called the world's number one public health problem. In fact, depression is so widespread it is considered the common cold of psychiatric disturbances. But there is a grim difference between depression and a cold. Depression can kill you.“ David D. Burns

We all have a depressive mind because we are all living in a world of depression. The only difference is that our depression may all differ in intensity: slight, serious, or severe. The truth of the matter is that each and every one of us is depressed, without any exception, because we all experience our depressive episodes at some points during our lifespan, and it is very normal. However, many of us prefer to deny or ignore our emotional dysfunction due to the stigma that is often associated with depression.

In modern age, Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, underwent serious bouts of depression during his country's national crisis in World War II. The fact is that depression is no respecter of persons—even for those with very high I.Q., such as the Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway who committed suicide just as his father did with the comment “I’ll probably go the same way.” Indeed, many of us are vulnerable to this genetic mental disorder.

Sadly, depression is currently increasing at an alarming rate because the world we are now living in is getting more challenging, more complex, and more complicated each day passing—it has now become a world of depression.

The Realities of Depression

“Every age yearns for a more beautiful world. The deeper the desperation and the depression about the confusing present, the more intense that yearning.” Johan Huizinga

The only way out of depression is not to avoid it, but, ironically enough, to experience and embrace it in order to become enlightened. We are living in a world of depression: we see unhappy things happen to us, as well as to the people d around us. Many of us strive to distract ourselves from these but without much success. The only way out is  to experience and embrace them with an empty mindset—the mindset of Lao Tzu, the ancient sage who was the author of TAO TE CHING, an ancient classic on human wisdom.  

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

How to Quiet A Compulsive Mind

Because your mind does not voluntarily stay in the present moment, constantly shuffling back and forth between the past and the future, the only way to stop the thinking mind is to direct it to the present moment. When your mind stays in the present moment, it stops its thinking process of the past or the future—at least for the time being. To make your mind remain in the present moment—even though for just a short moment—you need acute awareness and deep concentration. To do that, you need constant and regular practice to focus or re-focus your mind on the present moment.

Once you can stop, at will, your mind from thinking, you have control over your thinking process, you are no longer a slave to your thoughts, and your mind becomes once again your friend, instead of your enemy. Learn to switch your mind on and off, just as you do with your computer.

Remember, we are all addicted to thinking, whether we want it or not; we must stop our thinking sometime and somehow.

Mind Training to Focus on the Present Moment

In your everyday life, you can practice mind training to focus on the present moment. Essentially, you are giving your full attention to what you are doing at that very present moment.

Reflective Thought

Focusing on the present moment makes you forget the past and the future.

Case in Point

Some people like to engage in dangerous sports, such as car racing or skydiving, because they would like to obliterate thoughts of the past and the future by focusing only on the thrills of the present moment.

If your mind is fully engaged in doing something, you will not be thinking of the past or the future, just like the car racers or skydivers. It is only when you are half-engaged mentally, then your mind begins to wander, letting your subconscious mind take over.

There is a difference between the knowledge mind and the thinking mind. The former provides facts or information about something or someone; the latter provides labels, judgments and opinions. Practice mind training to focus on the present moment so as to withdraw the thinking mind from the past and the future whenever it is not needed.

For example, you can focus your mind on your breathing. Notice how you breathe in and breathe out, how your body feels during inhalation and exhalation, and how the flow and rhythm of your breaths are affecting your mind. Put some stick-on notes on your computer monitor or anywhere in your house to remind you to practice conscious breathing every now and then throughout the day. Practicing conscious breathing for 2-3 minutes every hour or so does not interrupt with your daily work; just form this good habit of mindfulness and internal focus.

For example, you can focus your mind on your walking. Pay close attention to every step, every movement of your hands and feet, your breathing, and your body sensations while you are walking. Many people do their walking while listening to their music, or worse, talking on the cell phone; they are not letting their minds focus on the present moment.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The Bible Is the Source of Human Wisdom

Why the Bible Is the Source of Human Wisdom

The Bible is the source of human wisdom.

A Book of Divine Wisdom

The Bible is the Word of God. Through the Bible, God speaks to each and every one of us, if we are willing. In other words, the wisdom expressed in the Bible is God’s divine wisdom to man.

The Authenticity of Biblical Truths

According to Guinness Book of Records, the Bible is the all-time best-selling book, as well as the most translated work in world literature. This indicates that many people do believe that the Bible is a book of absolute truths and divine wisdom from God.

The Bible is a book of wisdom based on Biblical truths that require faith to believe in the authenticity of historical manuscripts reporting those events that had already taken place.

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.” (Luke 3: 1)

This Biblical truth is further attested to by human historical time scale: BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini—“in the year of our Lord”). Jesus Christ is a real historical figure, and His birth is a very solid historical fact reported by many historians.

The Old Testament and the New Testament

The Bible is made up of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament comprises thirty-nine books: the Pentateuch, written by Moses, about how the Israelites came to be the chosen people of God; the historical books, written by numerous authors, about the history of Israel, from its rise in Canaan to its downfall in Babylon; the poetical books about wisdom and worship for the Israelites; and the books of ancient prophets, admonishing and warning the Israelites of destruction through their sinful nature and disobedience to God.

These religious writings of ancient Israel focused on the chronicle history of Israel, the questions of good and evil in the world, the subtle relationships between God and man through worship and regulations, and the Covenant of God with man. In short, the Old Testament is the revelation of God’s wisdom to man.

The New Testament is a collection of writings by eight different writers (the Apostles: Matthew, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude; the Disciples: Mark, Luke), addressing different early Christian churches. This collection of twenty-seven books, comprising the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of John, appeared one after another in the second half of the first century.

The New Testament is explicit about the revelation of God’s wisdom to man through the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, and the Messiah of Israel. God’s wisdom is expressed through Jesus’ teachings, culminating in the Crucifixion, which symbolizes the conquest of human death due to sin, as well as the fulfillment of the Covenant of God with man.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Anxiety and the Mind

Anxiety

Pay attention to your thoughts: see if they are changeable throughout the day. If they are, probably you are suffering from anxiety, which often results from nutrient deficiency, toxins, and food allergies, according to Dr. Abram Hoffer, an expert in orthomolecular psychiatry. Dr. Abram Hoffer recommends the following:

Eliminate processed foods loaded with additives, artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, and food colorings and preservatives. These chemicals may be responsible for food allergies in certain individuals. A healthy diet should eliminate these toxic chemicals.

Eat whole foods, such as brown rice, green vegetables, which seldom cause food allergies. Your healthy diet should be made up of whole foods, not artificial or processed ones.

Avoid all the sugar: blood-sugar disorder (hypoglycemia) is the basis of most anxiety disorders, such as panic attacks, and food allergies.

Check your food allergies. Yeast infection may lead to food intolerances and food allergies.

Over the years, your body may have accumulated heavy metal toxicity: lead, cadmium, and arsenic put in animal feed to remove germs; aluminum in baking powder, table salt, vanilla powder, and emulsifiers in processed foods; and mercury in dental filings.

Perform simple hair test to determine the level of toxicity in your body.

Other metal toxicity from foods and the environment may result in depression, headaches, lack of concentration, and forgetfulness.

Water has pesticides and heavy metals. Drink only filtered tap water or distilled water from glass bottles, not plastic ones.

Keep your body allergy free.

Antioxidant vitamins

Get all antioxidant vitamins from your healthy diet, preferably not their supplement counterparts.

Vitamin B complex

The vitamin B complex consists of eight water-soluble vitamins. The B vitamins work together to boost your body’s metabolism, enhance your immune system and improve your nervous system. Brewer's yeast is one of the best sources of the B vitamins.

B1 enhances your mental functioning. Rich food sources high in B1 include liver, heart, and kidney meats, eggs, leafy green vegetables, nuts, legumes, berries, wheat germs, and enriched cereal. Include them in your healthy diet.

B2 is abundant in mushrooms, milk, meat, liver, dark green vegetables, and enriched cereals, pasta, and bread.

B3 may help avoid irritability and mental confusion, which are often symptoms of mental depression. Food sources rich in B3 are chicken, salmon, tuna, liver, nuts, dried peas, enriched cereals, and dried beans.

B5 deficiency may result in allergies, fatigue, and nausea, which are often associated with mental depression. B5 is most abundant in eggs, whole grain cereals, legumes, and meat.

B6 helps your body absorb and metabolize amino acids and omega 3 fatty acids. Whole grains, bread, liver, green beans, spinach, avocados, and bananas are rich food sources of B6.

B7 (biotin) helps your body release energy from carbohydrates. Generally, your body has no deficiency in B7.

B9 (folic acid) deficiency may lead to mental depression. Studies have shown that more than 30 percent of depressed patients have folic acid deficiency. Good food sources of folic acid include leafy green vegetables, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and organ meets.

B12 is critical to the optimum functioning of your nervous system. B12 can be found only in animal sources, such as eggs, milk, fish, meat, and liver. Therefore, vegetarians are strongly encouraged to take B12 supplement if they cannot obtain it from their healthy diet.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E, according to a previous scientific study, had been implicated in depression: patients suffering from major depression had lower levels of antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin E. However, it was not known whether it was due to inadequate antioxidant vitamins, or a result of the depression itself.

Other scientific studies found that the lower vitamin E in blood not only increases physiological stress as well as oxidative stress during mental depression, but also protects your brain against damage caused by free radicals and other reactive oxygen species produced during basic cellular metabolism. Antioxidant vitamins are potent against free radicals for optimum mental health

Good sources of vitamin E include egg yolk, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and vegetable oils.

Remember, it is often difficult to obtain sufficient vitamin E from foods even in a healthy diet. A daily supplement containing 400IU is highly recommended.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C, another one of the important antioxidant vitamins, plays an important role in the synthesis of neurotransmitters, which enable efficient nerve impulse transmission between nerve axons. Vitamin C is important and necessary for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and serotonin. It catalyzes the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine and the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin.

Vitamin C can be found in many fruits and vegetables. Remember, vitamin C cannot be stored in your body, and is easily destroyed in cooking.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Changing Mental Perceptions

Be neither a pessimist nor an optimist. Extreme pessimism is a catastrophe magnified, but extreme optimism is reality denied. Neither is good for mental health. Given the same situation, a pessimist may give up while an optimist may strive to change the situation. A healthy dose of optimism can be uplifting and hopeful, while a healthy dose of pessimism can be realistic and wise. Achieving a balance of being realistic and hopeful is a challenge, but essential to positive mental health.

Remember this maxim: Your life experiences remain the same; but your perception and response to those experiences will make a difference in your life.

Accordingly, your mental perception plays a decisive role in your mental health. Fortunately, optimism can be learned, and pessimism can be unlearned.

Ways to become more optimistic

The first step to optimism is to identify the thoughts and beliefs running through the back of your mind after something unpleasant has happened.

Interpret repeatedly your beliefs and feelings.

Challenge, if necessary, your beliefs, not your feelings, because what you feel is what you feel and it is real to you; but your beliefs may change under the scrutiny of logic and perspective.

If you are paranoid about something, your fear is genuine; but challenging and rationalizing it with common sense and logic may change your feelings. If you act despite your feelings, your beliefs and emotions will follow right behind.

Next, record all your feelings about several events and your different responses to them. Do this for a few unpleasant situations, which may or may not be similar. You may then begin to see a repeated pattern in how you interpret and react to those events, and that will help you become aware of and, ultimately, change that unwanted pattern.

If pessimistic thoughts, such as “I will never be able to do it”, pop up in your mind, tell yourself that a pessimistic way of thinking is present for you. Once your thoughts begin to change, you may feel better, contributing to rejuvenated mental health.

The next step is to distract yourself from your pessimistic beliefs or dispute them.

Disputing pessimistic beliefs will bring deeper and longer lasting results than distracting will, but distraction can also be as effective and may sometimes be easier on you.

If you want to get away from a problem, you should not focus on it. Too much thinking and analyzing may make any problem seem worse than it actually is. Instead, focus your attention on something else, such as the possible solutions to the problem.

Disputing pessimistic beliefs involves replacing them with more logical and realistic explanations.

Step back and re-evaluate the situation, and your thoughts may come into focus, becoming more positive, and you may even be able to work things out faster. On the other hand, if you painstakingly ruminate and relive your experiences, repeatedly analyzing them, and getting in touch with your feelings about them, you will only reinforce those unhappy feelings; analysis creates paralysis.

If you are mentally healthy, you are forever caught up in the present moment, never thinking about the past or the future - both of which you have no control. Today is a wonderful day - live it in the present, and live it to the fullest! You will be surprised how this positive attitude can restore your mental health.

The mind and the will

Distinguish between your mind and your will. Your mind, a thought-producing machine, provides you with many options to choose from, but your will makes the final decision.

So much in life is beyond your control. Whatever, that is your life and only you can decide to be happy. You can choose to be happy regardless of your circumstances. Your happiness is a result of your decision to be happy. Your emotions and feelings are created by your thoughts.

Happiness or unhappiness cannot exist on its own. It occurs because of your thoughts, which can be changed by your will, if you decide to do so. If you can think, you can change.

Your past thoughts are about events, however glorious they might have been, that are no longer real. The good or bad experience is gone and exists solely in your mind as a memory. Yesterday is a bygone day, today is a new day, and tomorrow is another day. Ruminating about the past only paralyzes the present and may even doom the future with anticipatory anxiety. How you process your thoughts will make a big difference in your life!

Changing the Thinking Mind

Your brain is the hardware of your whole being. Make it functional! Make it productive, not lethargic as in the case of depression. A functional brain makes you younger for longer.

If you want to be what you really want to be, you must make your brain work for you, not against you. Your brain plays a pivotal role in your personality, feelings, and behavior because it is the seat of your perception and experience. It controls

YOU control your own thinking; your brain creates your own world—how you live your life, and how happy you are. It is all in your mind. You are responsible for how you feel - even the stresses in life.

Deep limbic system (near the center of your brain)

People and events do not necessarily cause your moodiness, irritability, negative thinking, decreased motivation, loss of appetite, and insomnia (all common symptoms of depression).

Your deep limbic system may be the culprit. How? Your deficiency of neurotransmitters may increase metabolism or inflammation in your deep limbic system, leading to its malfunctioning.

Overactive deep limbic system

An overactive deep limbic system may make you do the following:

You look back at the past, and you feel regret.

You look at the present, and you feel dissatisfaction.

You look at the future, and you feel anxiety.

These negative thoughts are known as automatic negative thoughts (ANT).

Healing the Deep Limbic System

The only way to heal your deep limbic system is: change your moment-to-moment thought patterns. Learn to rethink your thinking. Change your thought patterns. Yes, you can do it! Everybody can!  Rethink your thinking of your thinking mind.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau