Life Lesson 25: The Only True Problem is My Own Monkey Mind

Our mind can be both a blessing and a curse.  It stores a lot of information and can be helpful in solving problems.  BUT it also creates a lot of problems.  My mind tells me stories it has completely made up...both good and back.  It makes assumptions.  If I'm not in a good place, it looks for all kinds of bad things in my life to point out to me.  It's amazing to me how many decisions I've made over the course of my life from made up information in my mind.  Decisions not based on any facts whatsoever.

I remember being at a workshop many years ago where we talked about how to tell if it's real...if it's facts we are working with or crap made up in our head.  The measure was to ask ourselves if the story would stand up in a court of law.  As we picked apart our stories, we discovered that much of it would not stand up...because it just wasn't true.  Much of it was hearsay or made up by our monkey mind.

Sometimes it feels like a full time job to manage my monkey mind and it can be exhausting BUT worth the effort.  When I am able to stay in a place of love...to keep my heart open...my monkey mind is quieted and I am able to be clear from a place of compassion and love and make decisions that support me in a much better way...a healthier way...a loving way.

I find I am able to keep my heart open when I practice mindfulness...when I spend time in nature, connecting to the energy of the earth.  I must remain grounded and centered and notice when I'm not so I can make adjustments in my life.

[caption id="attachment_8461" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Monkeys at the Como Zoo[/caption]

What do you do to quiet your monkey mind?