Keep thinking…

By thinking we understand the world outside and we are able to take decisions based on our perception.

However, as our life develops, thoughts repeat and old experiences restrict our capacity of embracing the unknown. There may be a point when routine has taken over…

Routine is good, it works as a pipe that enables the water to reach the whole house; it channels our energy and makes life easier. Without a routine, a person would be like a hose connected to water, but with nobody holding on… lots of water, but no clear focus.

To prevent that, it is important to dare, to challenge assumptions and to experiment. It does not mean to refuse reality or go against things for the sake of it, just reshape reality.

The alarm goes off anytime we feel we are taking the same decisions as before without a proper reflection, anytime we feel routine seeping into our minds and our lives look less bright than the day before.

To help with that, let’s ask powerful questions that shake our beliefs, meditate or contemplate. Let’s allow the mind access to a new fresh source of possibilities every time.

Change by reflecting on your own thoughts

With the art of reflection, a Greek man was able to calculate the size of Earth to an impressive approximation, before Christ, without travelling and with no special gadgets. Equally, another Greek deduced that there was a very small particle, the atom. In other words: reflect and the impossible becomes possible.

Just think what could happen to your life if you too reflect on your reality, finding hidden solutions For instance, before putting a thought into action you reflect on it and then, act based on it... What would happen?

Thoughts are not made for action. They happen in a very different environment - our minds - where reality is quite subjective. When you are hungry, your mind fantasizes with things that possibly you can't eat as you don't have the time to cook it, the money to buy it or you are in a diet.

Before action, thoughts go through an inner process: first, without you knowing it, you check your thoughts according to your present awareness (I am in a diet!!) and make a decision on the basis of that. It is that decision, a processed series of thoughts that goes into action.

However, if you have a life-changing decision as a change of career or a divorce, that process is not enough. Awareness is an ambiguous thing - maybe you are aware of the wrong things...

The best and worst example is racism. During an occasion where a person meets another person with a different skin color, the racist would be fully aware of his or her skin color, something he does not often think about (I guess you just did, right?). The inner process is not enough to provide a reality check on the thought or perception of superiority of one race over another. We need an extra tool so that we re-assess thoughts and make different decisions.

A very deep reflection with a powerful set of questions may help a person to do exactly that.

• Why don't I feel comfortable around this person?
• What is it I value more from one person? How do I see that in this particular individual?
• Where is this belief coming from? How worthwhile is to keep it?
• What would be another way to approach this person?

After that, decision will be made with more confidence and clarity. If a change is required, the person will start to move on that direction, and without knowing it, you have changed your own world!!

The art of thinking (The 16 celestial arts)

We all think, but some think, better than others. What is the secret in that art?

First of all, they are able to minimize their waste. Look at your house and you will see lots of waste, but basically they come from three different sources: 1) rests of what you have used, 2) environment (dust, for instance), 3) things you have acquired but which do not contribute to your household. Out of the three, the third one is the most dangerous. One lady in Brazil had about 700 tons of things, including rubbish, in her yard... Now, just imagine how much do you have within? How many situations, people, problems and other things that happened many years ago are still in your memory? They are still defining how you should live. They are still in your thoughts...

A person with the art of thinking will be able to discard anything that is not valuable for the self or for others. He or she will be able to have thoughts that are full of value.

The second thing is in relation to the quality of those thoughts. OK, perhaps you don't accumulate useless things, but what you have, is that of good quality? You will consider quality as a set of criteria such as life duration or resistance. In relation to thoughts, their quality depends on the level of the awareness you had it.

Many thoughts just pop in our minds, like pop-corn, with no visible cause. Their quality is normally related to the awareness of the moment; for instance, if you are really relaxed, it is possible that thought brings you the solution for your financial problems. But if you are about to be operated and you are stressed due to that, it is quite possible your thoughts will be dark, with lots of images of people dying in hospitals.

Other thoughts have a very clear cause and you can manage your awareness in that case. If you are very relaxed, but you need to be concerned with what your daughter is telling you it is possible that you will talk yourself into paying more attention to what she is saying. On the other hand, if you are about to be operated and you read about people who have died on the table, you can talk to yourself in a positive and encouraging way.

At both situations, quality of thought is more elevated if it is a positive, encouraging, caring one. The one who masters the art of thinking will be careful to cultivate her or his awareness so that thoughts with that quality emerge.

To master that art, the best think is learning meditation, as it helps you to monitor your thoughts and create those, which give you a sense of well-being. In a powerful meditation state, you can easily create a masterpiece in your mind.