Attention! Thought Crossing! – Or, The Secret of What’s Between Your Ears

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 by: Inna Nirenburg

What are you thinking - right now? 'I'm reading your
article!' you say. Well, take a little bit of a closer look. What's
spinning in the back of your mind? Is it that big deadline that's
looming at the end of the week? Or how you're going to deal with your
mother-in-law this weekend? Or maybe you're worrying about your
finances?

Are you even aware of the thoughts going through your head right now? What about... now?

Some Bad News From the Thought Police

Scientists estimate that an average person will think at
a rate of roughly between 1 and 4 thoughts per second while awake.
That's well over 60,000 thoughts during a typical day! And, of all this
jabbering going on in your head, it's estimated that you've thought
over 95% of your thoughts before. So, not only is your mind generally
on a constant hamster wheel, but it's also doing this spinning
continuously, unproductively - and unoriginally.

The Power Between Your Ears - It's Not What You Think

Enough bad news? Ok - now here's the other side of the
story. You have within you the greatest, simplest, and most powerful
tool imaginable. It can lead you to great prosperity, joy, and
fulfillment - or it can drop you instantly into the depths of despair
and negativity.

No, I'm not talking simply about the power of thought -
not even a fraction of those thousands of stale, repeat thoughts
running through your head right now will be of much use to you. (Trust
me; nope, not even the one wondering for the tenth time whether you
turned the stove off this morning). But what is powerful is where you
put your attention within all this clatter.

Mr. Webster Says:

'Attention: Concentration of the mental powers; a close
or careful observing or listening'. So how does that apply to you?
'Concentration of the mental powers' - all too often, we give away the
concentration part of our attention to things utterly undeserving.
Thoughts of worry, negative predictions, minor irritations, and daily
minutiae are hardly productive, and take up too much room in your head.

And this leaves very little space for the second,
critical, aspect of attention: 'a close or careful observing or
listening'. We, as a culture, don't like to sit back and listen. We
prefer to be constantly inundated with forceful messages which grab our
attention and don't let go. We too often forget to sit back and
actually listen to the small voice of intuition. You know, the one that
already has the answers that we're trying so hard to figure out.

Try It Now

Give it a shot. Really. Stop for a minute, and focus
actively on your thoughts - concentrate. What are you thinking? You
know, that quiet and incessant little buzz behind your eyes; that
unsettled feeling - what's behind that? Now shift your attention to
listening, see if there's a message waiting for you. Just below the
surface, what is it saying? Listen... You're now learning to
distinguish the noise of your mind from the voice of your intuition,
your inner knowing - all through the tool of attention.

You Are Not Your Thoughts

There's huge power in putting your attention actively on
your thoughts. This helps you to separate the you from the thought. You
are not your thoughts, you are having thoughts, they are passing
through your head. You are bigger than your thoughts, and you can
choose whether or not you want to give them power. And you do this by
either giving them your attention, or by allowing them to just float on
by.

Head and Heart

And it's not just thoughts that you can focus your
attention on. As cognitive psychologists and holistic healers have
known for years, emotions and thoughts are deeply intertwined. One
influences the other, and both influence your physical biochemistry. So
learning to actively focus your attention on the thoughts and feelings
you want, while letting go of those you don't want, could be the best
thing you'll ever do for your health, your well being, and your
happiness.

Oy Vey

'Great', you may say. 'But it isn't so easy to catch my
thoughts and feelings, or to do something about them. I don't even know
how I feel half of the time, and the thoughts go by so quickly!' Fear
not - here's are a few simple exercises.

Use Your Words

One way to 'catch' your fleeting thoughts and feelings
and to focus your attention on them is to 'use your words'. Just like a
parent may tell an unruly and whining child who is about to pick a
fight to 'use your words' to explain what's bothering him, so can you
gently nudge yourself to discipline. This may seem silly, but it's
remarkably powerful. Write down or speak out loud (or into a tape
recorder) exactly what the thoughts and feelings are. Articulating them
clearly gives them shape and focus, and allows you much more freedom to
act in a way that supports your growth.

Thanks For Sharing

Now, as for how to manage the spinning and repeating
thoughts, here's a very simple and effective trick. Just like a parent
knows not to take everything their child says too seriously, you can
also learn to distinguish helpful thoughts and feelings from
destructive ones. You can simply tell your thinker - 'thanks for
sharing. I will take your comments under advisement. Now, please move
along'.

So What?

So how does all this relate to helping you find 'what's
next', or guiding you to 'a you-er you'? Very directly, actually. If
you practice putting your direct attention on the jabbering of your
mind, articulating those slippery thoughts, and consciously and
purposefully telling them 'thanks for sharing!' and then purposefully
re-focusing your attention where YOU choose, you will begin to create
the space for your true inner voice to come through.

Plant the Seeds:

Now it's your turn. Take a couple of minutes and try
these exercises. Really. Try it now. You never know - hey, what's
next...?

1. Practice noticing your thoughts. Try the exercise in the 'Try it Now' section above. Really.

2. Use your words. Get over feeling silly, and actually
write down what your thoughts are. Try speaking, try using a tape
recorder. Experiment. Notice which thoughts show up over and over. Note
your top 5 - make friends with them, and thank them profusely for
sharing. And remember - attention is power. What thoughts are you
giving your power to?

3. Choose consciously. Once you become aware of the
thoughts going through your head, you can begin to make choices. For
example: 'Hm, I've been thinking a lot about how unhappy I am in my
job. Thanks for sharing. Duly noted. I think I'll choose to focus my
attention elsewhere right now, thanks.'

P.S. So - what are you thinking... now?

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, and insights. Drop me a line at mailto:in@heyWhatsNext.com.

© 2004 Inna Nirenburg

About the Author

Inna Nirenburg is a powerful life coach and workshop leader. She uses her deep wisdom and intuition, as well as a concrete actionable process, to help you answer the question 'What's Next?' in all areas of your life. See http://www.heyWhatsNext.com for more information, or to subscribe to her monthly newsletter, 'Inklings: Your Guide to a You-er You'.

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