Self-Talk - Getting Back to Center -

The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, by Michael Singer, pulls me back to center again and again. Well, that and time in the mountains. I've been fortunate to have the mountains and Singer with me these past few days. I know what I need, I know what I want, and yet sometimes it's easier to wallow in self-doubt than it is to turn toward truth.

Time in the mountains with pines and quakies with clean air and minimal traffic forces me to look and listen - the mountains pull me to the present, and there I clear my mind.

Time with Singer, nudges me to let go, untether my soul from doubts and negative self-talk, and humbly look toward my truth. Which is where my authenticity lies, and where my soul speaks clearly.

"Our thoughts are like rumors in the wind. They might be true, but then again, they might not be." 

"Instead of confronting the mind's rumor mill with logic and 'positive thinking,' it makes far more sense to step outside of the endless cycle and just watch the thoughts unfold in all their fevered beauty. But this can be difficult. If you look closely at the 'rumors' that start washing around the mind when you feel stress, you'll see how much a part of you they really appear to be. They carry quite a punch and may be central to what you believe about yourself and the situation in which you find yourself." 

Besides the bullet points, "When we feel stressed and life is frantic, thoughts like these often feel like the absolute truth about us and the world. But they are, in fact, symptoms of stress, just as a high temperature is a symptom of flu."

"Becoming aware that these thoughts are symptoms of stress and exhaustion, rather than facts that must be true, allows you to step back from them. And this grants you the space to decide whether to take them seriously or not. In time, through mindfulness practice, you can learn to notice them, acknowledge their presence and let them go."