A Penny for your 50,000 Thoughts

According to psychologists, we each have approximately 50,000 thoughts per day. (If this sounds inconceivable, close your eyes and try counting all the random thoughts that float through your consciousness in 60 seconds.) Like the Indy 500, most thoughts race through our minds, zoom across a range of awareness, and make occasional pit stops in our mental psyche.

Pondering this staggering number, it’s amazing we’re able to communicate coherently (usually) or accomplish any task (sometimes). The array of thoughts zipping through our head isn’t necessarily the problem; generally speaking, we function fine. The greater challenge lies in the quality of these thoughts: Out of the 50,000 thoughts you had yesterday, how many are different from the 50,000 you are having today?

We have the tendency of locking ourselves into patterns of thinking reinforced by beliefs, behaviors, and habits. Although each moment is unique—a whole universe within itself—by default, we unknowingly engage analogous thoughts over and over. Precision focused with positive intention, these thoughts can be powerful allies as you fashion your legacy. Alas, too often we contemplate inharmonious work environments, replay nonsensical arguments, and simmer in ongoing family and/or financial crises.

The qualitative sum of your thoughts defines your experience. Your level of happiness, passion, freedom, energy, and faith is a byproduct of those racing, aimless thoughts flashing through your psyche. Gravity tends to pull us toward the lowest common denominator. If we remain unaware of our thought patterns, we end up like the vast majority of people who do not attain their desired level of bliss.

Obviously, the “power of positive thinking” is not a new concept. We know. We get it: What we focus on becomes our reality. But with 50,000 chaotic, whirling thoughts to attempt to manage, even our best efforts will likely fall short. So why not try something different? Perhaps even more useful in our mental navigation efforts is the ability to step back from our cerebral zooming, observing the racecars rather than driving in them. A person exhibiting such mindful mastery might live in the high mountains of the Himalayas, in secluded monasteries, or some other isolated, sacred environment with limited outside distraction. Through endless hours of meditation, these highly conscious beings learn to detach from inherent mind chatter and achieve a state of idyllic calm, love and interconnectedness.

What about the rest of us not living in temples on mountaintops? Can we learn to let our thoughts zip by without trying to grab hold? Certainly. And as is the case so often in life, the solutions are simple:

• Sit on a bench and stare aimlessly at the sky.
• Lie in bed with your eyes closed and focus on a single breath.
• Sit by a window and listen to the summer rain chiming against a parked car.
• Let go of all your inhibitions and swing a golf club.
• Walk calmly on a hiking trail leading to an unknown destination.
• Hum a tune to a song you haven’t heard in years (or hum an unsung song floating around in your head.)
  

Find a sacred space within yourself and uncover a land of ultimate peace (at least, momentarily) beyond worry, depression and anger. Deep in the dark corners of your conscious mind await hidden treasures of love and tranquility. Once you unlock the chest, a pool of newfound energy and ideas springs forth.

So what are you thinking about?

Happy Journeys!
Scott Jeffrey