Radical Happiness • Gina 
Unnecessary Thoughts
Unnecessary Thoughts
| Unnecessary Thoughts |
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| Post by Gina Lake | |||
| Tuesday, 03 March 2009 06:38 | |||
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It’s obvious that some thoughts are unnecessary. Many come out of nowhere and have nothing to do with what you’re doing or experiencing. We are like radio stations, picking up signals that come from who knows where, and some thoughts are like that. But even thoughts about the past and future don’t contribute to what you are doing. Even thoughts about what you are doing aren’t necessary! How many thoughts actually contribute to what you are doing and experiencing in this moment? When you ask the question that way, you discover that thoughts just don’t contribute and they aren’t necessary. Try to find an example of a thought that is necessary. They are few and far between.Isn’t it funny how important and necessary we think thinking is? This is part of the grand Illusion. We think we need to think to make life happen and go okay. But when you start examining the contribution your thoughts make to each moment—to your experience and to whatever you are doing—you discover that they are not only unnecessary, but they clutter the moment with confusion, negativity, and stress and, therefore, interfere with what you are experiencing and doing—and with your happiness. This is in large part because our thoughts are often negative and pushy (e.g., “You have to get this done now!”), which causes stress that can easily make us feel overwhelmed by life. Life is never actually overwhelming because there is only so much we can do in a moment. But the mind brings ideas into this moment about what you “have” to do, what you want to do, what you’ve done in the past, what others want you to do, doubts about doing it, and ideas about any number of other things unrelated to what you are doing or need to do, which confuse and stress you out. All these ideas are not only unnecessary, but counterproductive. Stress makes us less effective and efficient, it makes us crabby and unhappy, and it’s unhealthy. Those are the real results of giving our attention to thoughts and letting them guide our life. The good news is that thoughts are unnecessary—not just a few of them, but nearly all of them. That makes it a lot easier to discriminate. You don’t have to go sorting through your thoughts for the right ones. You just need to recognize that thought is part of the false self and, therefore, false and was never worthwhile guidance. You can disregard all the thoughts that relate to “me” and “my story” and all the other chatter, judgments, opinions, memories, fantasies, dreams, desires, likes and dislikes, complaints, and other negativity of the ego. What you are left with is a functional mind that still knows how to read, add and subtract, use a computer, drive a car, read a map, follow directions, and do all the other things a mind was designed for. What a relief to realize that the voice in your head can be ignored! Can you trust this? Just start noticing how unnecessary your thoughts are to what you are doing and experiencing, and see for yourself. Visit Gina Lake's website at http://www.radicalhappiness.com for more blog posts, book excerpts, audio and video recordings, and a free newsletter. Flower photo: © John De Bord/ Dreamstime.com
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