The Number One Question Asked
Years ago I was blessed with the opportunity of traveling around
the country with don Miguel Ruiz, author of "The Four
Agreements," while I was running his organization, Sixth Sun
Foundation. Since then I have been traveling and lecturing on my
own, and one of my most cherished benefits of teaching has been
listening to the questions and concerns that so many of you have
voiced over the years. The most frequently asked question that I
hear is, "How do I quiet my mind?" So many of us are tired of
being abused by the constant noise within our heads. Try as we
may, we cannot stop the mind from its constant chatter,
conversations with non-existent people, arguments with people
who are not present, tirades of self-importance, replaying of
past conversations, fantasy situations, laundry lists of things
to do, and just plain nonsense.
At its worst, our internal dialog is nasty and derogatory and at
its best boring and repetitive. If I could share the one tool
that would have the greatest possible effect on quieting the
mind it would be this: Do not believe yourself or take yourself
personally. If you are a person seeking happiness, this tool is
key. Most of us believe everything our mind tells us because we
believe that we are our mind and, therefore, we always take the
point of view of our mind. But I can assure you that this is not
truth.
Right now your mind is able to capture its own attention 100% of
the time. As soon as your mind begins talking it finds the
internal dialog so scintillating that it hooks its own
attention. We call this listening to ourselves. But that is the
problem. You are not listening to "yourself" but, instead, a
program that has been stored in your mind.
You are not your mind or the program contained within it. Your
mind contains the sum total of everything that you have learned
and experienced, and all of your experiences are being processed
from your point of view. I am sure it all seems interesting and
truthful, but if you really spend time looking at what your mind
is telling you and actually hear your personal story, you will
find that yes, the internal dialogue is interesting, but not
necessarily truth. If it is not necessarily truth, then why
bother listening to it? Our mind/program is constantly talking
to us because this is the way it validates its existence. When
it talks it is listening to itself. Your authentic or spirit
self has no need to listen to all those conversations. Your
authentic self knows exactly what to do without you having to
think and ruminate about things.
The problem is that we have been convinced by our minds that we
cannot survive without our constant thinking. And as long as you
have the belief that you cannot survive without the constant
chatter of your mind you will never be able to quiet your mind!
You have a much more reliable source to depend on for your
life's decisions and choices, your heart. You cannot hear your
heart if your mind is talking so loudly that it drowns out your
heart. So you see, your attention is being captured by a program
rather than your spirit, your authentic self. Stop believing
that noisy program and start putting all your attention on your
heart and the love you are generating. If you stop believing
your mind and focus on your heart, you will find that the noise
in your head starts fading away.