Don't believe everything you think

 

So ever since the previous breakdown, I was in JB two weeks back and I chanced upon this book. I remember while I was driving in Sydney, there was an audiobook that I was listening to that mentioned that not everything we think is real or something so naturally this caught my eye. And of course, the words like "End of Suffering" 

So the super short summary about this book is that we all humans have thoughts and thinking. The author believes that thoughts are ideas that are devoid of negative emotions and it serves as an uplifting and happy thing. However, the Ego inside all of us will start to think about it and rationalize why it does not make sense. Of course, lets say a thought says you want to rob a bank naturally the thinking will be it does not make any sense, the risk of being caught is high and the trade off is not worth it. So this thinking is like the mind or rather I would prefer the subconscious way of trying to do anything that is dangerous or self-harm. 

However, as we grow up, coupled with societal pressures and survival needs, the subconscious starts to be way more protective and start to become like a negative lens of vetting and eventually one feels that there is a lack of choices and that life is pretty much fixed and nothing can be changed. In reality, the truth is way further than that, we have way more choices than we think. 

The book tries to get the reader to harness the thoughts rather than spend energy on thinking\ruminating on negative things that had happen as the subconscious will bring these negative things as a way to reaffirm why one should avoid doing things. And when these negative incidents were brought up, naturally the negative emotions follow and then that's where chronic depression starts. 

Recently, I have been trying to classify my mind's chatter into Thoughts and Thinking. So I will say to myself that this is a Thought and if I start to think and negative emotions start ebbing , I will know that this is ruminating and that I should stop. Naturally, no one can stop Thinking fully because one need to think about something but it should be neutral and from a rational point of view. It should not be riddled with negative emotions or maybe euphoria even which may mean a certain thing is over-hyped..