Radar Mind
Posted By sharon on August 9, 2009
The mind is like a radar system.
Beep, beep, beep
It’s always scanning for something on which to focus its beam of awareness. Pay attention to what your mind searches for to offer an opinion, inner comment, or evaluation about. Noticing the themes of our scanning mind provides useful insights into our habit patterns of thinking. Revealing these patterns is a step toward making our lives work better since thoughts precede actions.
How this works: Pay attention to what your mind makes of the things that occur in your life. For example, on days when a number of everyday events seems to go wrong, what does your mind do with that? Do you look for:
- Someone or something to blame, to criticize, get angry with, argue with, get even, worry about, attack, compare yourself to, fear, feel sad or hopeless about?
It is possible to allow ordinary events to occur without needing to make someone (including yourself) or something wrong about that happening.
Take some moments to pause. Enjoying a few deep breaths is relaxing for the body and mind. Let the mind settle down a bit and notice what you are doing. Ask yourself a few key questions such as: “is this way of seeing my experience beneficial for me and for others? What do I really want to cultivate in my mind—peacefulness and clarity, or agitation? What feelings am I reinforcing with these ways of assessing my situation?”
Mindfulness practice:
- Notice what’s happening.
- Ask if my response to the situation is useful/beneficial or not.
- Question any critical thoughts.
- Sit with my body response and let the body and mind settle.
Notice how the rest of your day goes after taking a little personal time for understanding yourself better.
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