WEEK END ENGAGEMENT WRITING TOPICS: WEEK 162/ Marcus Aurelius quote

Our mind is something extraordinary. Day by day, since we are born, it is open to learn. We learn to walk, we learn to talk, we learn to eat, we learn to read and write. Throughout life we ​​learn all kinds of things. One of the most important things we learn is to learn to think, and the way we think largely determines our lives, makes us happy or unhappy, makes us prosperous or poor.

Our experiences are shaping our way of thinking, that is, a way of processing the things that happen to us. Our parents, our teachers, the people around us, the media, teach us a way of understanding our experiences, reinforce our attitudes, our actions in a positive or negative way.

Body, mind and soul are storing day by day our experiences and the way in which we perceive them and shape our being, the way in which we see ourselves and the way in which we think and act.

Our brain, that amazing machine, stores what we have learned, how to walk, how to ride a bicycle, how to prepare the food we like, but it also stores which actions are correct and which are not, according to what those who educate us have taught us or what actions they have done to me. feel good and which ones don't.

Although we are not always aware of our way of thinking, our thoughts determine the way in which we perceive our experiences and thus also the way in which we act as a consequence of that way of processing what happens to us.

If my brain keeps a certain idea, which for me becomes true, that leads me to act according to that idea. For example, "you have to work hard to prosper", "being honest is good", "being rich is good" or "being rich is bad", "men don't cry". But also more personal ideas: "you're very smart" or "you're an idiot", "you're very beautiful" or "you don't do anything right". That is why I said a few lines back that our way of thinking can make us happy or unhappy.

Through psychological therapy and through the practice of Buddhist meditation I have become more aware of my thoughts and limiting beliefs that for many years led me to act in a way that made me feel unhappy, that made me perceive myself negatively and to perceive the world around me in a catastrophic way. People, institutions and the media often reinforce a negative way of seeing the world and this is terrible.

Fortunately, the daily practice of meditation, the meeting with some teachers who have reinforced a more positive way of thinking and acting, have made me a much happier person with his own life and with his way of perceiving the world. I understood that you can choose the way you approach what happens to you and the way you react to what happens around you. It has not been easy, it took me many years to understand it and change my way of thinking and acting.

To conclude, I can only tell you that it is very important to review and change those negative ideas that can prevent you from being a happy person, that can prevent you from reaching your goals. The mind is really powerful, if you tell yourself "I can't", you won't be able to. Change the idea to "I can't right now, but I'm going to make it." If you tell yourself "life is hard work and suffering" it is what to have. If you have difficult days, do not tell yourself that it will always be like this.

If something doesn't work out for you, take it as a lesson, never tell yourself "everything goes wrong for me". Try again. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, tried many times without success, until he finally succeeded. Be patient, don't torture yourself with negative thoughts when something goes wrong. Although sometimes we all make mistakes, all human beings are extraordinary, although most people don't know it! We all have incredible potentialities, an extraordinary mind.