From the book “The Power of Stillness”. . . .
It is a human tendency to relate to whatever thoughts or tendencies come to our mind as automatic reality—even more so to feelings that arise within. And no surprise! The landscape of our inner experience is vivid enough that it’s not hard to understand why we would assume those experiences are a reflection of who we are and the world around us.
But do we have to? The answer is no. An important part of mindfulness is growing awareness of the difference between between what is real and what is true. The longer people are able to rest in stillness, the more a relieving discovery emerges: however real certain thoughts are, not all content passing though the mind is true, or good, or worth paying attention to at all! And with a little practice, we can come to relate to passing mental content as just that—rather than an automatic indicator of reality.
For some, it can help to imagine thoughts as a river passing passing by with you sitting on the bank, looking on. With children you can help them imagine watching a “thought parade” safely from the sidewalk. Or you might imagine thoughts as clouds passing overhead, or as fireworks on the horizon . . . with you safely at a distance, just watching.
As soon as you push back from thoughts (and feelings, too), here’s the best news: you don’t have to take them so personally. Nor will you feel so driven by them. Instead of getting pushed, pulled, or consumed by a particular thought (or feeling), you can instead evaluate it with some objectivity: What is this thought? Is it worth anything? is it true, or real, or good? is it of God?
Then you can make the call! If something is worth considering further, you can do so. If not, you can let it pass like the garbage truck that drives past your home every Tuesday. ~Jacob D. Hess, Carrie L. Skarda, Kyle D. Anderson, Ty R. Mansfield, The Power of Stillness (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019), 75-76.
(Posts with a preamble asterisk * are for a more general audience, and not specific to teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
