Beautiful People! happy Monday! I am hoping that your weekend was restful and in spite of this climate was productive.
Let's go!
It has been 51 days since NYC went on pause; and in 51 days, our lives shifted from the routine and structure to adopting a new "normal" consisting of "social distancing" and wearing a mask just to buy groceries at the market. Hangouts literally happen at google hangouts, Whatsapp or Zoom; many of us (myself included) have not been able to spend time with our significant other, relying on the phone, text or video call. I live in New York City, a mecca of diverse restaurants, the theatre, museums and of course summer street fairs all shut down until further notice.
This is enough to get angry, frustrated, leaving one in a negative headspace. We are infuriated with an enemy we can't see and only know of it by infection or knowing someone who has been impacted (infection, loss of life are not the only impacting factors-I know many who have endured job lost as a result of this). It's tough to be positive in this environment, however, we need to think positive, as negative thinking eats at our energy life force.
In order to reset our thought process from the negative to positive, we must take the reins and adopt habits that will cultivate our positive thinking; it is a retraining of the mind that we need to focus energy and time into productive and peaceful thoughts. The first thought is cultivating awareness; many of us are moving in autopilot and not realizing the inner dialogue, which is creating our perception and to a large extent guiding our experience that is being led by negative thought. How may one be aware of his or her thoughts?
Journaling. In one of my earlier posts, I discussed the power of journaling; this activity can be an awesome tool to not only bring awareness to what you are thinking, but it also helps you to notice the patterns of thinking that may be facilitating the negative thoughts. Journaling allows you the opportunity to get to know yourself, sometimes rediscovering who you are. Once you are comfortable, ask yourself what is at the heart of the negative thoughts? It is so important to address the root cause that has created the negative thought.
Mantras. An important characteristic of positive thoughts is the mantra. I have my own mantra ("I am a powerful being, I will make today count") that I say daily after my morning meditation. It isn't hard to create one for yourself; come up with your own mantra that is a reflection of your best self. The key is to create a word or phrase that you will use consistently to train your mind so you don't find yourself entertaining negative thoughts. At any moment you notice yourself entertaining a negative thought, use your mantra; sometimes you may need to repeat your mantra over and over; this the strategy-reconditioning the mind to go from the negative to the positive.
You got this!
"What is broken can be mended. What hurts can be healed; and no matter how hard it gets, the sun will rise again"
-Unknown
