Don't Believe Everything You Think

In a world teeming with information and relentless stimuli, our thoughts often feel unruly, darting haphazardly from one idea to another. It's easy to get caught up in the ebb and flow of our inner dialogue, accepting each fleeting notion as truth. However, the wisdom of the Dhammapada suggests an alternative, "As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back."

The concept of not believing everything you think might seem counterintuitive at first. After all, our thoughts are deeply personal, arising within our minds. Shouldn't they be trusted? Consider that our thoughts are frequently influenced by external factors—media, societal expectations, past experiences, what the person in front of us just said, and more. They can come and go instantly and may not always be reliable narrators of reality.

As fleeting as they are, we do not necessarily need to disregard every thought we have. Instead, it's essential to cultivate a discerning mind to recognize when we've gone down the rabbit hole to wonderland. By being mindful and aware of our thoughts, we can free ourselves of our habitual judgments ("right/wrong," "good/bad," "pleasant/unpleasant," etc.) and see the world with greater clarity.

When we allow our thoughts to run unchecked, we can become susceptible to anxiety, stress, and poor decision-making. The Dhammapada advises, "It is good to tame the mind, which is difficult to hold in and flighty, rushing wherever it listeth; a tamed mind brings happiness." By taming the mind, we can cultivate inner peace and clarity.

Taming the mind involves acknowledging and managing difficult emotions. Whether an emotion is the source of a thought (or a thought is the fount of an emotion), our thoughts can often spiral into negative patterns, leading to feelings of anxiety, anger, despair, or sadness. With practice, observing our thoughts and emotions without getting caught up in them is possible. We can create space to process and understand them without being overwhelmed. As Victor Frankl said: "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space, we have the power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

One of the most effective ways to tame the mind is through mindfulness. This ancient practice, which has been revived recently, involves bringing our attention to the present moment and observing our thoughts without judgment. When we cultivate mindfulness, we can also learn to recognize when external factors or personal biases influence our thoughts. Cultivating a discerning mind makes us more aware of our thought patterns, enabling us to make conscious (and, perhaps, more skillful) choices and actions.

Consider the negative self-talk many of us engage in daily. Thoughts like "I'm not good enough," "I'll never succeed," or "People don't like me" are not all that helpful (and most often not true). Yet, these thoughts usually go unchallenged, accepted as truth, simply because they arise within our minds. What if we paused to scrutinize these thoughts, assessing their origins and validity? More often than not, we would find them baseless.

Practicing mindfulness can lead to cultivating compassion toward ourselves and others. By noticing the suffering of others (or ourselves) and generating the intention (and perhaps even action) to alleviate suffering, we can cultivate compassion toward ourselves and others.

We could all benefit from practicing more compassion in a world full of anger, hatred, and violence.

The first step, then, is to guard our thoughts. The Dhammapaha advises, "Let the wise man guard his thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, very artful, and they rush wherever they list: thoughts well guarded bring happiness."

Well, how do we guard our thoughts? One way is through meditation.

Meditation has been practiced for millennia to cultivate mindful awareness. By sitting in stillness and observing our thoughts without judgment, we can begin to detach from them and gain a deeper understanding of their impermanent nature. Through regular practice, we can train our minds to become less reactive to external stimuli and more focused on the present moment.

However, mindfulness does not require formal meditation sessions.

We can become more mindful through everyday activities such as eating, walking, or household chores. We can quiet our busy minds by bringing awareness to each moment and fully engaging in the task at hand - such as eating, walking, or washing the dishes. This " everyday" practice of mindful living can lead to a deeper understanding of thoughts and how they come and go like clouds in the sky.

Practicing mindfulness is not merely an exercise in self-control but a profound journey toward inner wisdom.

By guarding our thoughts, fortifying our minds, and cultivating mindfulness, we can create space for thoughts to come and go and not believe everything we think.