Entertaining Thoughts :)

by Dr. Fred Blum

(total reading time: 2-3 min.)

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." (Aristotle)

 Sometimes I just fall in love with language. I mean, what an amazing way to describe our thinking...to entertain a thought!  And it's really good advice by the way, because in my opinion, we take are thinking way too seriously most of the time.

 The Oxford English Dictionary has several definitions listed for entertain:

1.     To take (a person) into one's service; to hire (a servant, etc.); to retain as an advocate.

2.     To engage agreeably the attention of (a person); to amuse.

3.     To admit to consideration (an opinion, argument, request, proposal, etc.); to receive (an idea) into the mind.

 We can probably agree that Aristotle was using definition #3 in the quote above...To admit to consideration; to receive an idea into the mind.

  And that's fine I suppose, but let's consider using definition #2 in that same quote. What if we allowed our thoughts to engage our attention agreeably? What if we allowed our thoughts to amuse us?

 Maybe what Aristotle meant to say was something like this...

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to engage with our thoughts agreeably and to be amused by them."

 We create our experience of the world, moment by moment, through our thinking. It is the nature of our thinking, therefore, that determines our experience, not the nature of the world.

 With that in mind, you might consider the possibility of being entertained by your thoughts rather than simply entertaining them.

 Thoughts, after all, are like clouds in the sky. They are meant to pass through our minds. Some may hang around longer than others. Some may cause a storm or temporarily block the sun, but THEY WILL ALWAYS PASS.  

 Our minds have a kind of immune system just like our bodies. The nature of the emotional immune system is to bring our minds back to balance...back to our natural state of peace and clarity. Left alone, your mind will always return to clarity. 

 When we forget that our experience of life occurs from the inside-out, rather than from the outside-in, we begin to take our thinking seriously. We cease to be entertained by our thoughts and instead make them even more "real". We blame; we complain, and we get caught up in "thought loops" rather than allowing them to pass naturally. 

 The solution? Take a breath. Remember that when you're tense or upset is the worst possible time to be believing your thinking. You'll probably run into some resistance at first. You'll hear a million reasons in your head assuring you that THIS thought is really important!  

 But that too is just a thought. Take a breath and let that one pass, too. With practice, you'll be able to return to your natural state of clarity and peace more and more quickly.  

 Thank you for your kind attention. Please pass this newsletter on to anyone you think may benefit. And, as always, I welcome the opportunity to serve you and your family and friends. If anyone you know would like to experience the power of this work for themselves, have them give me a call and we'll set up a no-cost Discovery Session.

 "I literally cannot remember the last time I felt this whole for this long, and for the first time in my adult life, I am not scared of it slipping away. Emotions will come and go; I have no doubt, but I don't feel unease about it. For the first time in a long time, I feel safe in my own mind."

- C.S., client

 Peace,

Fred

"My background includes a variety of training and experiences that led me to this profession. I have degrees in psychology and chiropractic. I've studied human transformation with some of (literally) the most brilliant minds in the world. I've trained in martial arts for 40 years. I even performed in an Off-Broadway comedy troupe for a while. I've also been picked on as a kid, declared bankruptcy and been divorced. You can never tell which life experiences will produce the greatest gifts if you stay in the game."

 Energy Rich Living  Dr. Fred Blum 512-584-9075  www.EnergyRichLiving.net