What Stories Are You Telling?

Humans are meaning-making creatures.

We are constantly involved in this process of meaning-making by creating narratives about our life, ourselves, our surroundings, and the people we interact with.

We fill in the missing details of a particular situation based on our fears, unmet needs, memories, and expectations. These stories help us feel like the world is predictable.

But the majority of the stories we create are works of fiction. And they still hold tremendous power.

Our mind does not recognize if something is true or just something we made up. In either case, we respond as if the stories were real.

If we believe something to be real, so does our brain and our body. 

We can sometimes use reminders that:

• Thoughts are passing phenomena. They do not last. 

• Our minds are quick to jump to conclusions out of habit or unawareness.

• Our view of events and of ourselves are shaped by prejudices and beliefs and by likes and dislikes that we have acquired over our lifetimes.

• We can learn to manage the power of our thoughts by learning to be more present and to pay attention to the impact our thoughts have.

• By being present, we can observe our thoughts without identifying them.

We cannot change our thoughts, but we change our relationship to them.

This is where mindfulness comes in.

Can you become aware of the stories you are telling yourself in any given moment? Can you recognize that your thoughts are not facts?

When you are unaware, you act out of habit. When you become aware, you have a choice.

Want to learn how to recognize the stories you tell yourself?

Join us for our six-week Mindfulness meditation course!

The course begins March 26 and meets each Friday from 1:00-3:00pm Pacific time. Register today for our early-bird rate of $140 - that’s less than $25 per class!