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Kindle Notes & Highlights
“The moment you think the problem is outside of you, that thought is the problem.” We recognize that stressful things
seem to happen to us, but in reality the stress we experience is almost always self-generated.
As we matured, we also stopped being mindful and we started being stressed. We figured out how to dwell on next week’s deadline or the argument we had last night. Thought in both directions can trigger the stress response because the
nervous system doesn’t differentiate among past, future, or present events. When we have a threat thought, the nervous system leaps into action to prepare us for the danger. As we’ve said, that’s essential in the moment of danger or great trial, but not for the argument of yesterday or the deadline of next week.
First, your mind is equipped to focus on only one thing at a time. You might be able to observe many things, but you can think intentionally about only one thing.
Second, you’re free to think about anything you choose. There are no limits on what you can think about. You aren’t stuck with any specific thought about anything. Third, you can directly experience only this moment, right here, right now. You can think about future and past events, but you can’t directly experience yesterday’s dinner right now. Nor can you experience tomorrow’s meeting.
The fourth idea, which we have discussed earlier, is that
there is no stress in the present moment, except for very rare occasions (less than .01 percent of the time). We live in societies where we don’t directly experience dangerous, life-threatening situations. Here and now is usually a safe place.
