Don't Believe Everything You Think

by Joseph Nguyen

In short, the moment we stop thinking is when our happiness begins.

The truth is that you do not have to have thoughts or think to feel positive emotions.

our natural state of being is joy, love, and peace.

don’t wait for something outside of you to give you permission to feel how you want inside

I swear to you that to think too much is a disease, a real, actual disease. —Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The first step is to pause and begin taking deep breaths to help calm our nervous systems. Deep breaths pull our focus away from the thinking mind and into our bodies, anchoring us in the present moment.

Step two is to ask yourself, “Is this thinking making me feel the way I want?” or “Do I want to keep suffering?” These questions remind us of the power we have to choose whether we want to emotionally suffer or not.

Step three is to understand that you have the choice to stop and let go of your thinking. At this moment, you must decide what you want.

Step four is to say and repeat to yourself, “Thinking is the root cause of suffering.” Reminding yourself of this disempowers your thinking, making it easier to manage because you begin to see through it.

Step five is to experience your emotions fully. Most of our destructive habits and behaviors come from the avoidance and suppression of emotions. When we ignore or fight our feelings, we only make our suffering worse.

P—Pause and take deep breaths to calm your nervous system and ground yourself in the present. Become aware that you are thinking, but do not judge it. A—Ask yourself, “Is this thinking making me feel the way I want?” or “Do I want to keep suffering?” If not, you always have the choice to let your thinking go in order to find peace. U—Understand that you have the choice to stop and let go of it. S—Say and repeat the mantra “Thinking is the root cause of suffering” to help quiet the mind from thinking until it subsides and passes. E—Experience your emotions fully without judgment, resistance, or thinking (don’t think; just feel).

one of the greatest powers we possess is choice

When you’re doing your best work and are in a total state of flow, where there is no separation between you and the work you are doing, little to no thinking is happening in the mind.

We can be in a state of non-thinking at any point in time as long as we are rooted in the present moment.

In the Bible, when Moses asks God His name, He replies, “I am.” God doesn’t say He was or will be, because those don’t exist in the now. He simply says, “I am.” God, truth, the Universe, freedom, peace, joy, and love (these terms are all synonymous) can only be found, and therefore experienced, in the present.

There are two sources of goals: goals created out of inspiration and goals created out of desperation.

If I had infinite money, had no fear, and didn’t feel the need to receive any recognition, what would I do or create?

Fear keeps us where we are. Intuition leads us to who we want to be.

Nothing that grows can stay the same—especially you.

Other people may not agree with your decisions, but you are not here to sacrifice your peace for other peoples’ preferences.

Like the teacup, if your mind is full of old thinking, you won’t have space for new thoughts. And new thoughts are necessary if you want to create the change you seek.

Don’t think. It complicates things. Just feel, and if it feels like home, then follow its path. —R. M. Drake