A valuable thing I learned in drama therapy is how expanding your repertoire can facilitate health and healing. Humans tend to establish habits, and long term habits, whether they are behaviors or thoughts, can become well worn ruts. By trying new behaviors, exploring different perspectives, and adopting new beliefs we can create changes that allow us more positive choices.
Overthinking is a common habit. Humans tend to think constantly even when we are not aware we are thinking. This is a reason meditation can be difficult; it puts us in a position of becoming aware of the hundreds of thoughts that flood our brain, some of which we would rather not acknowledge. It is this constant flow of thoughts that sometimes keeps us awake at night, can cause us to misplace our car keys, and interferes with our ability to really listen to other people.
While we are currently in a pandemic situation that limits our activities and seems to make our lives smaller, it also offers an opportunity to expand our internal life by shifting our focus from thinking (both conscious and unconscious) to awareness. Paying attention to what is around us instead of living inside our heads also might save us considerable grief during this crisis: if we can’t remember where we put our keys, how aware are we of what we are coming in contact with during the day?
Becoming aware is a first step in constructive change; when followed by inhibiting whatever it is that we don’t want, and then choosing to do something different that leads us in a better direction, we create a strong foundation for desired change. Recognition, inhibition and redirection can work with thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, and it can open doors into a much larger space than where we usually live.
“There’s always something to look at if you open your eyes!” Doctor Who
"I am bigger on the inside…" Amanda Palmer
Overthinking is a common habit. Humans tend to think constantly even when we are not aware we are thinking. This is a reason meditation can be difficult; it puts us in a position of becoming aware of the hundreds of thoughts that flood our brain, some of which we would rather not acknowledge. It is this constant flow of thoughts that sometimes keeps us awake at night, can cause us to misplace our car keys, and interferes with our ability to really listen to other people.
While we are currently in a pandemic situation that limits our activities and seems to make our lives smaller, it also offers an opportunity to expand our internal life by shifting our focus from thinking (both conscious and unconscious) to awareness. Paying attention to what is around us instead of living inside our heads also might save us considerable grief during this crisis: if we can’t remember where we put our keys, how aware are we of what we are coming in contact with during the day?
Becoming aware is a first step in constructive change; when followed by inhibiting whatever it is that we don’t want, and then choosing to do something different that leads us in a better direction, we create a strong foundation for desired change. Recognition, inhibition and redirection can work with thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, and it can open doors into a much larger space than where we usually live.
“There’s always something to look at if you open your eyes!” Doctor Who
"I am bigger on the inside…" Amanda Palmer
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