Gray Matter

Your Thoughts and Actions

Do you believe that you create your own reality? Simply put, the life that you have today, was formed by the actions that you took, most likely by the thoughts that you had, which were formed from beliefs that you carry. 

Here is something to consider, if we created the current lens, we can change the lens whenever we wish.

Am I giving you and ice cream headache and you are like "what!?" This is a lot, but it is worth considering.   

Mindful Of Our Lens

This lens that we see through, it is crafted through our life experiences - we form beliefs - and these beliefs, without us really observing the mind and our thoughts, we are constantly receiving messages on. (“I have to go to work”, “I should make a lot of money”, “I need to get married and have kids”, "I am like this because of my childhood", "This is the way I have always been").

You see, our actions, they come from our thoughts, and our thoughts, come from our beliefs - stories that our mind tells us, over and over and over.

Now, these stories, as I mentioned, are crafted, over the span of your life, and every interaction that you have is an addition to this collection of thoughts.

Go back to when you were a little baby, just born, hours old - your mind - it is just as clean and new as the skin on your body. Your mind is this empty white board, as clean and clear and new as your physical body. Through time, as you grow, you learn, you are taught, you listen and hear, and see, and form what you believe.

When is the last time that you sat and observed these thoughts? Its like taking a look at the white board that you started with, and observing and reading all of the marks, additions, grey matter that has been added since your existence.

Empower Joy

Think of something in your life that brings you joy - absolute pure joy. For me, it is being an aunt, or pretty much anytime I have children around me. I know they bring me joy, because I feel it. I have made the conscious decision to try and be the best aunt I can be, it isnt forced, no one has to convince me, I want to do it. It is my belief that I should be a good aunt, because these young children are my family, and I want to support and love them their entire life.

We have the ability to take the approach above with every aspect of our life. Now listen, I’m not suggesting you throw all caution out the window and quit your job you dont like, and cut off those you perceive to be difficult people in your life, and I am certainly not suggesting that every example is going to be as easy as the one above. What I am suggesting is that you have the power within you to actually change the way that you percieve the world, by starting with your thoughts. It also requires taking accountability for your life, which includes not only your thoughts, but the actions that go along with them. 

What I am suggesting is that you view it from another lens - see what your thought patterns are from a different angle. What happens when you stop the noise, and that gray matter that pops up? When we can approach our life from this space of mindfully taking action because of acknowledgement of the values and beliefs that you have consciously made, we naturally find more joy. We can operate from a space within that isnt saying “because I am a supposed to” but rather “because i want to”.

Even better, when we recognize that our lens is different based on our experiences, we can hold space and empathy for those around us. Again, go back to when we were babies, that white board, no markings, no gray matter on it, we can learn to approach every situation with this openness, pure opportunity to see it from a different lens.

The Yoga Lens

In Buddhism the belief is that we reach enlightenment when we are simply a witness to our own life, no judgement, no beliefs, rather, we just watch and observe this experience that we get to have everyday. We get to walk through this world, and see each other, hear each other, feel each other, and learn from each other.

Consider what your life could be if you erase the grey matter, and start over with a new white board, everyday. What would you create?

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