Mindlifting is Body Building for the Mind.
Bad News: Life is one problem after another.
Good News: Problems offer opportunities to check whether you are caught up in a Mind Drama of thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Each problem offers the chance to observe triggers setting off Mind Drama. Not only observe; problems offer the opportunity of Mindlifting.
Trigger
A trigger for me is someone not listening to what I am saying. The trigger implants in my brain and replays my Mind Drama until I am spent.
Cognitive Psychology
Actually, the trigger is not someone not listening. The trigger is what I am telling myself when someone appears not to be listening. That is why it can be a trigger for me and not for you. I am telling myself people must listen carefully to whatever I say whenever I say it. And they should agree.
He should listen to me.
Transforming Mind Drama with Mind Lifting
We don’t have much power to change the other person in our Mind Drama. But mindlifting has intrinsic rewards. With each plateau, you realize your potential to go higher. This can be as lovely as reaching a plateau on Matterhorn or Denali and looking down from where you have come. But climbing steep and treacherous mountains requires slow and steady progress.
Standard Interventions
1. Blocking thoughts, emotions, and feelings.
Not so effective because thoughts, emotions, and feelings pop into your mind uninvited. Try not to think of a red frog and red frogs pop into your mind.
2. Observing thoughts, emotions, and feelings, while not claiming ownership.
Take a half step back to observe thoughts, feelings, and emotions. “Interesting I’m having this feeling.” No need to push it away. Thoughts, emotions, and feelings come and go. If you focus and hold on to them, they expand and intensify.
Thoughts, emotions, and feelings are artifacts of neural modules and circuits in your brain. The more you focus on thoughts, emotions, and feelings and claim them as a part of who you are, the more you reinforce the neural circuits. If you claim and focus on them, you ride a perpetual merry go round, sacrificing opportunity to break out and grow.
Acknowledge uncomfortable thoughts, emotions, and feelings, but allow them to weaken.
3. Transform a trigger from negative to neutral to positive opposite.
Try and view things from the point of view of the other person. Perhaps listening is not their strength. We all have our own thoughts, emotions, feelings, and Mind Dramas that distract from paying full attention. You may even say or do something that sets off one of their triggers and Mind Dramas. They may be stepping onto their own merry go round.
We are all suffering – with work, finances, friends, family, and grief . . . . It seems as if we are suffering all alone because it is so difficult to hold another person’s point of view. We need support, but don’t get this support from others who need understanding and support as much as us. This compounds suffering.
Accept yourself unconditionally
Input self-love and self-acceptance. There is no self-image, no consciousness that we know of located anywhere in the brain. The self is generated moment-to-moment. The self shapes and adjusts to input. Input love and unconditional self-acceptance.
You get a chance to practice mindlifting with each uncomfortable hassle throughout the day. Keep at it and eventually, you will look back and realize how far up metaphoric Matterhorn you have climbed.
We all slip and fall. Dig back in. Climb again.
Matterhorn
Mind Lifting techniques include Attention Training Therapy and Metacognitive Therapy, Insight Meditation, Ki Breathing Meditation, and Open Focus Training.
Self-help books that help:
Total Self-Renewal through Attention Therapies and Open Focus
The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body
