Magic Monday: Part 2 of 3 - One Thought Experiment: Analyzing Your Conditioning

Words of Manic Monday by The Bangles and modified by Susan Shaner. Musician: Dan Brodax.

Where can you find the magic at work today?

Last week I asked you to notice your repetitive thought patterns. This raises your awareness, without judgment, about the thoughts that underlie your behavior.

I took it a step further and noted my thought pattern of “the enoughs” (be enough, have enough, do enough) wasn’t helpful. In this instance, when you identify a pattern that is not helpful or affirming, I recommend shifting it. The next step in shifting it is to understand the roots and the extensions of this thought.

The roots: Where does your thought pattern come from?Most of the time, our thoughts are conditioned into us from external sources that are always sending us messages about how to think or behave, what’s acceptable, what we should want, etc. Often this conditioning hits us at an unconscious level. There are layers to this conditioning. Sources could be your parents, your family, the environment you grew up in, the culture you grew up in or currently live in, your schooling, your religion, the company or organization you work for, the media and so on.

The extensions: What memories or associations do you have with this thought? A thought evokes further thoughts or judgments or emotions. You could think the thought is a good or bad one. The thought might makes you happy, energized, angry or sad.This week’s reflection: Explore and understand the thought pattern you noticed last week more deeply by analyzing you conditioning - where it originated from, and noting what subsequent thoughts or feelings emerge from holding this thought. Is this thought pattern helpful to you or not?