Don’t Believe Your Thoughts

Artwork: “Crows” by Nicoletta Ceccoli - www.nicolettaceccoli.com. A view of surreal thoughts at play.

Don’t Believe Your Thoughts

Sometimes, in the stillness of the night or just as we wake in the morning, thoughts begin to stream in. While not all thoughts are bad – many are helpful, guiding us through our days, solving problems, and offering insight – there’s also the “chatter,” the darker side of the inner voice. This chatter can be insidious, and relentless, often tinged with anxiety, and worry, harassing us and getting stuck in a catastrophizing loop. It spreads like a viral infection, taking over what was an otherwise uneventful sleep. These thoughts seem to come from nowhere – waiting for a peaceful moment to spring into the solitude and stillness of our minds, as if the open space is fertile soil, ready to seed itself and grow wild with these darker thoughts.

Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.

_Buddha, “What the Buddha Taught”