Know Your Mind
How does it feel when everything feels like an affront and you can’t shake the tendency to “want to get even?” Or, how does it feel when you respond with generosity even when your day is not going the way you’d like?
Today we’re exploring how our mind states affect our actions and our well-being. We distinguish between two general categories of mind-states—those that promote health and well-being which we call wholesome and those that don’t which we call unwholesome.
A misconception about mindfulness is that we just roll with whatever comes. That’s not quite it. While mindfulness asks us to be aware of and present in the moment, it also asks us to get to know our minds—to really know the tendencies and characteristics of our minds. We all have wholesome and unwholesome mind states that lead us to act in ways that either promote or impede our health and well-being, but often we are not aware of them.
Becoming aware of our tendencies of mind and then putting mental energy into avoiding those that have a tendency to arise and ceasing the ones that we habitually act on is what we’re talking about today. These unhealthy mind states include having the mindset that we are attached to things, people, and ways of thinking and behaving; feeling that we’re always angry and seeing and experiencing the world through this angry mindset; feeling that we can control everything and that nothing will change; feeling that we have no choice but to suffer or be continuously dissatisfied with life; and being caught in I-identity that mental state of it always being about me, me, me.
On the flip side we want to cultivate tendencies towards healthy mind-states. These include curiosity, generosity, kindness, non-judgment, and clear seeing—that capacity to see what’s here and not what we wish were here.
The truth is that our mind state dictates our actions and our actions dictate how we are in the world and how we feel about ourselves and others.
So, as we turn the page to a new calendar year, let’s use right effort— that mental energy of intention and forethought to release negative mind states and embrace positive ones.
I hope you enjoy the show and I hope that you’ll download the episode and share it with your friends. You may also be moved to become a member of the podcast via Patreon by going over to patreon.com/yourmindfullife and joining.
I am grateful for the people behind the scenes who make this podcast possible.
All of you who are members of the podcast on Patreon;
Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;
Bill Rafferty for technical web support;
Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and
Margaret Haas for announcing the show
Be well. Be mindful.
DISCLAIMER
The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional.
