Thinking is an extraordinary human skill. It helps us to solve problems and make appropriate decisions.
But to use our minds effectively, they need to be clear. Having a clear mind is rare. Our thinking is all too often fraught with patterns of belief. These originate in childhood from parents, schooling and culture, but we also have natural tendencies from our personalities, and, if we wish to go deeper still, ancestral patterns from the past.
Meditation tries to teach us to see thoughts as clouds and let them pass without identifying with them, but if we don’t learn how to do that – and it is hard for us restless Westerners – our minds can become our masters, turning us into victims of certain ways of thinking.
Image by Valter M – Pixabay
Identifying our patterns of thought can be very helpful in enabling us to choose our response to ideas. The key to identifying thought patterns is to look at how we think or say things, rather than what we think or the words we use.
Thought patterns come in opposites. Let’s take the first one – the spontaneity/consideration axis. When faced with a new idea, a spontaneous thinker is likely to be impatient and fidgety. They dive straight in, ready to take the initiative.
Image by Brian Matangelo – Unsplash
A considered thinker, however, is more inclined to sit for a long time pondering the question. They want to understand the ideas from as many angles as possible, find the alternatives, discuss any implications. They may even become overly cautious.
Image by Tachina Lee – Unsplash
When put into words, this seems simple but it only becomes a choice when you see the pattern and start to choose how you think.
So the next time you are offered an idea or confronted with needing to make a decision, watch your thinking. Try to sit in the middle of the two patterns – in other words be conscious of them – and choose whether you need the energy of the spontaneous pattern or the time offered by considered thinking. Or even both.
It can be fun bringing default thinking patterns up into the light, both yours and those of others.
Enjoy your fascinating journey into the mind!
Image by Austin Schmid – Unsplash
