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A perspective to help achieve more peace, joy & success in life w/o the need of having to “be in control.”

Nov 30, 2020

We think we have so much control in our lives…But really how much control do we ACTUALLY have? The answer may surprise you…

The “OM” (overview menu) of this weeks email —

mindful insight into why striving or trying to be in control of anything is a waste of time & a powerful perspective to what we can try instead.
A mindfulness practice you can try out for fun or to challenge yourself with this week ✨
And I have some exciting 𝚗𝚎𝚠𝚜 :) & a quick survey, I would LOVE for you to help me with.

Lets get right into it:

If this pandemic could have taught us something, it’s that we truly don’t have much control, or any REAL control over anything. And I think that is what may be so scary or challenging for most of us to admit.

It’s understandable why we may be so wrapped up into this concept or idea of control. We hear about it all the time, especially lately…

Many times in a day, whether its from the media, or from psychologist, psychiatrists, & other mental health leaders, we hear others— constantly recommending that we “focus on what we can control,” “Control your anxiety/stress,” “we need to control this virus,” “Doctors are working hard to control the numbers of the coronavirus.”

Control, or the word control is commonly thrown around & so it becomes embedded into our subconscious…

“Control, or the word control is commonly thrown around & so it becomes embedded into our subconscious…”

Yet, the thing about control is… it’s an illusion.

And as I mentioned earlier, we struggle to accept that. So we instead try & search for ways to cultivate this sense of control in our lives, like turning to things such as mindfulness, for instance, to help with such matters.

And while mindfulness can GREATLY benefit us in our lives for so many reasons… it is NOT, however, a mind control technique. To be mindful is to be aware of what’s going on, without judging it.

In mindfulness practice, the aim is to be aware of what’s happening both externally & internally. Then, we learn to notice & accept whats happening, which doesn’t mean we have to like it or agree with it, but that we begin allowing it (whatever “it” is) to be present, without reacting to it or trying to change or control it.

If you try to use mindfulness to control what’s going on, like whats in your mind, you’re judging the experience. You’re trying to change the thoughts or get rid of them, which ultimately doesn’t change anything at all, at least not for the best.

When a person first sits down to meditate, often the first experience is recognizing just how busy the mind is—it really feels out of control.

And typically, as beginners, the mistake many make is trying to control the noise to bring more silence or stillness. And of course, what is discovered is that one cannot actually control the mind.

Trying to get rid of or control thoughts or anything for that matter, is ineffective. When you try to exert control, the mind fights back. It resists your efforts.

It’s no different than trying to control another person. Try to force someone to do something you want them to do & they most likely resist. And all you end up doing is creating struggle & bad feelings. It’s the same when you try to control yourself.

What We CAN Do Instead—

Mindful acceptance is the POWER MOVE. It doesn’t spark resistance in the same way as when trying to control. It allows for a calm & relaxed state that facilities real & transformational change.

Acceptance is something we learn to cultivate over time. And so the more we continue on with our mindfulness practice, we soon learn to accept the busyness of the mind & as a result the mind calms down. But it calms down all on its own. Even though it may feel like the calmness that comes with mindfulness practice is a form of mind control, it’s the opposite. It’s a form of acceptance.

“Even though it may feel like the calmness that comes with mindfulness practice is a form of mind control, it’s the opposite. It’s a form of acceptance.”

TRY THIS—

If you’re up for a challenge, I invite you to try and go this whole week (the whole month if you’re feeling really inspired) without using the word “control.” And then just notice how often you encounter the word control. To take it a step further, see if you’d be willing to journal your experience.

SURVEY —

I have EXCITING NEWS!

But first, PLEASE take a moment to fill out this survey (2 questions; y or n response ) as it will really help me out in finalizing what I’ve been working on.

What I’m looking for is to see where YOU currently are in your own mindfulness practice.

Because I’ve been working on a 7 day meditation course that I think is going to be something really helpful especially for beginners or any one who’s looking to elevate their practice.

I’ll be sharing it to you for free & it’ll provide a seemless breakdown & gentle meditative walk through of everything I’ve come to learn about meditation, spread out over the course of 7 days in audio format.

The aim is to help you cultivate a meditation practice of ease, simplicity, & success.

This survey will give me a better feel to who needs it and how I can modify it to serve your needs. ✨❤️

To take the survey, just click the (meditate 2 elevate) pic below:

until next week my friend,

namaste.

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