Food For Thought - Mental Cleanse

Food for Thought
Mental Cleanse
What Are You Feeding Your Mind?

“a healthy outside starts from the inside.”
-Robert Urich

We all spend a lot of time and money on our physical bodies. Yet we so often take our mental health for granted, not really ever giving it a second thought unless something happens to push us there. However, in the same way that we pay so much attention to the kinds of foods we put into our bodies, it behooves us to do the same with what we are allowing into our conscious and unconscious minds.

It has been said that we take in billions of bits of information every second, but our conscious minds can only interpret around 2,000 bits per second. However, our unconscious minds take in all of it! So, even though we may not be consciously aware of what we are receiving, it is coming in. Therefore, it is so important to not fall asleep watching television or have it playing in the background – regardless of what is on. Because even though we fall asleep, or are busy doing something else and no longer hear the television, our unconscious mind hears all of it and it is actually reinforcing those neurons in our brains – remember neuroplasticity? The brain responds to all input.

Albeit at a subtle level, it is still within you now and is very difficult to clean and clear because you do not realize you are remembering. Have you ever heard something familiar, but you cannot remember where you heard it? Most likely when you had a radio or television on in the background, not even knowing that you had heard it.

When you are in the store purchasing toothpaste, for example. Yes, we all have our favorite toothpaste, but ask yourself why you chose that particular brand. And not just toothpaste. If you are looking at a variety of similar items – the only difference being the brand, why do you choose one brand over another? Do you do it from a recommendation from a friend or relative, or do you suddenly remember a commercial on television? Or…. You are not sure where you heard about it, but you do remember hearing that brand name before. Somewhere. That is an indication that you may have had the television or radio on in the background and not really paying attention, but because our unconscious mind hears everything, it is a now a memory. Why do the same commercials get played over and over again? Because their makers understand neuroplasticity; practice, practice, practice; repeat, repeat, repeat. The more we hear something the stronger it becomes in our brains.

I encourage doing a mental cleanse. I did a 30 day, no television, no radio, no news. Yes, it was really hard at first, but got much easier very quickly. As a result, I have not owned a television for probably close to ten years. I am not suggesting you jump right into that kind of cleanse – but at least consider it. Take a look online – there are a number of different mental cleanses.

I think the most important thing to take away from this chapter is to start being more mindful of what you are allowing into your consciousness. As we become more mindful of that, we become much more selective. The more we practice ho’oponopono, the easier it becomes to be selective and change what we allow into our consciousness.

Have fun with it – try it out for a day, a week, or an afternoon; whatever is most comfortable for you – remembering that stretching our comfort zone is how we grow the most and the quickest.

At the very least, consider watching television with a more discerning eye, and pay more attention to how you feel when watching. When you notice uncomfortable feelings, say ho’oponopono a few times.