Mind over Chatter

As a fitness instructor, I am made distinctly aware of the inner dialogue of dozens of people I meet with each week. At my studio, we’re in an environment where people tend to feel comfortable (we’re all in this together), but also tend to feel self-focused (I’m really trying to work on myself). It’s a second family of sorts, but better in some ways, as we’re all just distant enough not to have to carry our entire existence in through the doors with us each time we come to work out. We get to choose what to share for the most part.

Of course, we don’t always make a conscious choice. We often reveal our inner beliefs via our internal self-chat without even realizing it. And that’s where my distinct awareness comes in. In my job as a trainer, I’m there to notice stuff about people. So I do pick up on the clues sent out by their bodies and their minds. And their mouths.

~ Oh I hate those, I stink at those.
~ Something’s wrong with me, I still can’t do this right.
~ No matter how hard I try, I’m just not meant to (fill in the blank).
~ If I could only get rid of this gut, maybe I could do it, but we know that’s not happening.
~ haha I’m uncoordinated; heehee too bad I’m just like my mother; ugh I'm so stupid

Don’t get me wrong, inspiration still very much exists and so does self-confidence. We share plenty of all that too. Mostly I’m there to encourage all the positive actions people take on behalf of themselves. Positive actions tend to originate in positive thoughts, which come from positive beliefs. For this reason, positive people like me do well in our industry—success breeds enthusiasm and so getting people to recognize their successes from the inside out is a hallmark of my work. Let's say I'm the Prop in Propaganda.

Negative self-talk, which exists in its own little world that many people create in an icky small corners of their mind, is a very serious threat to the spreading of my shiny happy sunshine love of health, fitness and self. So, an important part of my job is pointing out to people when it seems like they might be telling us something based on a story they made up about themselves, though not necessarily true, and then they started to believe it, but like we said, it’s not true.

NO ONE IS JUST LIKE THEIR MOTHER. That knowledge alone should help millions.

To Overcome Whatever’s the Matter,
Pick Your Mind over Your Chatter
Sometimes we’re working out and we’re very much able to focus on the matter at hand. The matter. The kind of matter that exists, physically. The matter that is the body, the exercise, the muscle, the breath, the heavy spring or the wall we’re pressing against. Our mind is able to teach us how much more we can do, how much longer we can go. It is also able to simmer us down; it'll raise red flags when we’re out of our zone, losing touch with the reality of the matter.

All good. Thank you higher mind, for keeping us connected with concepts greater than our contained, physics-bound bodies can sometimes process. Notions like, “Hey, are you sure you want to keep trying to beat that kid whose half your age, cuz it seems like your legs are giving out and I think you’re gonna throw up.”

Then again, no thank you higher-mind-in-disguise (lower mind?), because you are less about the matter and more about the chatter: “You know, you do have to go to work tomorrow. That sucks. And you’re not a huge fan of push-ups either. They’re really not doing you much good anyway, look at you. You can barely….” STOP.

Literally. I have this theory and it’s been working pretty well so far—I’m actually able to cure many of my own personality dysfunctions when I just shut up about myself already. I can really elevate my functioning when take the focus off all my own opinions about me, and my opinions of your opinions about me, and instead, I just do my best and accept the results as they come. Make additional plans as needed.

This week, this month, hopefully the rest of your life, whenever you feel stuck or catch yourself being a jerk to yourself, you can Pick your Mind, instead. Your Mind is above all the harsh nagging and self-criticism. I mean, listen to yourself sometimes. How rude would some of that stuff be to say about someone else, if it wasn't you? You can do better by yourself. You can be honest with yourself. Be real. There really isn’t anything holding you back besides the stories you believe about yourself, now is there?

The higher mind has your back. The lower mind—the thoughtless chatterbox in your head--has your rug and likes to pull it out from under you. However, the higher mind has the quieter voice, and a matter-of-fact approach that must compete with the vibrant storytelling and constant attention-getting of your inner dialogue. So you need to put forth some effort not to let all that chatter distract you from the matter at hand.

The matter at hand is simple: determine what’s true, and what can be done about it, now.

Then just do that.

k?

Great. Okeedokee then, back to work.

Free (then Apply) Your Mind

They say the mind is a terrible thing to waste. I know why. It’s a huge part of what makes you, you. Your brain can calculate for you, but imagining new solutions is up to your mind. So is asking questions. Your brain can send and receive signals for you, but interpretation is up to your mind. So is personal expression. A life consumed by calculations and factual communications could hardly have the depth and expanse as a life of envisioning possibilities, curiosities, considerations and…song. Or dance, or art. All of which of course require brains at some point, but it is minds that pursue storytelling and seek new constructs.

And that is why I think a higher mind is perhaps the greatest thing about being human. Minds are the icing on the brain cake. Eww. Let’s try again. Minds are not the map, and not the directions, but the tour guide through the landscape. Our minds connect knowledge with desire, ability with possibility.

I’ve heard this put in a couple of different ways that really resonate: “You might be able to teach a monkey or a parrot to say words or even type words, but they can’t sit down and write you a poem.” (I don’t know who said that but I remember thinking, wow, that’s what’s so cool about being human.) Also, Albert Einstein, one of the greatest brains and minds ever, said it this way: “The human mind has first to construct forms, independently, before we can find them in things.” (Double wow. Ponder that for a moment. A mind has to construct a form, say, for invisible waves that sound (or data!) can travel on, before we can find…radio. Television. Guided missiles. Garage door openers. Wireless internet.)

I’m not a scientist nor a spiritualist so I’ll stop short of defining the brain versus the mind, or a thought versus an inspiration, any further than this. I’m merely a writer who hopes to motivate and inform people who want to grow and evolve in body and mind.

Pick One Thing: Your Mind

So if your mind is a huge part of what makes you you, it stands to reason that it’s not just “in” your brain. Indeed, I read more every year about the mind-body connection, and how intricate the dance is between every cell in your physical existence and your thoughts. Your nervous system is actually the physical system that connects your brain with your body, and your vascular system connects your heart with your body. The mystery about how your mind connects thoughts with your body (and your life) is yet to be fully explained, but we do have plentiful clues from strong minds in research.

Here is a list of pilot studies proposed by Johns Hopkins’ Center for Mind Body Research. With subjects of study such as the effects of depression and hopelessness on heart attack survivors, and the psychophysiologic effects of yoga on chronic arthritis, well… we see there are fine minds at work with constructing forms and finding new information all the time. If you need convincing that your mind is likely to be working for (or against) your body, your health, and your experience, looking at a list like this will help---little drum roll please--change your mind. Johns Hopkins Mind-Body Research

I pulled this next tidbit off a developing website for a gallery of mind-body research studies and investigations associated with Washington College in St. Louis and its School of Medicine. When I read it, I nodded. They are probably on to something here.

BIOLOGICAL BASES OF HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS

We employ theories of behavioral endocrinology and behavior genetics to investigate possible biological underpinnings of health-related behaviors. The hope is to increase understanding of constitutional differences in threat responsiveness and perceived vulnerability that may influence everyday health-related behaviors among individuals as well as between the sexes.

Isn’t going to be great, when thanks to investigations like the above, we’ve increased understanding about how we behave in relation to how vulnerable we feel, or how we respond to threats? This understanding is going to help a lot of people accept what I already sense: thoughts cause life experience.

Sure there’s going to be some hormonal releases and DNA behavior markers in between; that’s the whole point of view when you’re trying to make a case for mind/body: it’s all related.

In some cases we can refer to tens, or hundreds, or thousands of years of anecdotal and cultural evidence. Meditation, mindfulness, positive thinking, the power of attraction, acting only in love, detaching from outcomes, refraining from judgment, and so on. It’s all out there--some of us work with all these practices and tools and they in turn work for us, others of us just go with our gut, or our God, or our good looks.

One thing is for sure, what ever you choose or don’t choose, if you made a decision about it or if you shared it with others; if you’ve discussed it, defended it, rejoiced in it or experienced it as more than a computer would, more than a robot, more than a monkey or a parrot; then you’ve put your mind to it.

And that just goes to show, if you put your mind to it, it comes to be. It's what you do. It makes you, you.

Everything you’ve done or had or learned has been interpreted by your mind right into its state of existence today. Including your body. This is evidenced by a review of 100 years of research on psychological literature on disease, stress, and behavioral medicine conducted by Oakley Ray, PhD, at Vanderbilt University, and published in 2004 in American Psychologist. So many studies for us to appreciate, and to use in our personal lives and our approach to healthcare. “Understanding how the mind, the endocrine system, the nervous system and immune system all interact (better known as 'psychoendoneuroimmunology' (PENI) is crucial in helping people conquer the stress in their lives and stay healthy," said Ray.

Let’s all giggle at PENI now, at least those of us with naughty minds. Okay, back to topic.

I am including this one example of a research finding from the American Psychological Association to cement the importance of this aspect of the care and keeping of you; of honoring the power and beauty of your mind:

“There is also evidence that an individual's belief system can influence the course of a major illness, such as cancer. According to a study of women with breast cancer who had mastectomies, it was their state of mind ("I am going to beat this") that kept them alive not the severity of their illness. At the five-, ten- and 15-year follow-up, the best predictor of death or recurrence of cancer was the psychological response of each woman three months after the initial surgery. The mental attitude after the surgery better predicted the likelihood of dying or having a recurrence than did the size of the tumor, the tumor's histologic grade or patient's age (Greer, 1991).”

Maybe you don’t have cancer, but there’s probably some other problem you’re dealing with. Let’s ask, then—what are you putting your mind on? How are you wrapping your mind around your problem? What do you want to change in your life (your health, your outcomes, your body, your stress level?) and can you change your mind about it to help make that happen? Mindfulness is our next entry. It seems like it changes everything.