"Leaning away from the noise in our heads"-a lesson from Oprah and Michael Singer

Most mornings I am on autopilot as a drive into work before the sun comes up. I often try to find a good podcast and soak in the quiet of the start of my day. Lately though, I have kind of just been spaced out and podcasts haven't really been resonating with me and I haven't really been able to enjoy the peacefulness of morning like I usually do. I would say this is due to being tired and the weekday work flow to be honest. It wasn't until this morning that I was able to find the podcast I needed that spoke directly to me with the bonus of a beautiful sunrise.

Don't judge, but I have often found really valuable lessons in Oprah's Super Soul Sunday Podcast. Something about her demeanor, views, the topics she focuses on, her depth, the whole nine yards. I mean come on, its freaking Oprah. Anyway, the podcast this morning featured Michael Singer who discussed his book "The Untethered Soul" and some of the lessons he reviews and addresses throughout the literature. One of the biggest things that spoke to me during this podcast was the concept of the noise in our head (our thoughts) and how they are actually separate from what our soul is trying to say and who we are within our soul. I have often found that the noise in my head and my thoughts are one of my biggest battles and that they do not align with who I know I am and who I am trying to be within my soul. It is this noise and chaos in our minds that drives us further from who we know we are and who we are working to be.

I have been having difficulty with the fear that I tend to be someone who naturally goes to a negative place in my mind which includes feelings of being overwhelmed, cynical, agitated, catastrophizing, etc. Its hard for me to admit this but I am doing so with a strong desire to make a change and in order to do that, I have to be aware. Well, with that said, it was clear to me that one of the ways to understand how my mind leans towards pessimism is through some of the things that Michael says in his book about the noise in our heads and how we respond to it. He mentions that often times, our mind is racing with thoughts, perspectives, judgement, conclusions, and narrations that cause us to have an emotional response. It is in allowing these things to dictate our emotional response that gets us sucked into patterns of negativity, feeling lost, reactivity, and additional emotional and behavioral responses that do not align with our intent. The challenge lies in the fact that our thoughts are so frequent and constant that it is hard to separate them from our internal identity; the on-going battle of creating division between our thoughts and emotions, our minds and our souls. So, what options are there in order to be able to differentiate the two in order to become more in-tune with who we are and quiet the chaos in our minds?

During the podcast conversation with Oprah, Michael mentions the concept of "leaning away" from the noise in our minds. He addresses the importance of acknowledging that our mind is creating an environment of overwhelming and inaccurate thoughts which are similar to a tornado that sucks us in. When this occurs, he mentions the importance of being aware that it is happening, that the thoughts do not define our reality, and mentally and emotionally "leaning away" from the situation to re-establish our reaction, perspective, and feelings about a given situation, item, person, or event. In thinking about this, it made sense. Basically step back from the trainwreck that is happening in your mind to avoid crashing and burning. But, like most things, easier said than done. The concept seems ideal and makes sense. If we can take a step back from our spiraling, non-factual thoughts, we can take a moment to realize that they are getting the best of us and may cause us to react or respond in a way that does not align with our intent.

After listening to Michael and Oprah's conversation about the noise in our head and how that is separate from who we are in our soul and the importance of finding the opportunity to create a divide between both, I found a bit of relief in the fact that my negative thinking "default mode" is not who I am but rather, mental noise I allow myself to get sucked into. I can admit this is a pattern I have had for as long as I could remember. I may have denied it from time to time but in my efforts to really figure out who I am and how to better myself at this point in my life, I have been able to own that this is a true problem in my life that I do not want to cloud who I know I am and who I want to be. I do not want to be viewed as a pessimistic person even if I can easily excuse that with issues of anxiety or at times depression (if I wanted to take the easy way, unaccountable, way out). Deep down, when I am able to quiet the noise, I am able to see more clearly the person I was put on the earth to be and how to build on that person. The challenge for me and I think for most is finding that moment when the noise can be acknowledged and the opportunity to be sucked into the chaos can be averted by leaning back, taking a breath, relaxing, and determining how much of the noise we are willing to listen to (if at all) and whether it even deserves a response of any kind from us. The noise often does not align with our souls intent so differentiating the two in order to let our soul take the lead is the ultimate goal is a daily challenge that needs to be faced head on in order to not lose our identity to the false thoughts in our mind.