LASSOING YOUR MONKEY MIND

Have you been writing in your journal each day? Are you discovering any negativity pouring out of you as you write first thing in the morning? If you are, you need to realize that all of this whiny, petty stuff is what's standing between you and your creativity.

All of the stuff we worry about on a day to day basis - the laundry, the spat we had with our loved one, or our job only muddies our day by clogging up our subconscious. Get all this "stuff" out on the page! Clear your mind of all these worries.

You do not have to be an artist, writer, actress, or anyone working in the "arts". We are all creative in our own way - a baker, a software programmer, a landscaper, architect, day care worker, or a stay-at-home Mom. If we are blocked from doing our job by constant worrying too much, we tend to criticize ourselves without mercy. We may not be doing enough or what we've done is completely wrong.

In this way we've turned ourselves into victims of the perfect person syndrome - that nasty, ugly gremlin, aka Monkey Mind, who sits on our shoulders and constantly criticizes and ridicules us. In turn we believe those comments to be the truth. By the way, your Monkey Mind lives in the left brain.

The number one rule to remember is that Monkey Mind does not speak the truth.

The best time to evade Monkey Mind is first thing in the morning. This is when you scribble your thoughts in your journal. Monkey Mind's opinion doesn't count toward anything. Let him keep on talking. All you have to do is keep moving your hand across the page. If you want to include Monkey Mind's comments you can do so, but take note that Monkey Mind is just out to get you.

One way to extract some of Monkey Mind's power over you is to find a nasty looking cartoon creature that you identify as your gremlin. This will help you to stop allowing Monkey Mind to be your voice of reason and instead acknowledging the harm it is causing you by blocking your creative abilities.

You may find that by writing your pages each morning that your inner "creative" child is being fed and paid attention to. He/she is allowed to speak his/her mind. It doesn't make one bit of difference what mood you may be in when you start. I can pretty much guarantee that if you're crabby or stressed when you start, you'll feel alot better when you're done.

Some of you are asking "What am I supposed to write about?" The answer: "Whatever pops into your mind." There isn't any right or wrong way to journal your "morning pages". Just write. You'll surprise yourself when you've discovered you've worked your way through the fear you may be feeling about something, a decision that needed to be made, pushed past the negativity you've been holding on to, or worked your way out of a down-in-the-dumps mood.

According to Julia Cameron we have two types of brain. Logic brain (left brain) is the brain of choice in the Western Hemisphere. Logic brain is categorized in a neat, linear fashion. This is our survival brain, that works on the "knowns" - our belief system. In hypnosis, the knowns is everything we've been taught (right or wrong) until age 8 or 9, when our critical mind came into being. Anything that is unknown to us is either wrong or dangerous. This is the brain we listen to. This is the Gremlin aka Monkey Mind who will try to talk us out of anything that we want to try to do because it isn't logical or it is unknown.

The Artist  brain (right brain) is like a child - excited about what it sees, hears, smells, feels, or tastes. It is an inventor - putting a variety of odds and ends together to create a masterpiece.

Our artist brain is creative, holistic, associative and freewheeling. It sees things in a way that Logic brain doesn't ever see.

If you start to journal first thing in the morning you'll begin to teach your logic brain to move aside and let artist brain have fun. You'll discover that you aren't listening to the ridicule from Monkey Mind anymore, and you may be delighted to discover you've come up with an amazing solution to that problem you've been struggling with at work.

Writing in your journal can also be looked at as a form of meditation. You'll discover awesome insight that may help you change your life. You'll find your true identity, you place on the Universal path of life. You'll connect to your inner energy source that can help you to change your outer world.

Your pages become a pathway to a clear and strong sense of self and you will find you are able to create a link between the light of insight and the power of your energy source to come into contact with the Creator within. Best of all, you'll find yourself in touch with that source of wisdom that resides deep inside of you.

I have been doing morning pages off and on for about eleven years now. I've found it truly amazing to discover such strength, wisdom and power so deep inside myself. It certainly has changed many of the things I've thought about myself from the time I was a child until now.

My journaling has helped me to grow into myself more, to work through many life challenges and to connect with my soul on a profound level. For me, my pages are part of my spiritual journey. Your pages can be for whatever reason you choose to use them for.

I've resolved to start doing morning pages every day. Even if I don't think there's something inside of me that needs to be worked through my subconscious is able to help me out with that. No matter how big or small - whether to plant a rose bush in that corner, go to Rome on holiday, or if you need to work on forgiveness for yourself or another, your pages are there to assist you.

Happy writing my friends.

Blessings,

Sue