How are wondering what’s for dinner and anxious worry the same? Could they be the same on some essential level? If they were, it would level your mental playing field. Understanding this intuitive truth could be your window to less stress and fear.
I know, the premise of this article completely contradicts the last one titled Can’t Have the Same Thought Twice. What can I say, I contain multitudes. You can’t have the same thought twice. That is true. At the same time, another fact about thought could be true. Every thought is the same.
Each snowflake is a frozen crystalline structure that combines in a unique way. Scientists estimate that there are twice as many crystal combination possibilities than there are atoms in the universe. Facts like these explain why we use snowflakes as a metaphor for uniqueness and individuality.
Despite this seemingly endless variety, every snowflake that falls from the sky is made from frozen water. They show up differently, but the basic ingredients are the same.
The same is true of thoughts. They can show up in an infinite variety of ways, but they are made from the same “mind stuff.”
The grateful thought and the hateful thought are the exact same deep down. At this level, neither has more power than the other. Both are movements of the same thought energy. While thoughts may differ in the ways they move and behave, they are essentially identical. This perspective lets us see thoughts as they truly are, devoid of meaning until we give it to them.
So many thoughts feel like reality, creating feelings of agonizing pain. Self doubt, judgment, and worry all pack a punch that leaves us reeling.
I can get pushed around by my thoughts. Like a violent snowstorm, I am sometimes buffeted by a flurry of thoughts on the surface of my experience. Each one stings as it flies at my face.
Snowstorms can feel disorienting, powerful, and frightening. If I look higher up, I might see how water vapor crystallizes and falls to the earth. When the temperature rises high enough, the snow won’t stick to the ground. When my consciousness rises high enough, my thoughts won’t stick to me. They melt back into pure energy. My consciousness elevates when I understand the nature of thoughts.
Each person has a set of thoughts that they take seriously and a set of thoughts that they dismiss. Thoughts taken seriously lead to mental distress. If thoughts are made of the same energy, it evens the playing field. Previously challenging thoughts become less problematic. We can see beyond the pain of individual thoughts to the essential nature of all thoughts.
A mind aligned with this idea is less sticky and more in flow with life. It doesn’t make sense to focus on one thought over another if they are all of the same essence.
Let thoughts melt to feed your growth as the snowmelt feeds the valley under a mountain.
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