Episode Transcript
We Americans enjoy a wonderful and powerful way of life, but internally and in relationships we may wish for better. Join me as we look beneath the surface and gain insights to transform every aspect of your life. My name is Dr. Ann O'Hare, and this is the Spiritual American. Hello everyone and welcome to the Spiritual American. My name is Dr. Anne O'Hare, and I'm your host. And today I will be sharing a technique that I have been using and sharing with others that help to gain control over racing thoughts, worrying thoughts. Sometimes the word perseverating is used. And this technique seems to be very helpful. So before I share the technique, let's talk a little bit about the circumstances or the mental experience that we're looking to try to stop or get control of. And it specifically is when the circumstances around me are not the way I want them to be, and I start worrying, obsessing. I can't stop thinking about it. Maybe I'm a little bit afraid, maybe, the information, I don't have enough information. Maybe I'm in a situation where I don't have a lot of knowledge about the situation, and so there's a lot of thinking. A lot of emotions and I don't feel in control. So I have an example. I was working with one of the students and she was having a problem with her vehicle and she called and she was really having racing thoughts and like worrisome. She couldn't seem to calm down. Nothing was really happening. Like she wasn't, the vehicle wasn't broken down, but there were circumstances like she had animals that she had to use the vehicle to move the animals. And there were a lot of different details about it and some of the details weren't working out, so she was feeling overwhelmed. And maybe that's the word I'm looking for, overwhelmed. When I feel overwhelmed, there's gonna be another episode on overwhelm. But when I feel overwhelmed, what can I do? What technique can I use if my mind keeps thinking and I can't stop? So the technique I'm gonna call it, give it a percentage. So how does that work and how is it spiritual? So I'm going to share how it's spiritual also. So with this student, she called me and she was talking about the truck, and she was worried about the truck and what if this happens and what if that happens and I'm afraid to, should I sell it? What should I do? And she was feeling very upset and afraid and worried. And I said, okay. Now I understand as the listener that she has that nothing's really wrong, nothing's wrong, but inside her mind, she was in a very uncomfortable, fearful state. So, what do I do? What do I do? So I said to her, give yourself a percentage. What percentage of you is upset? And what percentage of you is logical and in control of the situation? And she said, right now, 99% upset and 1% in control and calm. I said, okay. So now what we are gonna do is we are gonna pay attention to the 1%. We're not gonna try to change the 99. We're just gonna focus on the one. So acknowledging that there is a percentage of me or my experience that I still am calm, I still am in reality, and I still have the ability to think and reason and make decisions. When we are very emotional, it's very difficult for us to think clearly and make decisions so. She said 99 and 1%. So I said, okay, so let's now work with the 1%. Okay, imagine that you kind of diving into the 1%, even though the 99% is still there. I'm getting more and more focused and concentrated in that 1%, the 1% that understands that nothing is wrong right now, the 1% that understands that I can still make decisions, this isn't a crisis. So isn't it that when we have those emotional experiences, we feel like it's a crisis? Even though from a logical standpoint, it's not. Nobody's in physical danger. I don't have to run from my life or anything like that. But internally, there's this stimulation of that you wanna say fight or flight, or you can say that fearful energy, that elevated fearful energy, that energy does not allow for clear thinking. Like I said, or decision making. So in this case, it totally worked. She was able to stick with the 1% and let the 99 kind of pass. Another situation, came up with the same person, and she was able to use that technique. So give it a percentage because what we want to do, what is the percentage doing? It's reminding me. That I am in control of my mind. It's reminding me that I am a peaceful, logical, perfectly capable person, able to handle whatever is going on. I remember there was another time where one of the students was worried about money and so forth. And I said, well, it's your money. Sit down and figure it out. And she was upset and worried and whatever, and I, I reminded her, you know, well sit down and figure it out. So when we give ourselves a percentage, we're actually empowering. We're reminding ourselves that we can be and are in control of our life. And what the fearful part is saying, I'm gonna say probably is not true at all. But in my experience, it's not so much what the thoughts are. It's also the feeling. There's an elevated anxiety feeling or fearful feeling, and that feeling is very compelling. It's, it brings my attention right to itself and the percentage, what giving it a percentage does is you're bringing in some math. And math is very logical. There's no emotions in math. You are evaluating. You're using your intellect to evaluate your own mind, the state of your mind. And once I give myself the percentage, then I know what I'm dealing with. Now, you may say, well, what if I say I am a hundred percent and zero logical? I would argue that it, it has to be some percentage that's logical because you're answering, there's someone that's seeing what's going on. So that brings me to the spiritual aspect of this. No matter what's going on in our mind, there's still an aspect that sees it, that can still observe and think if necessary. Have you noticed that with emotions, it seems almost that the emotion is taking me somewhere. It's taking me away into an experience. We know this with movies, maybe we're watching movies and the emotions and the feelings kind of take us into an experience. I would say that our mind is doing the same thing. Putting a percentage really helps to remind us. It's an immediate, you will, you can get immediate control over your emotional state. It doesn't mean that it's going away, but you're awakening yourself to the reality that there is part of you that's not upset, that is observing, and I can remind myself and focus on the part that's calm and be able to think. So let's do a little meditation on this, topic. So sitting quietly, bring your attention to your body. Relax the body. Take a deep breath in and exhale and inhale and exhale. As I'm sitting here, I can bring my attention to the center of the forehead and just. Bring my attention completely into the moment, into silence and stillness just for a moment. And as I'm in this receptive state, I just notice whatever thoughts are being generated in my mind. Can I notice the thoughts? Maybe there are some feelings, maybe there's some tensions in the body. Most of the experiences that we have that we would categorize as negative or painful are fear based in the mind. So look now and see, is there any fear in my mind? Do I feel a stimulation of my nervous system discomfort? Just right now for a moment. Do I feel completely relaxed and comfortable, or do I feel a subtle, stimulated, maybe even fearful state in my body and in my mind, look at the thoughts and how I'm feeling. And now gently recognize that the thoughts, the feelings, and the body are all there, and that you is part of you that can see them, notice them, recognize them. And even categorize them if necessary. Many times we are pulled into an experience like a movie. We're pulled into the experience in the mind. The spirituality reminds us that I the soul, am not the mind. The mind is part of the way I function and how I experience, but I can hold back part of myself, give myself that percentage, the part that's quiet and sees clearly, and understand that I'm always there. And always able to take control of the mind. Okay, gently bring your attention back and start coming forward. Take a deep breath in and exhale, and another breath in. And exhale coming more awake. Now move your fingers and toes and now coming back. That was a short exercise if you'd like to try the percentage, it's a very practical, easy way to break the cycle and break that emotional experience that we're having. But also in meditation, let me always remind myself that I am the peaceful soul. I am the one observing the mind, and so I can always access and become the master of the mind again. So I'll leave it there. Remember, our slogan is Heal, Empower, and Serve. And until next time, take care.
