Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? You heard it somewhere and now you keep humming it over and over even though you don’t want to?
I found myself doing that the other day—for hours, the same song—and finally, I’d catch myself and stop humming, only to start again minutes later. It made me realize the power of the unconscious mind. Our thoughts play in our minds in much the same way—only we’re far less aware of them.
After trying to deliberately stop the song and then getting annoyed with it, and myself, because it wouldn’t stop, I finally clued in. I can’t just stop it. I have to replace it with a better one. So I plugged my iPhone into the docker and clicked on my selection of favorite music. Wouldn’t you know it? The one that began to play was the same song stuck in my head. It was the last one I’d been listening to.
More AHAs! Our thoughts, our vibrations, on a certain subject will stay where we last left them, too. Then, when that subject comes up again, they start playing in our minds, uninvited, until we make a conscious effort to find better ones.
We have a choice. We don’t have to listen to a song if it’s boring, repetitive or annoying. We can change it! Neither do we have to listen to thoughts (or even belief systems) that don’t serve us. The key is being aware of how a thought feels—just like the song—and replacing it with one that feels better.
