We are our thoughts

Yesterday, I was discussing the concept of, 'you are your thoughts' as I was fortunate to have been invited to speak on a podcast called 'The Spark.' This is something that I teach in a very gentle way to the children in my club. 

At a very basic level, when we think thoughts of any kind, these are electrical impulses. These impulses set of a chain reaction of chemicals and hormones released into the body. For the most part, this works so well. We need our hand to move and hey, one thought later and it does! Our bodies are incredible. This wonderful and complex body however, does not distinguish between  positive and negative thoughts or positive and negative impulses, it just reacts. Now when we think negative thoughts, especially if these are repeated often; worries, stresses, negative self talk etc, these thoughts flood our bodies with hormones, adrenalin, cortisol etc. Over time, this can create a really unhealthy environment inside our bodies paving the way for illness and disease.

So what can we do? I don't believe in false positivity and pretending that everything is great when it isn't. I believe we should pay attention to our emotions and use them as indicators of things that are going great and not so great in our lives. I think what we can do is understand that we have some degree of control. We can CHOOSE the way react to events in our lives. We can choose our thoughts. Thoughts repeated often enough become habits. We can train ourselves into new habits.

We all have that inner voice inside us, some would call a part of this our inner parent. I like to teach children that they can start to control this inner voice. They can repeatedly say to themselves things like, well done, you did great, you did the best you could do, I love you, I approve of you, you are wonderful. They can parent themselves. Louise Hay, a famous author and healer would say that these sorts of affirmations are crucial on the path to wellness, wellbeing and fulfilment. 

How wonderful our world could be if we were all to teach our children to accept themselves for who they are, to love themselves and to have a gentle, kind and loving inner voice. I think that when stressful events and negative things happen in the children's lives, they would then be better equip to deal with these things. They would have trained their mind to produce helpful, positive thoughts thereby ensuring that their bodies are optimised for health and happiness. 

We are our thoughts. What are your common thoughts? Try some new affirmations and see what changes happen in your life!