The root of Habitual, unnecessary thoughts and emotions
To change the habitual thoughts and emotions you carry, you must first recognize which ones you have.
Thoughts and emotions can be past-oriented or future-oriented.
There are also habits of thinking negatively and habits of thinking positively.
Now let's reflect on ourselves.
Do you have a negative habit of constantly looking back on past experiences and worrying that you might relive those experiences?
Do you have a habit of nostalgically longing for the positive experiences of your past, along with the circumstances you once had?
Do you habitually think positively about your future or do you habitually think negatively about it?
Now ask yourself a few simple questions:
What aspects of your future do you fear or worry about?
What aspects of your future do you believe will bring happiness?
Why do these thoughts and emotions arise?
What kind of future do you wish to have for yourself?
Why do these thoughts and emotions arise?
All your current thoughts and emotions about the future are undoubtedly created by past experiences shaped by conditions and environments you've lived through.
Therefore, by thoroughly reflecting on your past, you can understand why your current, habitual unnecessary thoughts and emotions were formed and you can clear out their causes.
For example, you need to identify the source of a foul smell in your house to get rid of it.
Your current habits of thought and emotion were created and recorded in your brain through repetitive patterns from your past.
Unless you identify and discard all the past versions of yourself that accumulated these
unnecessary thoughts and emotions, you will increasingly lose touch with reality.
Instead, you will continue to waste your time, stuck in the repetitive habits of needless thoughts and emotions.
This is why the practice of self-reflection and letting go through meditation is essential for everyone, regardless of age or gender.
Unless you find your true self and become that true self you will never live in the present.
You will remain trapped in a habitual life, bound by the experiences of your past.
Reference: Naperville Meditation Hub
