During a three-month camping trip in Mexico, the sounds of loud traffic, constant shouting, and noisy markets frazzled my nerves. One afternoon, we stopped at a ravine to observe a scenic overlook. As I walked along a path away from the others, the stillness penetrated my numbness. Suddenly, I was aware.
Harmonizing with the silence, I watched a hawk soar overhead. No noise. My heart ached to hear the quiet. My mind became still, and I listened to nothing. I envied the hawk\’s ability to stay in the silence while I had to return to the hubbub of the city.
I remember that moment of stillness when I need help finding a quiet space. What moment of stillness do you recall that you can draw from when you need help finding stillness?
Days and weeks can pass without our ever connecting to stillness outside of ourselves. The stillness within ourselves can feel even more elusive. The thinking mind keeps most humans from ever connecting to the stillness within. Although we cannot totally stop the thinking mind, we can learn to use the mind as a tool rather than let the thinking mind use us.
That idea confused me at first. I loved my thinking mind. However, I began noticing that I couldn’t turn it off. My thoughts were torturing me. When I began to listen for the gap between thoughts, my life took on a deeper dimension. The gap between thoughts opens the doorway to divine wisdom.
The stillness in the gap allows the divine to shine through into your life. The you that notices you are thinking is your soul, your higher self.
You Are Like a Sandwich Cookie
Ego-mind is like the hard, crunchy shell of a sandwich cookie surrounding the creamy center of the soul. We need the ego-mind to do complex activities like balance a checking account and keep a schedule. The ego-mind is the finite part of your being that wants to control your life and wants you to believe whatever it tells you. Don’t be fooled. You are more than your mind. You are a soul. Your soul is the eternal part of yourself connected to God the Infinite. Soul energy never dies, but only changes form and returns to source.
When you tap into source and allow your ego-mind to chill in the background while allowing the soul\’s higher mind to come to the foreground, you can hear its wisdom. Ego-mind plays a continuous banter of fears and anxieties. When you change your focus away from listening to the fears and toward what you DO want, you feel more peaceful, more hopeful, and more aligned with purpose.
To change your perception from everyday ego-mind to the divine consciousness of the soul, imagine a toggle switch in your mind – like a light switch or toggling between two computer screens. Learn to switch the toggle between lower consciousness and higher consciousness through your intention.
Toggle to What You DO Want
In our modern Western culture, many of us are taught to worry. We create thought habits to worry we’re not doing the job right, worry there’s not enough money or something bad might happen. Worry wastes your energy and compromises your immune system. Worry does not spur you into action. When you worry, you are in a lower state of consciousness.
Change your thought habits. Learn discipline and control over your thoughts. You can’t believe everything you hear in your mind. Toggle your awareness to divine wisdom and create a shift in your perception.
Toggling Between Ego-Mind and Soul
With your toggle open to Divine Mind, you can access your creative wisdom and access higher-level solutions. Once you learn to toggle, you can switch the screen of your awareness anytime, anywhere.
Toggle Exercise
- When you want to change your state of consciousness, pause. Take a deep breath.
- Turn your awareness to a space behind your physical heart in front of your spine. The right spot to connect to your soul might differ for you, but this is a good place to start.
- Imagine opening into the center of your being where you connect through soul to God the Infinite.
- When you feel anxious or your thoughts turn to worry, toggle the switch to connect through your soul to the divine mind.
- As you watch your thoughts, notice the thoughts you do like and the thoughts you don’t like.
- When a thought comes past that you don’t like, toggle to a thought you do want.
- Reframe the negative thought and ask what-if questions: what if the situation turned out with a better solution than I anticipated?
- Reclaim your power over your thought creation in the moment. The only things you control in this lifetime are your attitude and your responses.
For support in your mindfulness practice, check out my upcoming programs on my WU Profile page. https://www.thewellnessuniverse.com/world-changers/leahskurdal/
During the day, notice when you worry. Be mindful of your worry thoughts. Notice the thought. Breathe. Notice the feeling that kicks in with the thought. Breathe. Notice your body sensations that connect to the thought. Breathe. Notice if the thought makes your body want to move. Toggle inward to the place of connection to your Soul. Rest there and breathe for several minutes.
Enjoy this guided meditation to transform fearful thoughts with divine loving intention.
Toggling
When you toggle your mind’s awareness to your soul’s higher wisdom, you gain access to higher understanding, creativity, and problem-solving. Harnessing the power of your mind to toggle from thoughts of fear to thoughts that you desire will powerfully turn anxiety of the unknown toward the excitement of creation and help you refocus on your natural state of inner calm and joy.
In next month’s Seeking Serenity, we focus on enhancing Spiritual Awareness.
(This article is excerpted from Seeking Serenity: How to Find Your Inner Calm and Joy, by Leah Skurdal. Available on Amazon.)
Connect with Leah Skurdal on The Wellness Universe and walk away feeling better!
All information, content, and material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. The information supplied through or on this page, or by any representative or agent of The Wellness Universe, is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or other professional advice. Health-related information provided through this website is not a substitute for medical advice and should not be used to diagnose or treat health problems or to prescribe any medical devices or other remedies. The Wellness Universe reserves the right to remove, edit, move or close any content item for any reason, including, but not limited to, comments that are in violation of the laws and regulations formed pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. None of the posts and articles on The Wellness Universe page may be reprinted without express written permission.
An Amazon #1 Best Seller! The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care 25 Tools to Achieve Anything is the book that just might change everything for you. It’s like having 25 expert coaches rolled into one, each teaching you a practice or tool to help you achieve your goals. You’ll find techniques for mind, body, spirit, and soul. You’ll enjoy a multitude of topics and modalities that will assist with better sleep, spiritual magnificence, mindset mastery, enhanced intuition, balanced nutrition, and peak performance in every area of your life.
Both e-Book & Paperback are available.
The Wellness Universe Complete Self-Care Notes & Companion Journals are here to support your self-care journey!
Enjoy a complimentary notes journal for each book The Wellness Universe has published. All books are available on Amazon in our Self-Care series.
WU Best Help
The Wellness Universe invites you to SoulTreat Wellness Retreat for Mind, Body, and Spirit. Imagine yourself and your friends in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina for self-care workshops, talks, and one-on-one experiences with wellness experts from around the globe this October.
Release what no longer serves you. Reset your mind, body, and soul.
www.WUSoulTreat.com
Leah Skurdal guides people to up-level their stress resilience to improve relationships. Leah shares intuitive insights in private Energy Healing to address the roots of disharmony. As an inspirational speaker and published author, Leah offers lively classes, experiential workshops, and keynotes.
