In the second instalment of the Detox Series, Bro. Jan Silan taught the Makati Amorsolo Feasters how to Detox Toxic Thinking.
Intense emotions are often felt in different situations. He reminded us that our feelings are products of our thoughts, and that if we repeat a thought long enough, it will become an emotion. I always remember an advice given to me when I was younger—a friend told me that sometimes, the best thing to do is not to over think things, because the more that you think about a situation, the worse that it gets in your head. And it’s true. This talk made me realize that I have power over my emotions, that I can control it, if only I can control and filter my thoughts.
We must always remember to guard our hearts and sift through our thoughts, because how we respond to every situation we are in will show just what is in our heart. Are you defensive? Are you often irritated easily? Do you tend to think of the worse instead of seeing goodness in others? These are the questions we must ask ourselves. In the end, it all boils down on how we perceive things.
A great parallelism given was in baking. The cake or our end-product is our emotions, while the ingredients is our imagination. The quality of our cake depends on the quality of our ingredients. Therefore, the only way for our cake to taste great, bring joy to others and ourselves, is to make sure that our ingredients are fresh, pure, and of good quality.
It was reminded during the talk that in life, there are no problems, only lessons. There are two ways to deal with a seemingly problematic situation:
1- Step back from the situation – stepping back is a one of the things we don’t do often. We easily get caught up in our situation, making it harder for us to see the bigger picture. Stepping back means separating ourselves so we can see things more objectively.
2- Change the scene – we always tend to complain about even the smallest things. But while we can’t change how others think or act, we can change how we see it. Changing the scene, even just from our own perception, can create a great transformation in the situation.
While it seems hard to even determine the toxic thoughts that we have in our minds, the good news is once we recognize how it affects our emotions, we can actually get rid of these toxins, make ourselves feel lighter, and start a cleaner way of living.
Note: This is a recap in the second talk of the “Detox” Series of the Makati Feast Amorsolo last March 12, 2014, written for the Makati Feast Amorsolo Bulletin.
