Meta-Thinking: Your Power Tool to Wellbeing
In the last post, we talked about what wellbeing really is and how there are different parts of ourselves, different layers of wellbeing- physically, energetically, emotionally, and mentally. In this post, we’ll consider an incredibly useful strategy to create wellbeing: the power tool of meta-cognitions, or meta-thinking.
We exist in all these different layers, and there’s many kinds of interpretations and teachings about these different layers. But by far, the biggest bang for the buck is to focus on energetic wellbeing. Why? It affects all the other levels. So, I want to share a tool, a little trick, that will help you leverage your World. It would be fair to say that we all want to feel good or even great?
I don’t know anybody who doesn’t. So I’m making an assumption here that everybody wants to feel good in their bodies, in their minds and their emotions and in their energy. It’s just kind of human nature.
One of the most important tools to creating your own wellbeing is awareness.
The first step to creating your own wellbeing is being aware of how you’re doing, and more precisely, how are you thinking?
This tool I want to share with you is known in education as meta-cognition, or, meta-thinking. In short, it’s thinking about thinking. Think about that! Meta-thinking is a super powerful strategy for cultivating awareness.
When we take a higher viewpoint and we rise above the everyday goings on of our normal mind, we can actually look at ourselves and observe our thinking.
We can look at what’s happening in the content of our thinking from a more detached space, rather than reacting to it with our emotions right away.
There are entire fields of study about this in education, psychology and even in yoga. This has been looked at around the world. Watching our own thoughts is developing self-awareness. This is about recognizing what’s happening in your own inner being. Meta-thinking.
That’s the tool: thinking about thinking. What if we apply this tool to our own repetitive tapes and stories inside of our minds? Are you aware of the stories that are going on and the background of your mind? Perhaps you’re dealing with something.
We’ve all had that experience where some situation really gets us. Maybe it’s an unfair scenario, or you got mad at this ridiculous bill that you got that you already paid, but now you have to take your time to go and call the customer reps.
And then you wait on hold for 20 minutes. I mean, we’ve all been there, right? And in those moments, it’s pretty easy to see what we’re thinking and become self-aware. It’s like, “Oh, oh my gosh, I’m all frustrated, I’m being critical, I’m being frustrated. I’m being, like… x, y, z!”
So that’s kind of an easier layer to look at. And you can cultivate that layer if you haven’t already learned to. When you practice meta thinking, you can literally check in on yourself, and catch yourself in a rut. Here’s a practice that helps.
Set a little mindfulness bell alarm in your clock to ring every hour and when it does, say to yourself, “What am I thinking about right now?”
In this way, you can cultivate a way to look at your own inner thoughts, the ones that are sneaky, the ones that are difficult. This is the power of meta-thinking.
For me, the difficult stories are the ones that are on repeat so long in the background, I don’t even hear the words any more. In the old stories that we are most used to, most accustomed to, you may actually just feel them.
These feelings may be things like limiting thoughts dashing our self-love or worthiness. For a lot of folks, this feeling can be around weight or how you look, how you think you’re appearing to others.
Am I beautiful? Am I sexy? Am I enough? Blah, blah, blah. You fill in the blank. So these are the old tapes, the stories, the self-critical, or self-limiting talk inside the mind that we have to CATCH! Notice! Observe! Use your power tool of meta-thinking. Keep it handy.
Using meta-thinking is a perfect tool to see what IS going on inside your mind!
I invite you to catch yourself thinking. And one of the best times of all is if you start feeling bad or you get upset or depressed. Notice when you’re just not feeling great. And listen for the inner words or story that you may be reacting to.
Whatever those triggers are, let yourself suddenly realize that, oh, I want to check on my thoughts. What am I thinking in this moment? Rise up and take a meta-view as if you were rising up and viewing your mind from 30,000 feet up and looking down and saying, what are those thoughts in my mind? What’s happening right now? Meta-thinking.
Because the moment you begin to recognize and become aware of what you’re thinking, that’s the moment that you take back your power.
When you see those thoughts, now you have a choice. You can actually choose whether to continue that thought train or to dismiss it and create a new one.
Sometimes it may feel hard to get rid of the old one. Start by basically just replacing it and say something positive to yourself. Even out loud, say it with full conviction.
Like this: “Hey, I see myself feeling awful and thinking about all the reasons why I should. Guess what? Nope. I’m now going to say positive things instead. I feel love, I love myself. I’m happy with my life.. I’m so grateful for this fresh water that comes out of my tap.”
Anything you want to say to yourself that is about gratitude or self-acceptance, self-love, positive thoughts, just replace the old train of thought. In doing so, you take back your power because you do have the power to create your own well-being, and meta-thinking, or watching and considering your own thinking helps a lot!
We all have the power to move our thoughts to something different, whatever we choose. It’s true.
And until I learned it from my mentor, I didn’t realize how much power I had inside to change my thoughts and to create my own well-being, particularly in my energetic body. I now change it by changing the negative thoughts that don’t serve me, which lifts the feelings, and then naturally, a new, fresher energy that comes forth from that. It’s a tool that I use and practice every day. And with practice, it gets easier to spot the negative thinking. And easier to replace it, and feel better.
There’s a different energy, a different vibration and frequency for each thought we have. And we can choose to move our thoughts into something that feels good, such as a positive thought that helps us create our own highest well-being.
So today, I invite you, start watching what’s going on inside of your mind.
Especially if you feel badly about anything. Ask yourself, what am I thinking? Do I want to think this? What might I choose to think instead?
It’s a powerful practice. It sounds so easy but cultivating a habit takes practice. So I encourage you, if this is not a practice you already do, start watching your mind.
Be the meta thinker, be the witness, be the patrol person for your own mind and help it lovingly, gently, patiently help your mind to start running new tapes or stories, new thoughts that feel good. Try these:
I love myself no matter what! I’m giving my best to the world. I’m so blessed in my life. Look at the massive abundance, love and joy coming to me in my life.
When you choose these kinds of positive, self-loving thoughts, you will start creating your own highest well-being right away!
And remember, as you heal yourself, you are also healing the world. Be the vibration that you want. Choose your thoughts wisely, my friend, and enjoy creating your highest well-being. Right now, today.
What’s happening for you? If you’d like support to enhance your own energetic wellbeing, please visit my Energy Tools Mentoring program today. (Enrolling now.)
Wishing you all blessings & love,
💛 Dr. Jeannie Arunimā
