If it’s time to refresh your outlook, then these 7 spiritual mindsets could be exactly what you’re looking for!
Are you a glass half empty or half full kind of person? It’s an important question when you reflect on the fact that your mindsets determine your quality of life. Pause and think about it for a moment, do your thoughts, beliefs and mindsets support and empower you? Or do they do the opposite? It’s very easy to get stuck in outdated ways of thinking that no longer serve you. If this is the case don’t worry! Embrace these seven mindsets and start your mindset revamp right away. There is no better time for change than right now.
1. Put it down and let it go
So often, we hold onto things in our minds long after the event has passed. We can even carry other people’s worries and problems, including issues they have unloaded or projected onto us, which don’t actually belong to us. Getting into the habit of checking in with your mind, paying attention to any repetitive thoughts that are occurring is super useful. Any change we want to make has to start with noticing that we are doing it! So what can you do if you realise your brain is on a loop? Try one of these:
- Use your breath. Inhale through your nose for a count of four, hold the breath for a count of four, exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of four, repeat for a few cycles. This is called Box Breathing!
- Six Senses Awareness. This practice involves focusing on your senses—what you can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste
- Practice mindfulness and divert your attention onto a task, being fully present in what you are doing
- Try a quick visualisation where you imagine dumping your problems in a bin. Literally bin it. As you put the lid back on the bin imagine golden light filling your mind and transmuting the contents of the bin
Dwelling on thoughts and looping them in your mind is simply a bad habit, and like any bad habit, it can be re-trained. With patience and repetition, using the ideas above, you can teach your brain new ways of working.
You might like to read a wonderful, short Zen story which is a terrific metaphor on carrying things way past the point that is needed. Often I remember this story and it’s all I need to put down what I am carrying!
2. Forgiveness
Whether it involves forgiving yourself or someone else, forgiveness is a powerful tool. Forgiveness is the intentional act of letting go and releasing negative emotions such as resentment, anger, or bitterness. It is a conscious decision that allows you to move forward free from the weight of the past. Forgiveness is not about the other party. It’s not about forgetting or condoning someone else’s behaviour or actions. It’s about freeing yourself. By practicing forgiveness, you set yourself free to heal, and grow. It enables you to find peace and enhance your overall well-being and relationships.
So how do you practice forgiveness? Here are some ideas:
- Firstly consider the emotional and mental benefits of forgiveness
- Acknowledge your feelings, recognising and validating your emotions
- Use a journal to write out and explore your observations, thoughts and feelings
- There are specialist books on the subject by Fred Luskin, Colin Tipping, Jack Kornfield, Iyanla Vanzant, Brandon Bays, Dr Steve Stephens
- Write a letter to the person/people concerned expressing all your feelings. When you are done burn it and ask the universe to take the burden away
- Consider counselling or therapy for guidance and support in working through complex forgiveness issues
Sometimes all we need to do is to be “open to the possibility” of exploring forgiveness for things to begin to shift and change for us. Never forget that negative emotions and challenging times are your greatest teachers. If you start to consider that there are no failures and no errors; only the opportunity for self-discovery and learning, you can begin to flip your mindset. Replace, “why is this happening to me,” with, “what is this teaching me” and you immediately have a very empowering mindset that can go hand in hand with the practice of forgiveness.
3. Flow with the way of things
Buddha said attachment is the root of all suffering. We see attachment playing out in our lives whenever we get into the tussle between ‘how it is,’ versus ‘how you want it to be.’ Life is inherently unpredictable and full of fluctuations beyond your control, and resisting these changes often leads to unnecessary stress and frustration. The practice of letting go and flowing with how things are can be found in many timeless spiritual texts and teachings. By adopting a mindset of acceptance and adaptability, you can release your tight grip on specific outcomes reduces inner conflict, opens up space for new opportunities and makes life easier.
Whenever you notice feelings of resistance arise:
- Try the Box Breathing exercise in the bullet points of item 1
- Focus on your tension then imagine are letting it go as you say, ‘I release this and let it go.’
- Practice grounding exercises like mindful walking or holding a grounding object (e.g., a smooth stone)
- Define healthy boundaries to protect your well-being and avoid unnecessary stress
- Exercise can help release pent-up emotions and provide a fresh perspective on your situation
- Brainstorm on a piece of paper or with a trusted person ideas and suggestions that can help you and the situation
4. Abundance
Every book on abundance or the law of attraction will repeat the phrase, ‘where thought flows, energy goes.’ It is one of the laws of the universe. Basically what you focus on (consciously or unconsciously) is what you move towards and what you will get more of.
So the important question then is what are you giving your conscious attention and energy to? Are you focused on abundance or scarcity. Ironically, we often spend more time thinking about what is wrong than what is right, on what we don’t have rather than what we do. Viewed through the lens of the law of attraction, this is going to perpetuate everything you don’t want!
Become an observer of your mind. Notice what you are thinking and recognise that your words and thoughts have creative power and are frequencies of energy that your body and the universe is listening and responding to.
Set your intention and energy on what you want, focus on the good stuff, on the positives. Create a vision board of the things you want to attract into your life. Listen to the teachings of Abraham from Esther and Jerry Hicks and get inspired. Or learn more with books like, ‘The Secret,’ ‘The Biology of Belief,’ or the classic book, ‘The Game of Life and How to Play It.’
5. Happiness and contentment
Though framed slightly differently to modern perspectives, ancient spiritual texts from various traditions often emphasise the pursuit of happiness and contentment. But the truth is many of us struggle to be with happy. Many of us postpone happy. We put up with busy days and never ending to-do lists waiting for that next big happy moment to arrive. If we are not careful we set happiness as a constant point on the horizon that we are always waiting for. If you resonate with this then maybe it’s time you changed your relationship with happy? Here’s some things to consider:
- What do you love to do and makes your soul sing?
- What makes life worth living?
- What are (or were) your passions, what hobbies do (or did) you love?
- What does a life of purpose and meaning look like?
- Whose company do you love? Are you seeing/speaking to them enough?
It doesn’t matter whether it is gardening, dancing, walking, singing, sketching, knitting, quiz nights, volunteering, or stretching out on your yoga mat the route to happiness can be found in doing what makes you smile and doing it regularly. Take accountability for your happiness and start creating small moments every day that make you feel good. The key to happiness isn’t anyone’s responsibility but yours. Is it time to get proactive and schedule happy time into your calendar!
6. Count your blessings
Much has been written about the benefits of practicing gratitude, and we can’t look at spiritual mindsets without covering this important topic. Research has shown that practicing gratitude can re-wire the neural pathways of the brain to actively seek out the good in any given situation. Here are some ways you can foster feelings of gratitude:
- Keep a Gratitude Journal: Write down daily entries of things you’re grateful for, focusing on both big and small blessings
- Create a Gratitude Jar: Fill a jar with notes detailing things you appreciate or moments of joy, and review them periodically
- Set Aside Daily Reflection Time: Dedicate a few minutes each day to reflect on and mentally list what you’re thankful for
- Practice Gratitude Meditation: Incorporate gratitude into your meditation routine by focusing on things you’re grateful for
- Share Your Blessings: Express appreciation to others by sharing what you value about them or how they’ve positively impacted your life
- Start a Gratitude Challenge: Pick out 3 – 5 unique things every day you are grateful for each
- Appreciate the simple pleasures: From the food on your table, to the roof over your head to your bed, appreciate all that you have
Counting your blessings is a powerful way to feel more positive and enjoy life more. You can read more about other tools and techniques for boosting mental health including practising gratitude
7. Compassion
Cultivating a mindset of compassion sits very comfortably alongside forgiveness and is another powerful tool. You can begin simply by noticing when you are judgemental, critical and unkind, not only to others but also to yourself. Practicing compassion is not about being foolish or foolhardy, it is not about allowing people to abuse you. It is about having your eyes wide open, seeing the world clearly, but choosing to respond with tolerance, kindness, patience and even a firm, ‘no.’
Compassion for others is not complete if you don’t include yourself. Treat yourself as a good friend and be kind to yourself. You can read more about learning to love yourself more in one of my other blogs!
and finally
Your experiences, beliefs and mindsets form the lens through which you perceive and interact with the world. Along the way it is easy to get stuck in mindsets that no longer serve you. From time to time it’s useful to pause and reflect on this. The seven points here can help you embrace a more expansive and life affirming way.
What you have experienced and as a result the beliefs and mindsets you have adopted (cause and conditioning as a Buddhist would say) are the prisms through which you view and interact with the world. It makes sense therefore to try to adopt and recondition mindsets that help you to see the world in a constructive, positive and even beautiful way.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and are able to adopt its wisdom into your outlook. If you did then stay tuned as I hope to release some eBooks and courses in the forthcoming months. You can also sign up for my newsletter by adding your email to the signup form in the footer below, in which I share more spiritual insight and unique offers on my clothing with soul. You might also like to join my beautiful community of Facebook friends @earthmonk.guru
Namaste
Fiona
