Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Just Noticing, Part 3

On Monday, we took a look at the thoughts we have about other people.

On Tuesday, we took a look at the thoughts we have about ourselves.

Today, notice all the messages that you get--through advertising, the Internet, the news media, and so on.

Some of those messages might be that one political party is good and another is bad. Or that you could be happier if you only purchased a certain brand of toothpaste or watch a particular TV show. Or that certain body types are more desirable than others, or certain lifestyles are better than others, or certain types of education or reading material or careers.

These messages might be a bit more subtle than the ones from the last couple of days, because you are not necessarily looking just at your thoughts. But notice that these messages turn into thoughts, which are followed by your reactions (also in the form of thoughts) Notice that your thoughts about the messages are probably different than the messages themselves.

You don't need to analyze this or make it overly complicated. Instead, just notice the messages and your reaction to them.

For example, when I'm at the mall, I notice there are a lot of very glamorous people in ads that have beautiful things. I notice a sense in me that I don't have these things, that something might be missing in my life, that I might be a more desirable person if I did have these things. Then I also notice a questioning in myself. Is that really true? Can I be a better person based on the things that I have?

What do you notice?

More tomorrow.

Jeff

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