A few years ago, researchers at Harvard University developed an iPhone Web application that enabled them to track how often the thoughts of 2250 U.S. adults veered away from what they were experiencing at the moment and how this meandering mind affected the participants’ state of happiness. If you’ve never sat and thought about your thinking, the study findings may surprise you.
According to the results published in the Nov. 12, 2010, Science, participants’ minds wandered nearly 47 percent of the time. In addition, respondents reported they were less happy when their minds were wandering – regardless of whether or not their thoughts were focused on pleasant subjects.
If you find yourself in a chronic state of mental suffering, the first step toward relief may be to begin noticing how much of your day is taken up with thoughts of unhappy events that happened in the past or fear about what might or might not happen in the future.
On the facing page are words from some wonderful wisdom teachers. They know a habit of incessantly thinking about a past we cannot change or a future that hasn't arrived isn't good for us. Thankfully, with lots of self love and some determination, bad habits can be broken.
Free Your Mind