Training Your Mind to Help You

Our friend, singer and songwriter Chuck Pyle, likes to say, "The mind is like a bad neighborhood-you should never go there by yourself." If you're mind hasn't been trained to help you, via methods like meditation, shamanism or NLP, it might really be a bad neighborhood. Our minds constantly absorb thoughts, behaviors, and responses from our environment. These various thought patterns and responses may or may not be in alignment with our goals. So, unless we actively train our minds to be responsive to our needs, we may be in for a wild chariot ride (and 6 out of control horses)!

From a shamanic point of view, we say that each person is a spirit with a mind and body. In other words, we are spirit and mind and body are tools that we, spirit, can use. However, just because we have mind as a tool doesn't mean that mind, in its current form, is a good tool for us. The untrained mind is a lot like an untrained animal-be prepared for the unexpected!

Have you ever sworn to yourself (say on New Year's Day?) that you're never going to fall for the wrong kind of mate again? Or you're going to lose 10 pounds this year? Or you're going to . the list is endless. Then what happens? We forget what we've promised ourselves, or we find other priorities that are more important. That forgetfulness is a sign that mind isn't trained to help us with our aims. Mind is doing its own thing.

So what can we do to train mind? Segment intending, one of our favorite exercises from Abraham-Hicks, is a simple way to train your mind to help you while also accomplishing a lot each day. Here's how you do it:

1) Pick the length of time for your "segment." It can be any length of time, but no more than an hour. Thirty minutes or an hour works well. Decide exactly what time the segment will start and end.

2) Decide on your aim for that segment. It could be a list of tasks, a state of being, or both. For instance, you might decide that you will strive to remain light hearted while you return phone calls for 30 minutes.

3) When the segment start time arrives, start your segment with no second thoughts. Put your attention solely on the tasks for that segment and nothing else.

4) If you get interrupted during your segment, you need to decide whether the interruption is important enough for you to stop your segment (for instance, if your boss stops by your office for a chat). If the interruption is not important enough, keep going on your segment. If the interruption is important, make a conscious decision to stop your current segment and start a new one (one centered around the interruption).

Practice doing these segments throughout the day. Each segment is a training period for your mind, and will teach your mind to assist you in whatever you are doing. Segment intending works even better with a buddy, who can help you stay on track and stay focused. Whether you segment intend by yourself or with a friend, you'll find your mind becoming much more responsive to your needs as a spirit. Enjoy!

About The Author

Stephanie Yeh, co-founder of the Esoteric School of Shamanism and Magic (http://www.shamanschool.com), helps clients learn magical and shamanic techniques. Her current project, a free teleconference series on a variety of magickal and shamanic topics with guest speakers, is designed to share information and promote interaction between people of varying spiritual practices.

articles@shamanschool.com

In The News:

pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Ambitiously Pursuing Your Own Self

(Excerpted from The Power of Ambition series)What is the origin... Read More

Walking a New Road

(excerpted from the Take Charge of Your Life 6 CD... Read More

Overcome Fear: You?ll Miss All The Shots You Don?t Take

A lot of folks are petrified at the mere thought... Read More

Prime That Pump! Part 2

In Part 1 of this article, we talked about reaching... Read More

Information Age: Knowledge is King

In our information age, having the right knowledge at the... Read More

Forgotten Your New Years Resolutions Already? How To Get Back On Track

How quickly we forget. We are only a few weeks... Read More

Whatever Happened to You?

Whatever happened to all the dreams? The wants, the desires,... Read More

Instant Willpower

We've all heard people say "I have a system". Ever... Read More

The Road Less Traveled

Can someone please tell me why it is that men... Read More

A Few Simple Things You Must Do If You Want To Be Wealthy

Making money is easy when you move to cause rather... Read More

Motivation By Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning is a great motivator. Why confine it to... Read More

The Conversation of Recovery - Part Two

The listening for the Conversation of possibilities will be even... Read More

How To Become More Patient

"Lord give me patience ? and hurry!"Have you ever prayed... Read More

Finding the Easy Way

For the last hour I have been sweating over what... Read More

Quick Tips On Getting Motivated When You Dont Feel Like It

The secret to getting started on something when you don't... Read More

Rut Busting

IntroductionWordNet defines a rut as a groove or furrow (especially... Read More

The Undeniable Power of a Mastermind Group

A Mastermind is a group of individuals who are joined... Read More

Making A Lot Out Of A Little - Use It Or Lose It

"Making a lot out of a little"Ever noticed how some... Read More

Making Decisions

You lost your job. Your partner left you. Your car... Read More

The Simple Life

When we talk about a Simple Life, we are not... Read More

Success: 10 Easy Success Tips To Help You Achieve Your Ambitions In Life

I want to wish you good health, long life, success... Read More

9 Ways to Motivate Yourself When You Just Dont Feel Like It

Achieving the really big goals and dreams always involves breaking... Read More

The Rate of Change

There have been many discussions and grumblings in the Western... Read More

Going with the Flow

This whole idea of change is founded on a single... Read More

Daily Motivation: 7 Methods

Isn't a lack of daily motivation one of the biggest... Read More

The Time to Act

Engaging in genuine discipline requires that you develop the ability... Read More

Get Started! Do Something!

This is about getting started. Taking that first step. It... Read More

Stop Squeaking! Align Yourself for Business Success!

Even for a remarkable business owner like you, from time... Read More

Motivation - The Power of Drive

My experience tells me there are three stages people go... Read More

Mr. Smith, Please Enter the Dream Room - Dream Big Dreams to Do Big Things!

Enjoy a great quote to start off this fantastic week!"All... Read More

Celebrating the Couch Potato

Ah, the couch potato, that icon of American pop culture... Read More

Mortgage Marketing - How to Maximize Your Motivation

Do you have the motivation to succeed in the mortgage... Read More

Harnessing the Power of the Unknown: Move from Repeating the Past to Re-inventing the Future

The Unknown - it is scary territory for many, something... Read More