The Most Important KIND of Thinking

     Think about what you think about.

     You have no doubt heard, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." Idle mind? Probably means not thinking about what you are thinking about....or simply being unaware of what you are thinking.

    "Penny for your thoughts". A question that often comes to us as we stare off into space, as if we are in the deepest kind of thought. Our usual response? "Huh? I don't know."

     One of the many things I admire about Buddist philosophy is the concept of "Mindfulness". I like Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition of mindfulness.


                         “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way;
                          On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”

     It is vitally important that we pay attention to what we are thinking, since our thinking determines our feelings and behaviors. Our life is our thinking. We would not neglect a small child, leaving him or her unattended. Neither should we leave our mind, our thinking, unattended. I will soon post a full article related to Kabat-Zimm's definition of mindfulness.

     Notice the Video Collections related to Critical Thinking, which is found in the Gadget "The Most Important Kind of Thinking. AND, I would challenge you to become a better thinker by learning how to think more critically. Critical thinking has nothing to do with being negative or critical of others or ideas. It is a way of thinking that seeks truth more than anything else. There is freedom in the truth and there is joy in the unbiased hunt for it. 

Ever Figure College Costs?

Take a calculator and go to work on costs of college. Not Harvard or Yale or Duke, but a state university. Before you are through, you will have a sore hand and a tired mind. And maybe feel a little panicky. Those warnings about how quick they grow up and how expensive college is going to be when they graduate from high school come home to roost. There are any number of ways to think about the challenge of funding college, if you are like most people who live from pay check to pay check and have only thought of saving for college as a great idea, but unrealistic.

Funding college is only one of thousands of challenges we face in a lifetime. Each day brings routine problems or heavy duty difficulties and dilemmas. Nothing has changed. Life has always been this way. The challenge on the front end involves making decisions that lead away from disaster. Like the request of the Lord's Prayer,"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil", we can make intelligent choices that work in our favor, preventing many avoidable trials. Critical thinking is invaluable at this point. Getting competent counsel is also
important.

How we think about life that swirls around us and in us is the most critical issue. The two attitude mountains of positive and negative ultimately determine the outcome of many problems. We cannot control life, but we have absolute and final control over our thinking about life. In fact, our brain perceives and defines every event of our lives. Our thinking is the key that unlocks positive possibilities or, in fear, shuts the door and hides. The problem is not funding college, unless your thinking tells you it is. Funding college is not impossible
unless your thoughts take you down that negative street. "Everything is possible to him who believes" (Jesus), and Believing is a way of thinking.

The Budda said,What we think, we become.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts, we make the world.
- The Buddha

When we grasp the significance of what Jesus and Budda said, when we believe what they said, our entire approach to life can change and we can know empowerment that comes from within our
psyche.

Thrilling really.