Exploring Your Mind: The Final Frontier – by Dr. Nick Araza
It is time we take a look, an assessment if you will, at that all too important hunk of goo in between our ears. That’s right, after Dr. Franson’s talk last night on how Well People Think, I realized that it is time I spend some energy on examining and understanding the “mind” portion of my nervous system. The part that makes me laugh, cry, love, hate, and feel - the part that makes me human.
You see, I very much like to consider myself a well person. I exercise intensely and often, I eat real foods (most of them veggies and fruits), and I’m a goal-oriented, optimistic person. I have kept an exercise journal for the last three years, and have monitored my eating habits tightly for the past eight. However, I have never, ever, written down or examined my thoughts. Yes, I have journaled about various days or feelings on occasion, but that is like writing down a lot about one meal or one intense exercise day I had. I’m talking about exploring my mind, finding out what thoughts I cultivate on a hourly or even 1/2-hourly basis. So I’m going to do just that. I am going to purchase a silent buzz timer and put it in my pocket along with a small pad I can journal on, and I am going to monitor my thoughts every 30 minutes while I am awake. I am going to finally learn about my most important monitoring and regulating system, and truly discover what I think about on a routine basis. I have learned that our mind is like a garden and our thoughts are the bounty. We primarily think (or grow) the same stuff every day, and it can either be plentiful and good/well…. but it is about time I find out what kind of garden I have been growing.
It is hard to work specifically on a diet, to truly see what is missing and what shouldn’t be there, if you can’t really remember or see what you have been eating in writing, and this is the same thing. I am excited to find out what lurks in my own deep space. I will keep you all updated in the blogs to come, but expect a full report at the beginning of the year.
I challenge you to find out what’s in your garden…. and comment, we can go through this together.
I hope you join me!
Fight 4 (and Discover) Health
Dr. Nicholas Araza DC CCWP
I think I’ll join you on that! I never know what to journal about…I feel like when I do journal its usually just a rundown of my day. However, I think it would be much more beneficial to “catch” myself at random points in the day and really explore what I’m thinking at that very moment. I’m interested and EXCITED about what I’ll find!!! This seems like a way to take a peak into what might be in our “bucket” if it were to get bumped.