How Do I Know..?

[Green.Heals]

I have a few questions;

1) How do I know if the thoughts I am thinking are my own, or I am reading into someone else's?

(with the above, for the most part I believe that thoughts are given to us, & if we do not utilize them as the gift's they are, than they are given to another) *my question is more so general* -nothing gifted, unless, they're all thought to be a gift.. aside from this,

is there something I can practice to close myself off?

2) How do I know if the Depression in my life, is created due to me ( I believe a wide range is), or the energies I pick up on?

Thank You

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Gr33nLuv

2) How do I know if the Depression in my life, is created due to me ( I believe a wide range is), or the energies I pick up on?

I'm a depression survivor. You can speculate, but all that matters is the path back to health. In my case, I identified six character tendencies and specific life issues that lead to my depression. One issue had to do with my negative life outlook, another the negativity directed towards me from others, as two examples. Over a period of several years I addressed each issue, and that was how I healed myself.

[Jared.L]

1) I think you cannot be sure where the thought comes from since our brain works as a receiver, not transmitter most of the time.

[Earth Healer]

I also suffered from depression for many years. One thing I learned was that depression has a major physiological component that can be treated through proper diet (i.e. avoiding sugar and processed foods) and through exercise. Mind-body practices like Tai Chi and Yoga also help.

What doesn't help is a belief that it is something in our behavior that is causal. That only makes it worse. However, if you are energy sensitive, you may have difficulty with what I call "chaotic" energy like what one might experience on busy city street. I find that breathing, centering, and letting that energy simply flow through is more helpful that trying to shield or resist it.

namaste

Originally Posted by Gr33nLuv

I have a few questions;

1) How do I know if the thoughts I am thinking are my own, or I am reading into someone else's?

(with the above, for the most part I believe that thoughts are given to us, & if we do not utilize them as the gift's they are, than they are given to another) *my question is more so general* -nothing gifted, unless, they're all thought to be a gift.. aside from this,

is there something I can practice to close myself off?

2) How do I know if the Depression in my life, is created due to me ( I believe a wide range is), or the energies I pick up on?

Thank You

It's a problem - nothing can be proved either way and it is down to your beliefs.

Looking back, I reckon most of my thoughts are mine and are a mix of how I assimilated experiences, how I reacted to changing circumstances, how I educated myself and was educated academically, the University of Real Life being the more important.

Having said that, it seems highly likely that we are born with certain gifts (perhaps "leanings" is a better word) - we do come with an amount of hard wiring anyway and like a seed contains the blueprint for the entire tree, so to speak) we come with stuff that will slant the way we think and what we do. Much is forced upon us through our childhoods and later, social conditioning which embodies the philosophies and thoughts of others. We fall for fashion, for consumerism, we adopt different roles to ensure we keep our jobs, our friends, families, are liked (we hope) and we behave ourselves as appropriate in institutions (like for example, the library or the gym). So it's clear that we are subject to the thoughts of others (which, once we wake up, we recognise aren't our own), so it's a question of sorting out what thoughts are really ours and what aren't.

This to me is the search for selfhood - the real Self and it's a bit like peeling the layers off an onion except it won't happen instantly. It's a long process made more complex because as we progress, the more there seems to deal with.

I can't comment on depression though; it's something I've never suffered believing my fleeting "downs" are just that - downers, not real depression. I can only speculate the cause is that life isn't going the way someone wants it to - unless it really is physiological. I may be wrong but it seems possible for some to alleviate their condition by contemplating their circumstances and what gets them down. A lot can go wrong with people trying to lead ordinary lives - problems that seem insurmountable. Perhaps some of them are. Baille gave a good hint up there - trying to identify what the problem really is.

I wish you well in sorting this out - but as for what thoughts are yours vs the thoughts of others, it's probably more useful to regard your thoughts as your own, coloured by your upbringing and social conditioning about which you could do a great deal, if relevant.

[Corina]

If you have a suspicion that your negative thoughts have another source (perhaps from another person or a non-human being) there could be some truth in that and you need to investigate. Is your depression constant? Are there certain triggers or moments when you feel worse? Is there anything at all that makes you feels good? I believe there is more than one type of depression. For some it's chemical and can only be treated with meds, for some physiological and be treated with a change of diet and exercise, for some it's spiritual- an existentialist crisis and then a spiritual path would help, for some it comes from the negative people in their life. Or a combination of them. I used to believe that I was creating my depression- and I was in a way. But I didn't lose it until I separated myself from certain individuals and their mindframe. And made better emotional connection with others.