How To Tame Wild Thoughts & Become The Master of Your Mind
The Art of The Mental Mastery
12 min readJul 20, 2017
“Mind” (n): the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.
What’s a “Watchman of the Mind”?
To achieve self-mastery of the mind, you need to be the Watchman of your mind, and its thoughts. You must be aware of the patterns, internal dialogue, and ways your mind thinks. Thoughts carry energy. Thoughts have the ability to manifest through shifts in energy, which can cause you to take action. Being conscious of the thoughts you expose yourself is key to mental mastery because thoughts have the power to influence your decisions, actions, and beliefs.
To become aware of your thoughts is to become aware of your mind, your temple. An open mind is one of the most powerful weapons you have. With such immense power, the mind needs to be controlled, because it has the ability to manifest in both positive and negative ways. The mind can be your greatest master or greatest slave.
*KEY: Actively practicing mental awareness is needed to achieve mental mastery.
Why become the Master of your Mind?
* Able to shift your thoughts to achieve a mental state that supports you and your purpose.
*Manifest your inner desires.
3 Key Areas For Mental Mastery:
M-Master
I-Intentions (What are your intentions for the present moment? What are you trying to achieve? What is the purpose for your intentions?)
N-Needs (What do you need? Is anything missing from your life? How can you fulfill that need?)
D-Decisions (Why did you decide to do ____? What kinds of decisions are you making? Are the decisions you’re making helping/hurting you? How often do you make positive/negative decisions?)
ACTION STEPS:
- Become aware of your intentions, understand them.
- Satisfy your needs in positive ways.
- Make decisions that empower you and serve your greatest good.
How To Examine Your Thoughts:
“WHAT”
Purpose: Use “WHAT” to examine any undesirable thoughts you’re having.
W-Why (Why am I having this thought? What is the thought’s intention?)
H-Helping (Is this thought helping me? Is this thought helping me become better? Does the thought help serve your purpose?)
A-Affirm (Affirm to yourself YOU ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, you are SEPARATE from your thoughts)
T- Truth (Is this thought based in truth, why, or why not?)
ACTION STEPS:
- Ask WHY you’re having a particular thought(s).
- Ask if the thought is HELPING you or not.
-AFFIRM to yourself you are NOT your thoughts.
- Question the TRUTH of the thought(s).
*MENTAL MASTERY = Being a Watchman of your Mind through MENTAL CHECK-IN’S
Mental Check-Ins:
What is a mental check-in?
How do you practice mental check-in’s?
1. Remember an Acronym(s)
2. Ask yourself the question(s) associated with each letter of the acronym.
3. Practice the Action Steps to achieve the desired state.
How do you identify & categorize your thoughts?
Being able to IDENTIFY and CATEGORIZE your thoughts will help bring self-awareness and will help you determine if you need to adjust them or not.
To Identify & Categorize Thoughts →”AIM” & “ACT”
1. “AIM” (Identify)
A-Awareness: Become aware of the thought(s) (WHAT)
A-Awareness (identify the thought): What are you thinking about? What kind(s) of thoughts are you having?
I-Intention: Understand the purpose of the thought(s) (WHAT/WHY)
I-Intention (purpose of thought) What’s the purpose the thought is trying to achieve? What’s the reason for this thought?
M-Meditate: Think about the thought(s) (WHY)
M-Meditate (think about the thought) Why are you thinking in that manner?
2. “ACT” (Categorize)
A- Awareness: Become aware of the thought(s) (WHAT)
A-Awareness (identify the thought)
C- Categorize the thought(s)
Categorizing your thoughts will help you determine how they need to be addressed.
*KEY: Based on the category of thought, you can pick a mental check-in acronym to use to adjust, increase, or minimize (“AIM”) the thought(s).
T- Three Options
What happens once you know your thoughts?
A-Adjust (Adjusting the thought)
Shift your thoughts to whatever you want your desired emotional state to be.
I-Increase (Magnify the thought)
Focus on the thought by feeding it mental energy through ATTENTION (*Best used with POSITIVE thoughts.)
M-Minimize (Minimize the thought)
Downplay the thought and give it less mental energy. (*Focus on what you WANT to think)
How to Categorize Thoughts:
Thought Categories…
What kinds of thoughts are you having?
Other categories: Positive/Negative, Past, Present, Future, Self-Defeating, Self-Sabotaging, Fearful, Judgmental, Needy, Intellectual, Philosophical, Emotional, Spiritual, etc.
Example Scenario:
1. A-AWARENESS of thought:
“He/She/They is so stupid, they don’t even know the answer to that “easy” question.
2. Category: Judgemental thought
3. Three Options: Minimize judgmental thought using “JUDGE” acronym (*See JUDGE below)
IMPROVE: Use “JUDGE”
M-Meditate-Think about why you’re judging someone else.
*KEY: Discover WHY you’re judging.
Mental Check-In Questions & Acronyms To Ask Yourself…
-What kinds of thoughts am I having, why? (positive, negative, neutral)
-Am I actively thinking about something, or passively thinking about something?
-Am I having any undesirable thoughts?
-What are my 1–3 focus areas for today?
-How are the people around me, what’s their condition?
Mental Check-In Acronyms:
1. How do you solve an ISSUE?
“ISSUE”
“ISSUE” (How to identify an ISSUE)
I-Identify (What’s the issue?)
S-Sense (Tune into your senses, what are they telling you?)
S-Simplify (Simply the issue piece by piece. What are the parts of the issue?)
U-Understand (Understand the issue, why is it an issue?)
E-Engage (Engage with the issue by taking action to solve it)
2. Are you up in the “AIR about something?” Are you ungrounded, overthinking?
“AIR”
ACTION STEP: Ask yourself: Is _____ ACTUALLY BASED IN REALITY?
3. How do you solve PROBLEMS?
“PROBLEMS”
P-Prevent (What can prevent the problem from happening?)
R-Recognize (Recognize the problem)
O-Open-mind (Be open minded to different ways to solve a problem)
B-Balance (Solve the problem by returning to a state of balance)
L-Learn lesson (What lesson is the problem trying to teach you?)
E-Effective (Use effective methods for solving the problem)
M-Manage (Manage the problem by tracking improvement)
S-Solution (Brainstorm solutions for the problem and ask for help if needed)
4. How do you respond to a CRISIS?
“CRISIS”
C-Care/Call for help
R-Respond (take action)
I-Improve (What can you do to improve the situation?)
S-Solve (How can the crisis be solved or managed?)
I-Inquire (Ask questions, figure out why the crisis happened)
S-Support (Get help/support)
5. “ASK”
6. What’s your MIND state?
“MIND”
M-Mindfulness/Meditation (Use these methods to gain awareness)
I-Intention (What are your intentions right now?)
N-Natural state (What’s your mind’s natural baseline state? Are you in that state, why or why not?)
D-Direction (What direction is your mind going in? Where is it taking you?)
7. Are your THOUGHTS serving you and your purpose?
“THOUGHTS”
T-Tone (What’s the emotional tone of your thought?)
H-Helping/Hurting (Are the thoughts you’re having helping/hurting you?
O-Optimistic (Are you having positive thoughts, if not, why?)
U-Useful (Are your thoughts useful for what you’re doing in that moment?)
G-Guidance (What are your thoughts guiding you towards (direction)?)
H- Harmonic (Are you thoughts in harmony with who want to be, and what you want to achieve?)
T-True (Are you thoughts truthful, what are they based in?)
S-Supporting (Are you thoughts supporting you with your intentions?)
ACTION STEP: Ask: “Are my thoughts HELPING/HURTING, OPTIMISTIC, USEFUL, GUIDING, HARMONIC, TRUE, SUPPORTING?
8. Are you having JUDGEmental thoughts?
“JUDGE”
9. Why we THINK
“THINK”
10. How to Tap Into Your MIND:
M-Meditation/Mindfulness
I-Intuition (Intuition is your sense of inner knowing and awareness, felt through thoughts, emotions, gut feelings, synchronicity)
N-Nutrition (Healthy, wholesome, natural foods give your mind clearer thoughts)
D-Desires (What do you desire ?Your spirit tells you what it wants through desires)
ACTION STEP:
-Practice MEDITATION/MINDFULNESS in your daily life. Increase your intuition. Eat healthy/wholesome foods for mental clarity. Tune into your desires.
“MIND”
M-Magnify
I-Intentions (What’s the purpose of the thought? What is trying to achieve?)
N-Notice
D-Direction (What direction is your mind going in? (circles, abstract, logical)
“MIND”
“MIND MAP”
11. Ways To Use Your “BRAIN”:
B-Believing (Self-belief is the spark of manifestation. Believe in yourself and what you do.)
R-Receiving (Being still will allow you to receive the messages, insights, and guidance from life. Be open to receiving the best experiences life has to offer.)
A-Actualizing (Being able to actualize what’s in your mind is the sign of a true master. Seek to actualize the positive in your life through visualization, belief, action, and gratitude.)
I-Intuiting (Intuition is your spirit speaking to you. Tune into YOU by meditating, being still, improving nutrition, and tuning into your senses)
N-Nourishing (Nourish your brain by learning and engaging your mind with different stimuli.)
ACTION STEPS:
-Believe in yourself.
-Be open to receiving
-Actualize the positive in your mind
-Tune into your intuition
-Nourish your brain through learning & engagement.
How to Build Your BRAIN:
ACTION STEPS:
-Practice the power of self-belief DAILY
-Read content that improves & enriches you.
-Practice positive affirmations DAILY
-Flex your imagination through your day to day living by imagining “WHAT IF?”
-Eat a wholesome/healthy/nutrient based diet.
12. Mental “MASTER”
13. How to sooth undesirable thoughts:
“LOVER”
L-Love (Lighten the mood by feeling the spirit of love in your heart.)
O-Observe without judgment
V-Validate-Thoughts like validation because makes the ego feel recognized.
E-Elevate-Elevate your thoughts to positive ones.
R-Release -Release the undesirable thoughts.
14. How to check/change undesirable thoughts:
How do you check/change your thoughts if they’re undesirable?
“CHECK”
Purpose: Use “CHECK” to check/change undesirable thoughts.
C-Compassion (Be compassionate towards yourself, know it’s only a thought. Thoughts don’t have power unless you give them power. Be compassionate.)
H-Harmonize/Honor- Harmonize your thoughts with what’s actually happening in the moment. Honor what you think and feel.
E-Ego (Check your ego. Realign yourself with your higher self by being in a spirit of love, compassion, trust, and empathy.
C- Choose the desired thought (Shift your thoughts to more desirable ones by flexing your mental muscles to focusing on what you WANT to feel.)
K-Kindness (Affirm to yourself that everything is OK. Speak kind words to yourself to ease your mind to a different state.)
14. How to Release Undesirable Thoughts:
R-Recognize (Recognize the particular thought, understand the effect it’s having on you, see it for what it is with 100% acceptance)
R-Release (Release the thought from your consciousness by releasing the emotional energy it takes from you.)
ACTION STEPS:
-Recognize undesirable thoughts
-Make the decision to release undesirable thoughts and the emotional energy they carry with them.
15. How to Heal Undesirable Thoughts:
“ SHINE”
S-Share (Share your thoughts with someone you trust and/or a professional.)
H-Heal (Healing starts with your heart. Recognize WHAT needs healing. Find a healer and/or practice self-healing)
I-Increase (Increase positive thoughts)
N-Nurture (Care for your thoughts by being mindful of them)
E-Embrace (Embrace WHAT IS, be in a state of harmony)
“SHINE”
16. How to judge the value of a thought:
Is this thought worth my “TIME”?
T-Thought
I-Intention (What is that thought trying to achieve?)
M-Matter (Does this thought matter, is it worth your time?)
E-Emotion (What is the emotional tone of that thought? What emotion is fueling that thought?)
What can you do with the thoughts you have?
What do thoughts AIM to do?
-Actualization, Awareness, Add, Alert, Arouse, Assist, Attract, Achieve, Action…
-Improvement, Invitation, Ideas, Inspire, Interests, Initiate, Immerse…
-Motivate, Move, Magnify, Manifest…
Other AIMS: Expression, Release
Mental Mastery Activity: “Define Your Life”
Purpose: Empowers you with word choices to create an ACRONYM to help FOCUS your thoughts.
How it Works:
1. Pick a word for each individual letter
2. Each word choice must make sense towards the topics of how to FOCUS or how to FOCUS your thoughts.
3. Say the acronym out loud to hear if it flows well.
4. Remember the acronym when you want to ‘FOCUS’
F-Focus/Forgive/Face/Free/Fit/Fulfill
O-Observe/Open(ing)/Optimism/Open-mind/Opportunity/Offer
C-Compassion/Calm/Creative/Can/Clear/Choose/Choice/Comfort/Compliment/Consider/Construct/Correct/Create/Credit
U-Understanding/Understand/Upgrade/Uplift/Use/Useful/Unconditional/User-friendly
S-Self-reflect/Simplify/Sense/Save/Satisfy/Share/Smile/Super/Success/Support/Sympathy
Example: “Freely. Open. Creative. Understanding. Superbly”
REMEMBER: Become the Watchman of your Mind by practicing Mental Check-In’s Daily/Weekly and you will achieve mental mastery.
Individuals Aspiring Mastery & Medium.com/@IAspireMastery.
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