How to Break Free from the ‘Mind Game’

May 8th, 2018

By Hilde Larsen

Contributing writer for Wake Up World

Being able to think is what we tend to believe makes us superior to other beings. Not that we don’t believe that other species think, but we do it so much better. We resonate, analyze and contemplate. We keep pondering and pondering, using the mind as if it was who we were, and the most valuable asset of any human being.

On the contrary, when thoughts are present, true connection cannot flow. Thoughts  often interfere with us being in the now moment, and only by stilling the mind can we listen to our divine truth. Our innate wisdom will come through, and the feeling of calm will rise.

We are thinkers, and even though the ability to think is a great tool, it is also a constant creator of stress, noise and worry. The mind has a tendency to keep going, even though we are not fully aware of this. We spend our days lost in unconscious and unproductive thinking – addictively replaying the same mental patterns, the same old stories, over and over in our heads like a broken record player. Monkey-mind is a Buddhist expression which refers to this incessant chatter that goes on in our heads. Like a restless monkey, it is always moving around.

The mind is always busy, producing up to 100,000 thoughts per day. It is estimated that today, our brains are bombarded with seven times as much stimuli as our grandparents experienced. Add to this rising stress levels, and it is a wonder that many people can cope at all. Everything we experience — everything we see, hear, smell, feel, and feel the vibration of — is something our brain wants to process. We tend to take with us the past, and invite in the future, creating a constant soup of mind-food. The thing is that everything we think, all the mind-chatter, is holding us locked in the place we are in. We think mostly the same thoughts or thought patterns every single day, like an old broken record. This is a great part of why changing seems so hard to do — it is something to think, rather than to do.

In reality, change all starts with the mind. To be able to do differently actually means to be able to think differently. So, to be able to do things differently, we need to reset and reshape our way of thinking.

It’s Time to Change the Chatter

I want to let you in on something that I have found quite interesting. To quiet the mind though meditation and yoga is fantastic and are great practices. They are ancient methods of clearing the head and moving from the head/thought to the heart. What I was not prepared for was the fact that the more I detoxified and cleansed my physical body, the clearer and calmer the mind got. The connection became super obvious to me. Detoxification is an all-inclusive experience. Together with a clear intent, a true wish for healing and spiritual connection, reprogramming that old chattering monkey on the top floor will be inevitable.

Even that which we call “old programming”, the things we have been told over and over until we believed them, are mostly subconscious patterns — and they always start with a thought. As our programming is formed, thought is always there first, together with a feeling, and then with a belief that is later confirmed over and over again until it sticks. As children we are like sponges so getting something to stick in a child’s mind is easy; as children we are constantly seeking to learn and to find our safe and loving place. We look towards authority for guidance, and as we learn to conform and be followers, and not be different or unique, we keep looking for new authorities throughout our whole lives. It’s like we joined the school of followers and signed up for life to be helpless and overwhelmed.

The as adults, we like to believe that we are our own authority, when in fact we are not. We, in the Western world, have been programmed to believe that we need constant guidance when it comes to our health, our financial affairs, our education, our communities, and our ability to choose in general. And most of us don’t even realize it, much less question it. Why? Only someone with a calcified pineal gland will accept automatically being a follower. From vaccinations to drugs, from chemicals in the water to genetically modified foods, toxins are everywhere, and they have a great influence on our ability to stay of a clear mind and experience the inseparable mind-body-connection at its best. Everything from ingesting non-foods and breathing polluted air, to being injected and medicated while being fed fear-based information, will acidify us. And as a result, many have a calcified pineal gland — the little gland in our brain known as our “third eye”, which connects us with the higher realms; the gland that is a part of our very own internal government, the inner authority that always has our best interest at heart.

It is natural for us to be wondering and curious. Look at how children keep exploring new things; trying and failing, and learning and growing. We lose that eagerness and boldness not through reaching adulthood, but through toxicity and mind-games. And, for the purpose of healing, restoring our health and reaching our potential, we need to look at what is holding us locked in this position. It is our business to stop this pattern, and the sooner the better. This is personal, and we need to take it as such.

Breaking the Program

The old programming is very easy to spot. If you are the one not loving to be with yourself and not speaking highly of your own wonderful being, you are not programmed to love yourself, period. And let me tell you from experience, when we find ourselves in ill-health, the programming that underlies it is not that of self-love. (You can read about my journey from chronic illness back to health and vitality in ‘From HELL to Inspired’.)

If health really is a choice, am I saying that people are choosing to be sick? No, of course not, and yet, yes in a sense they are. We, you, me, we are on a non-conscious level choosing to live what we are living. Right at this moment, our life and our bodies are simply responding to our inner terrain and programming. Conscious or subconscious, it does not matter: a belief is a belief, and beliefs influence our choices.

As long as we are thinking what we have been thinking, we will keep experiencing the same old thing. As long as we keep eating what we have been eating, feeling what we have been feeling, we are simply validating our thought-form.

This will manifest in many different ways. Yes, we see it in the life that we are living. We live what we believe we can, must, are capable of and so forth, but we also live the life that we fear and love. Our lives reflect what we talk about the most, who we choose to be with, and how willing we are to change. The old programming is not going to give in easily, as it took time for it to be created and settle. It might trick you into believing that it is right, but it’s not. A healthy and blossoming inner talk and mindset is not often present in an unhealthy physical body.

In this amazing life of yours, you are the conductor of this fantastic orchestra of cells and events. You are the one in charge of your thoughts and experiences, even when it does not feel like it. And choosing to live, to thrive and be healthy, is part of choosing your thoughts. It is letting go of everything that is not serving you, absolutely everything that is not serving you.

And why wouldn’t you? Well, the fear of change again, and the old programming’s tight grip. Change would be easy, and the path would be obvious, were it not for this very thing. The road would be clear as day, as it is natural to do what is best for the body, and it is natural to say no to toxins, bad foods and needless drugs. It is absolutely healthy and sound to change what is not serving you. Only old programming will stand in the way. It is obvious, you might say, yet still hard to do. My point exactly! As long as you can see clearly what you need to do, yet find it difficult to follow through, you are not of “sound mind”, so to speak; you are not of a detached, free, and self-loving mindset; you are playing the mind game.

The Mind Game

When I talk about the mind game, I am referring to the stimuli and non-truths that we are constantly bombarded with. Our minds are fed and nurtured through our education, the media, our parents, and our bosses. Authorities are feeding us what is serving the cause you might say, as there is always an agenda. To be a free-thinker, a self-aware and authentic human being, takes courage and strength. To free ourselves from the belief systems that we have embraced and adopted takes time and persistence. Luckily, through cleansing, rejuvenation and self love, bullshit does not stand a chance — only truth does.

We want our thoughts to be of a constructive nature, meaning positive for our health and life in general. We want our thoughts to reflect and draw forth the feeling-good emotions, which in turn will be healing to our cells. For a thought to have any impact on our cells, it has to be associated with or connected to a feeling. The feeling is what holds the vibration, and the vibration is what connects with everything that vibrates, which means absolutely everything there is. This means that what we feel is the most important thing of all when it comes to programming our cells. The feeling is the language you might say. The feeling is what speaks the language which the cell will understand and respond to.

Feeling good is something we associate with certain outside events, externally created events. Although our conditioning has made us believe that is how it is, we can break free from that belief. Feelings are not us, and we can choose, through practice, mindfulness and letting go, how to we want to feel. Feeling good is a choice, and our life is created one thought, one belief, one feeling, and one bite of food at a time. The direction can be changed at any given moment.

The mindset of a healthy you is the mindset of a winner. Now is the time to let your true power shine through, by taking control of your mind and emotions. When you know that you are in charge of your thinking, you are on your way, and as one thought changes, the rest will follow. Time is on your side, as the journey is the real destination.

How do you know what you have been programmed to believe?

This is very easy to answer: The old programming will show up as your need to speak about the disease, the broken relationship, or the terrible job and boss. Every time you feel the urge to tell a story of something that you would rather change, you know that you are in the mind-game-mode. As long as you keep telling that same old story of what you do not want, you are heading down that same old road. When we have the need to talk about what is not serving us, we know that we need to change. What we resist, persists, and what we talk about the most, we will keep creating more of.

How do you break free from the game?

First of all, you must realize that the old programming is there. It is important to acknowledge the way that you have been thinking. The thinking might not be obvious, but your life is. So, look at your life and see what you are living that is not what you would like it to be.

Realize that the past is the past, and now is now. What has been has been, and now is when change can happen.

Know that you and only you are the one in charge of your thoughts and feelings. This is a must. You really need to know you are the Head of Operations.

Be your biggest fan, and do not be shy. Once you realize how amazing you really are, you will wonder what you have been thinking. Bond up with you, your new best friend!

Know that you are not a victim, and never really were. You are a co-creator and a master of your life, so feel, think and live like one.

Get ready for the ride of your life. The rollercoaster ride will be a trip, so be prepared. Prepare your mind and your environment. Make up your mind, pure and simple. Simply decide to do what you need to do and go do it. Get to know Mr. Trust and Mrs. Faith. If you have any doubts that you can do this, that your body can heal, thrive and regenerate, keep reading until you don’t. Trust and faith are great friends and followers until you know by experience. From then on, everything changes.

Do not worry about what other people might say. They are all conditioned by their own programming and beliefs. Most of the time they only want what they think is best for you, although they might not know what that is. You do not need approval from anyone. This is about you, and your life.

Stay committed to the plan. Once you have made a protocol, either by yourself, or together with your practitioner, stay with it. Your health is worth it. You are worth it. There is no reason that is good enough for you to not succeed, not a single one.

Be fearless of change and welcome it like an old friend. Fear of danger is different and must not be confused by the fear we are conditioned to have towards anything out of the norm or so called “accepted” conduct. Stepping outside the box, most often, will be challenging for people around us. Lose the whole concept of there even being a box. Act like the free and sovereign being that you are.

Be unstoppable on your quest for what you want. Let nothing stop you from getting to where you want to go. If you fall, get back up.

Remember:

You are the one you have been waiting for, and no matter what you have experienced up to this point in time, the full responsibility is now on you. Only you can change the outcome of your future. How amazingly great is that? From feeling that life happened to you, that you were somehow a victim, you can now know that you are the one with the truly wonderful power to change everything. Realizing you have that ability can either make you or brake you. The fact that you are partly responsible for the state of your health does not make you at fault, as this was never a conscious choice. There is never blame involved, only the realization of solution. Being responsible does not mean that you did something wrong, it only means that you are in fact on top of the game.

Health and abundance is always about awakening to the solution. Do not look back unless you are going in that direction. Start by conditioning your whole being for success. Talk, think and feel like the winner that you are. Your cells are listening to absolutely everything. To every thought and emotion, you have an audience, and it is what is called your life. When you think about your health, think about being healthy. When you talk about your health, be positive and enthusiastic. When you think about your future, do not let the mind trick you into thinking and resonating. DREAM bigger.

The process of breaking free from the mind game will include every single part of your life. You cannot heal the physical body without healing the emotional one. It is all connected, and therefore you can start with a few single steps, and the rest will follow easily and effortlessly. You can change your diet, and your emotional body will start its detoxification process as well. You can start your meditation practices, your deep breathing and your letting go routine, and your will start loving yourself more and more. This will soon lead to taking better care of yourself by choosing food that nurtures. As your physical body is healing, your mind is getting clearer, your emotions are balancing out, and your relationships are changing for the better.

Do not worry, nothing is under control. It is all aligning just as it should, and out of chaos comes order. As long as you let go of the need to control the outcome, life will be created to look and feel like magic. Do your very best, and order health from the menu of the Universe. Try not to give a dang about what that looks like and let Mr. Trust take care of the rest. You do your part, the Creation will do it’s, you can count on it. Your ride, your journey. It will be what you let it, and you are never alone.

Let go, let live, and give the old programming of lack and suffering a kick in the butt. No more paying attention to old fashioned belief-systems, and no more engaging in fear-based information and behaviors. No more buying into not being great and amazing, and no more chasing validation from others. You are in charge, and your mind is under your control. Take the steering wheel, and keep your eyes on where you are heading — toward healthy and happy.

By realizing that we are powerful beyond belief, we are re-creating every little part of our lives. The enthusiasm and willingness to do good, will light up the path towards more of what life has to offer.

No More Bullshit: Power Up and Grow Free

The new book by Hilde Larsen…

Let’s cut the crap and get real. What in the world has taken us so long? Why is it that we keep on living as if nothing is wrong, when the whole world is upside down?

If you are searching for the good life, for abundance, health and happiness, this may be the book for you. In ‘No More Bullshit’, author and life coach Hilde Larsen takes you right back to the very beginning, giving you the tools you need to uncover the causes of the disconnects in your life, and revisit yourself and your life, bullshit free.

Are you ready to dig deeper into life and its meaning, and flush out everything within you that’s not worthy of taking your light and your essence? ‘No More Bullshit’ is designed to help you smoke it out, and set yourself free — to find the real you and live the life of abundance and joy you deserve.

‘No More Bullshit: Power Up and Grow Free’ is available here on Amazon.

Recommended articles by Hilde Larsen:

• How to Write Your Life Manifesto, and Why It Will Change Your Life
• Listen to All, Learn from a Few, Follow No One
• 10 Ways to Foster an Attitude of Gratitude
• Spread Your Wings! 8 Benefits of Living Outside Your Comfort Zone
• The Day I Died – The Dark Night of The Soul
• 4 Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Own Healing
• Deal With Your Own Shit – Then Serve Others
• The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off
• The Art of Surrendering – How to Let Go of the Outcome – and Why
• Forget the Guru! You Are the Master of Your Universe

About the author:

Hilde Larsen, known as ‘the one who Inspires’, is the CEO and founder of inspiredbyhilde.com. She is a certified Health and Mindset Coach, an Author, a Keynote Speaker, Detox Specialist, Raw food Teacher and Life-Enthusiast. Her glowing enthusiasm for health and vitality has the leading role in her work. Her interest in healing and spiritual growth also led her to become a Reiki Healer. She is highly intuitive and has a strong connection to Mother Earth and the spiritual world.

Hilde Larsen writes articles, and has her own blog and YouTube channel. She is the author of three published books: ‘From HELL to Inspired’, ‘Know the Truth and Get Healthy’, and ‘No More Bullshit’. She creates online video programs and has her own membership site, The Inspired Members.

Born and raised in Stavanger, Norway, she and her husband of 29 years have a second home in Florida, USA. She is a proud mother and grandmother, and a tree-hugger at heart. Called by nature and spirit, she is inspiring many to take back their power, and to live a healthy successful life doing what they love. Hilde now spends her time traveling between Norway and Florida, speaking, and appearing on different media as the Inspired health and thought leader. She is an authority in her field who has walked her talk. She also values the time with her clients, and her time in nature with her closest family and friends.