Open Rational Inquisitive Appropriate Relationships

     Only a very tiny fraction of our waking day is spent alert, curious, seeing things just as they are, fully engaging with and responding appropriately to whatever each moment holds.
     Instead, we're on autopilot most of the time, caught up in the momentum of the story of our lives, like swimmers caught in the current of a fast-moving river. This momentum includes automatic reactive thought patterns and persistent moods. These provide the illusion of stability and control, but they're examples of automatic negative thinking.
     The momentum is strong, most of it causes suffering, BUT it's entirely optional. It takes a degree of mindfulness to at least temporarily extricate oneself from the flow of one's thought-stream.
     Cognitive defusion is the realization that my thoughts are not me, nor a direct readout on reality. Metacognition is insight into one’s own thinking process.
     We use a mature human adult's executive control when we are open, rational, curious and engaged with whatever this moment holds. To fully exercise this evolved option, requires that we intentionally, continuously practice mindfulness.

     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/03/mindfulness-letting-go-of-negative.html

Photo: Tim A2   www.dpreview.com