Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness.

You know, the human mind

is a double-edged sword.

On the upside, it enables us

to plan, solve problems, create

goals, and work towards our dreams.

But the dark side of the human mind is

that it also tends to haunt our in a

world with unhelpful and painful thoughts.

We experience self-criticism,

ruminations and worries.

And for many of us that voice inside

can become our own worst enemy, crushing

our self-esteem or driving us to feel

constantly stressed, negative or anxious.

Now we know that with email or

on social media, if we find some

of the content coming through

really unhelpful, we can just hit

unfollow or the unsubscribed button.

But the original meaning of the

word subscribe means to express or

feel in agreement with something.

So to unsubscribe from something

means to not express or feel

in agreement with something.

Now, the reason why we often get

caught up in unhelpful thoughts

is because we subscribed to them.

We agree with them.

We take them seriously

and we write believe them.

So here's a short practice

to help you unsubscribe from

unhelpful thought processes.

It takes the power out of them

so that they no longer cause

you stress and suffering.

This practice comes from acceptance

and commitment therapy, and

it's called thanking your mind.

So this is a really, really simple.

Whatever your mind mine says to you today,

no matter how mean or awful or negativity

it is, just with an attitude of warm

playfulness and even humor, you simply

mentally reply to yourself, Thanks mind.

Thanks for sharing.

So for instance, let's say your mind

says to you, "Oh, you're such an idiot."

You mentally reply, T"hanks mind.

Thanks for sharing."

And if your mind says to you,

"What will happen if nobody

looks after me when I'm old?

That would be horrible."

You reply, "Thanks mind.

Thanks for sharing."

If your mind says to you, "This

stupid thanking the mind thing doesn't

change the fact that your life sucks.

You're kidding yourself".

Then you simply mentally

reply, "Thanks mind."

So today, I invite you to

take this practice with you.

And any time you find yourself getting

caught up in unhelpful thoughts,

just have a play with this activity.

And when you do, remember to do it with

warmth and humor, So, no matter what

your mind says to you, no matter how

serious it claims to be, see if you

can have a sense of smiling at the mind

and just mentally saying, thanks mind.

And then once you do that, just

change the focus of your attention

back to something more nourishing.

So each time you do this practice, you

build your capacity to unsubscribe from

unhelpful thoughts and bring back more

lightness, ease and joy into your days.