“My definition of a holiday: A mind with no story. Now that’s a holiday!” ~ Bev Pugh

I love the month of July… our official summer holidays! There is an old saying that every month can be a holiday. When I give that possibility some thought, this is what I come up with: having a mind that doesn’t constantly run “stories” in my head. Can you imagine what it would be like to have a “story less” mind? That would be a true holiday. The problem with going away for a holiday, is that we take our minds with us – and they are still running opinions.

So what would it be like to live a month with quiet, rather than stories in our head? Actually, what would it be like to live a day or a few minutes with no stories in our head? What a great holiday that would be.

Every once in a while my mind gets too opinionated, so I set my timer for 2 minutes, sit looking at a tree or flower, and direct my awareness to no “story” in my head.

What do I mean when I use the word story? We all have opinions and judgements about what is happening in our lives, what has happened or what will happen. These opinions can be about anything and everything – what is fair or unfair, our hopes and dreams, our regrets, other people’s lives, our fears, our judgements – you name it. Our mind has a story to tell.

Our minds often run reruns of life or fears of the future. Change is always happening, and change can be tough on us humans as we are creatures of habit. There is so much for the mind to chew on!!! Our mind can have full time employment running opinions.

We often tell ourselves that we are waiting until something outside of ourselves changes, and then our mind will be quiet. But the reality is that our mind is a chewer, and it will find something to chew on.

As many of you know, one of my favourite hobbies is hiking with the dogs. Sometimes, before I walk in the mountains, I gather my focus and awareness and place it on experiencing a hike with a mind that is running no story. If my mind is kicking up and very active, I say to myself “no story” and I hold firm. There are no stories allowed, and I am standing firm on a “story less” mind. Sometimes I say “delete” when my mind has been chattering, meaning I am deleting the story, and then I go back to inviting the mind to have no story.

After some self-correcting every few seconds, I find my mind starts to get the gist of the moment, and a growing stillness comes in. I begin to see the trees, the rocks, the roots and everything else that is around me. My nervous system has nothing to react to but the beauty I’m surrounded by. To me, this is a holiday!!!! And hopefully a way of life as I continue to practice.

The say reality is what we think. Most of the time what we are thinking is old coming from our old core beliefs. A great deal of our thinking is repetitive and covers the present moment.

Remember that one of the greatest gifts we have been given is choice…. choose to have a mind with no story running. Keep deleting thoughts that are repetitive worries, fears or opinions and substitute the phrase… a month with no story. Give yourself a break and a rest.

I am becoming very directive with my mind. It is not in charge…I am!! So July holds a sense of beauty, peace, and time off from thinking.

Enjoy!