I am sure you have reached a goal or finished a project and instantly have had your mind ask the ridiculous question, “What’s next?” It is difficult to acknowledge how much our programmed mind is in charge of our lives. Our minds can push us, slow us down, praise us, condemn us, direct us, or seemingly hide answers from us. And all the time we believe this computer inside our head is the center of our power. We actually believe that it is the real us.

However, acknowledging that our ultimate authority is not our mind but our heart’s wisdom does not always give us the power to shut off the continual litany of our mind. We have to consciously pull the switch. And until you can tell your mind to be quiet until it is needed to provide the information it stores, it will continue to be in charge. It will continually tell you what is next, because it has been trained to stay on duty all the time.

One day during a particularly stressful time, I fortunately remembered that I was stressed simply because I had given my mind, instead of my heart, control over my agenda. My mind had faithfully helped me remember all the details of each step needed in my very full structure. And for that I was grateful. After all, remembering details is one of the minds important tasks. But the evaluation sheet, the constant pushing, and the unwillingness to be quiet were not things of which I needed its assistance.

After telling my mind to be quiet, I was able to re-center myself. I could then hear the wise, loving voice of my heart’s mind. It didn’t evaluate, simply just loved me. It didn’t push but led me gently to the next item of my day. The “what is next” question didn’t need an answer because I knew the next activity would simply be another opportunity to express a piece of my heart. The past and the future were gone–there was just the now. There was just the real me expressing.