Living in the Spiritstream
by Mystic Life

There are different "streams" of thought which occupy your mind.  Observe these streams.  You may find more than these, but here are some of the more common ones:

1. Newsstream.  This is becoming obsessed about what is going on in the news.  You could find yourself obsessing about terrorism or some other frightening news.

2. Musicstream.  You may find yourself avoiding a quiet mind space by having various songs running through your head.  Examine whether or not the content of these songs brings you happiness.  It may be obsessive rumination.

3. Enemystream.  This is about labeling someone as an enemy and obsessing on your anger towards that person.  Forgiveness, compassion and understanding can diminish the strength of this stream.

4. Futurestream.  What will happen?  Where will I be?  What will I be doing?  All of these take you out of the peace of the moment and into a future scenario.

5. Fantasystream.  Often related to a futurestream, this form of thinking guides you into thoughts of situations you consider better than how things are.  In small amounts this is normal but to become obsessive can take you from your life.

6. Paststream.  Obsessing upon past events can leave you mulling over what has happened ad infinitum.  Sometimes information about who you are now can be better understood by looking at your past.  However, when you stay stuck in the past you are usually denying yourself the empowerment of moving forward.

7. Sexstream.  Thinking about your sex life has many sociological and biological roots.  If you think about what is (or isn't) going on in your sex life too much you can give too much weight to this aspect of your being.

8. Romancestream.  Often interconnected with the sexstream though not always.  Can also overlap with the fantasystream.  How are things going in my romantic relationship?  Are things going okay?  Does s/he love me?  These thoughts can be lessened with a greater focus upon your individual wholeness.

9. Friendstream.  You may find yourself thinking about your friends quite a bit.  Whether or not they are present you may think about what they are doing, or how they feel about you, or how you feel about them.  It is best to trust that a feeling of connection can withstand a lack of thinking about someone obsessively.

10. Familystream.  Family issues may permeate your thinking.  Many people have unresolved issues of anger or grief related to family members.  If you find yourself thinking too much in this stream it is best to step back and observe your thinking.

11. Moneystream.  Money can tie into fears of survival.  Many people who worry about money don't actually have any survival concerns but it can feel on the level of that kind of importance if you let it.  Do what you can to take care of things and don't think about it more than is useful.

12. Workstream.  Interconnected with the moneystream is the workstream.  You may think quite a bit about your work relationships or the quality of your work.  It is best to let go of these thoughts, do what you can do, and redirect your attention.

13. Bodystream.  Am I attractive?  Am I getting old?  Am I fat?  All of these thoughts can take over your thinking.  You may think that your body is who you are and think quite a bit about how it compares with others.  Know that you are a spiritual being...this is your true self.

14. Spiritstream.  This is the stream of being (not even of thinking, but being) in which you would like to be living.  Go with the flow.  Let yourself be guided.  Follow through.

Observe your thinking.  See what stream you may be caught in and step out of it.  If you feel that your thoughts are coming from your ego then let go of them.  By simply observing your thinking you'll begin to feel less controlled by your thoughts.