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Writer's pictureCheryl Wilson
3 min read

Monkey Mind



Do you ever feel as if you have a monkey sitting on your shoulder or stressed out AF? We have all been there, especially over the pandemic.


Spiritual teachings refer to the mind as a wild monkey swinging from branch to branch and mindfulness becomes not only a practice but a way of actually being when we add meditation to our lives.


News Flash!!!! That means that you don’t have to run after every thought or take every darn thought to be fact. In fact, a lot of what you think in your head isn’t even true!


Can you believe it? Most of your stress is in your mind? We get hooked all the time projecting into the future or replaying some deep hurt from the past that being where we are in the present, takes practice. Drumroll please……..meditation impacts your real life in countless ways and who doesn’t want to stress less?


Stress releases cortisol in the body. We read and hear about it all the time. It can also produce anxiety and leave our nervous systems in a chronic state of feeling deep overwhelm. Stress can be very obvious or subtle, ever meet the person constantly on the go or having a difficult time making decisions? That was me at one point. Stress is pressure applied mentally, physically, or emotionally. It isn’t always a bad thing and can make a person grow more resilient when managed appropriately. However, when it is poorly managed, it can create a lot of harm.


Circling back to our monkey minds and the stories we create, as Mark Twain so aptly put it;

“I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”

Some of it never happened because it was all made-up stories in his head. READ THAT AGAIN. It NEVER happened. Have you ever bought into your own story and realized it was a trip to “la-la land?” You stressed out for nothing!!! Don’t beat yourself up! The mind makes up a lot of stuff to keep you safe, ease any pain or discomfort, and to find the ground floor in a groundless, ever-changing universe. This making up stories business can add to our stress and make ourselves more overwhelmed.


Great news!!!! We have the ability to notice our minds and not buy into the stories when we become more self-aware and not step in our own shit again and again. Excuse the language.


Through mindfulness practices, instead of spinning “out” we can learn to spin “in.”


Take a moment to reflect on the following questions;


Have you ever told yourself a story to feel justified about taking an action or something you said?


Have you ever waited for a response from someone over something silly or huge and in the interim made up an entire story about how he or she feels about you?


I know I have. We do this all the time but when we add meditation to our life, the storytelling mind begins to release and we start to notice we don’t have to buy into the narrative we are creating. We can learn to ride the breath and in the space between the inhale and exhale find freedom from our conditioned mind. We can also start to connect to inner freedom by asking ourselves these simple questions. Thank you to one of my favorite teachers, Dr. Wayne Dyer:


Is this true? Is this really true? Are you 100% sure?

These questions serve as the best wake-up call to get us out of our own narratives and into real life because oftentimes we are not really sure. Let’s not live by our conditioned minds or habitual reactions but find freedom from “la-la land” aka, the land of stories our minds have created.


One last question, How do you want to show up to your own beautiful life? Don’t let your mind run the show! Drop into that whole, loving, and peaceful being who you REALLY are to live your best life!


And goodbye Monkey Mind! We have both meditation and yoga practices at CW Body+Soul to support your best life and calm your mind. See you on your cushion!


Meeting you from my reality to yours with compassion and love. Here’s to always healing from the inside out.


With love,









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