50+ community Check-in June 29-July 2, 2020
Happy Monday everyone, I hope youre having a wonderful day 
What do you believe, does your environment control your thinking or does your thinking control the way you see your environment?
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What do you believe, does your environment control your thinking or does your thinking control the way you see your environment?
I think the environment affects how I feel and even how I think
BUT
How I am thinking also affects how I see my environment just like a pair of dark glasses affects how bright my surroundings seem.
Catch 22?
@amiablePeace77
@soulsings
Thank you for sharing your point of views. When we are in difficult situations it can easily happen that they control our thinking so it is very important to use mindfulness in order not to get caught up in it.
What do you believe, does your environment control your thinking or does your thinking control the way you see your environment? I believe that the environment I am in controls my thinking.
@Offmytrack
It must be hard when being in a non supportive environment. I hope that mindfulness will help you when challenged.
yes the surrounding environment affects my mood and way of thinking and feeling
@DinaElwy
I believe we are all affected by what happens around us, we can't block it 100 % but we can learn that what happens on the outside will not take over our inside. It helps me to make myself aware of what is really important, like not getting trapped by outside events but focus on staying healthy.
@amiablePeace77
What do you believe, does your environment control your thinking or does your thinking control the way you see your environment?
I think its both. For instance, I have neighbors who love fireworks every day of the year. They set off one big explosion at different times every day, in a different location in my neighborhood. I jump out of my skin every time, unless I happen to have ear plugs in because I sleep with ear plugs, or unless I happen to have ear buds in because I am listening to something on my laptop. I also have two standing fans which I keep on 24/7 for white noise. I live in southern California where it can be brutally hot in the summer. I also live in a poor community where there is no air conditioning provided in apartments like mine, so my windows are open 24/7, when it is warm to hot. That means that no matter what I do, I sometimes cannot avoid being scared out of my skin, daily. I have called the police and written the police. I understand that they cannot post multiple cars for hours in different locations in my neighborhood every day. Therefore, the environment of this situation somewhat controls my thinking. My bodily reaction of being scared to the point of jumping and my heart racing, is nothing I can control when the explosion happens daily at a time I cannot predict. My thoughts when the explosion happens are also explosive, until I can calm down again. Sometimes our environment is beyond our control and does effect the way we think.
I can imagine people who cannot escape their abusive or torturous environment, which effects the way they think.
I do believe that we can work to try to control our thinking in many environments, but not all.
@purpleTree4652
I so much want for you to gather money to get a better place of living.
Love from Helga.
@Helgafy, thank you
@purpleTree4652
I am so sorry that you are living under such challenging conditions, it must be very hard for you, particularly when being sensitive to certain noises. Hugs. I have the same problem with fireworks, those are unexpected noises and put the body immediately into fight/fly response.
It's a great idea to run the fans, not only for keeping you cool in those hot days but also to calm and at night lull you to sleep.
Hope things will get better in future. 
@amiablePeace77, thank you. i hope things get better, too.
I would think both are involved. It can be a bright sunny day but I'll see it as lousy much of the time. Winter brings me down because it just means slippery roads and shoveling snow.
@WharfRat
Those are too good examples of showing how it could go both ways, thanks for sharing.
Some changes in our environment, like winter, can even cause us to be depressive (SAD, thanks that there are sad lamps available on the market) . Shoveling a lot of snow is no fun, it's hard work.
(Very beautiful painting/picture, ty...)
What do you believe, does your environment control your thinking or does your thinking control the way you see your environment?
As usual, both...if the environment is nice and calm and my thinking is good...even if there is a storm I can still connect somehow and still feel good...
Amd yes your thinking affects how you perceive the environment: the classic example is when summer you want winter when winter you want summer when dry you want rain, when rain you want it to just stop....
We are not that adaptable after all on our minds and souls, we still long for that womb place where conditions were safe and constant...
Who can figure out life...
@Oase
Oase dear.
I like your writing. "Who can figure out life?" Well - I don't long back to my mothers womb. But here in Norway we have a minstrel who is singing: "Mother, I want to go back to your warm inner space". Like you I like to think.
Love from Helga.
@Helgafy
Thank you, I lived many years in Scandinavia and there are very good bards and a place in the world where most people sing and love music...I rode my bike in winter...I miss the North...
@Oase
Great explanation. Its great to hear that youre able to take storms and still feel good. We cannot avoid stormy weather all the time but we can prepare for it, seems you did it quite well 
@amiablePeace77
Thank you, I embraced nature in all her forms before my major depression then smth happened that I thought it was never going to happen to me, I became meteo sensitive...also speaking about the environment living in a city has eroded my peace and my spirit, my place would have been in nature, not a city...
Ty again...
@Oase
Hugs Oase, depression is tough, remember we are always here for you . It's hard to live in a place where you feel you do not belong, hugs. Hope you will find your happy place soon.
@amiablePeace77
Soon...❤ty again...
@amiablePeace77
@amiablePeace77 I think that the two go hand in hand. Yes, sometimes, your environment does control your thinking to an extent. However, you thinking can/does effect how you see your environment. Yes, I agree with the person who said it is like a catch 22.
@dolphinlver
Nice to see you here 
. I agree to what you said, our environment influences us to some extend but the amount of this extend can be greatly controlled by our thoughts in my opinion and also our ability to avoid certain situations which we know will impact us negatively.
What do you believe, does your environment control your thinking or does your thinking control the way you see your environment?
I think It does. If it's ungealthy then you'll start being unhealthy and thinking that way. If it's healthy and good then that's how you start to act and think.
@Goldcherry2113
Thanks for your input. It's hard to avoid refined sugar when for examples cookies are available on the kitchen counter and we pass them frequently. At one point we will eat some but if we put chopped carrots or celery or some fruit out, we will take that when feeling like wanting to have a snack. This is just a small example how I find we can contribute to making our environment safe in our own homes and train our minds to do healthy food choices.
What do you believe, does your environment control your thinking or does your thinking control the way you see your environment? When you say environment, I think of my house and my yard, because I don't go anywhere now really. So for sure, what I see in my environment controls my thinking. When my house is clean and things are in order, or I see all the birds, butterflies, rabbits etc I feel great!!! When things are a mess, I feel overwhelmed. I love nature and a clean house. It always makes me feel good. I don't think I project anything positive or negative when observing my environment, I think I take it in. Thanks for the question.
@optimisticRaspberries5247
I hear you optimisticRaspberries. To me it is also easier to think clearer when the house and garden is well kept and I can enjoy.
