Introduction from 'Your Monkey Mind Connection' by Jeanne Marie Antoinette

What's Your Connection...

We are truly blessed to live in a world where we are virtually connected on so many levels. We now have twenty four hour television programs with non-stop news and weather updates. We are connected to our friends, family and associates twenty four seven through our cell phones and instant messages. We have instant access to the entire world all the time via the internet. And, while this is all very exciting and exhilarating, living in a world filled with so many voices can also be exhausting and lonely.

Exhausted I can understand, but how could anyone possibly feel alone with all these connections at our finger tips twenty four hours a day? Who could we possibly have left out?

Who is the most important person in your life? Most of us think immediately of our husbands, wives, children, friends or lovers? Where were ‘you’ in the line up? Have you forgotten that without ‘you’ there would be no ‘others’?

So, how do you find your connection with yourself? You can’t reasonably call yourself on the cell for a conversation. And while we may email ourselves, it’s usually only to remind us of things to do. How many times do we message ourselves with, ‘hey, it’s me, it’s been a while and we need to talk’?

Most of us have virtually no connection to our selves to speak of. Our time is spent connecting to everyone and everything except ourselves. Is it any wonder we often feel like we’re not all there? Could there really be a part of us that’s actually missing? Even though we may not know exactly what it is or why it is, we do feel it. In our hearts we feel a sense of longing, for something we still can’t quite connect with. So what do we do? We do the thing that comes most natural. We ask for more connections. And, we get them! Unfortunately, while we daily generate more and more connections, we are also feeling daily, more and more out of touch with our selves. We seem to be attached to so many wireless virtual connections that we can’t find an actual plug to disconnect ourselves from these sources, even temporarily. So how do we disconnect from all those outer connections and tune into our own inner ones?

I don’t know about you, but I’m not really in a position to pull that plug. It’s how I make my living. It’s how I keep my life organized and how I keep in touch with…everyone!

Not many of us have the time, energy or resources; even if we did have the inclination to retreat from the world and commune with our higher selves. Besides, all these connections are a fabulous, beneficial part of our lives. To ask our selves to separate from ‘connection’ in order to achieve ‘connection’ is not a reasonable request. It will not get us what we want.

So, what is the answer? The truth is we don’t have to give up one to get the other as they are each part of the same whole, in a word, ‘connection’. So how do we use a connection to connect with our selves?
We must first understand that we are ‘all there’, all the time. No part of us ever went missing. We’ve all experienced those occasions when we feel like ‘we may have lost our minds’, but the truth is it never actually went anywhere. It’s all about the connection, or lack of connection. So, even though we may experience the feeling that something inside of us is missing, the fact is nothing in our minds ever leaves without us.

What we are actually experiencing, is in essence, a form of disconnection. Ironically, we all strive for a wholeness that is essentially already there. Wholeness I can assure you is not reserved for the few saints and holy men who come to mind in a purely historical context. Holy is derived from the word whole, a wholeness that is available to everyone. We all already have the ability to connect or reconnect with every part of our selves, through a miraculous system that most of us rarely use.

You have all the abilities, all the talents and wisdom you will ever need, inside of you right now. The only thing ‘missing’ is an amazingly simple process of recognizing your own natural abilities to establish and maintain a total connection with your whole self. We were all born to be holy, wholly connected.

So, why aren’t we using this miraculous system we already have?

It’s certainly not because we don’t want to. It’s more likely that we either didn’t know it was available, or we simply didn’t know how to use it. How many amazing functions are built into your car, TV, phone and computer that you are either unaware of, or have no idea how to use? The truth is; we only use the one’s that serve our immediate needs. After all, who has the time or energy for anything else?

Exactly, so why would I need another connection?

This isn’t really another connection. It’s a connection you already have and you already use, daily. I’m referring to something as easy as thinking. As a matter of fact, it’s all about thinking, something we all do within the privacy of our minds every minute of everyday.

If you’re like most people, you’ve experienced times when your mind seems to race ahead without you and your head is filled with a veritable flood of unwanted thoughts. It seems that no matter what you do, your thoughts have a life of their own. They will not settle down and be quiet. This unsettling state of mind is what the ancient Eastern Philosophers referred to as our Monkey Mind.

When our Monkey Mind runs wild, we’ve all experienced first hand the toll it can take on us, mentally and physically. What if you were able to connect your Monkey Mind and tame those unrestrained thoughts?

What if you were able to make your thoughts be still and cooperate whenever you wanted?

Here’s the amazing part. You can do all of these things by simply taking the first step, and reading the very first chapter. The Monkey Mind Connection is not only simple, it’s actually fun. And, by connecting with your Monkey Mind, you can learn quickly and easily to take charge of your mind and begin to still your thoughts at will.

But isn’t that what meditation is all about? Doesn’t it promise to do all those things too?

For those lucky few who are able to master the art meditation and still their minds through rigorous mental practice, it can. Meditation has proven to be an incredibly beneficial resource for our minds and bodies. But meditation takes time, space and discipline. How many of us are able to find a quiet place where we can sit, contemplate and dedicate ourselves to this discipline long enough to reap any real benefits? Meditation is tremendous, but it is not quick and it is not easy.

Where do I begin?

We can begin by simply paying attention to our thoughts, something we can easily manage to do everyday.

What kind of thoughts do I have to pay attention to?

The questions we ask ourselves are probably the best place to begin, as our mind actually does answer every question we ask it. By connecting your Monkey Mind, you will learn how your mind answers and where it stores them.

The answers to every question you’ve ever thought to yourself, and many you’ve only heard outside of yourself are still there. And, not only are they still there, they are influencing your life right now.

And my Monkey Mind can help me find them?

Your Monkey Mind can not only help you find them, it can also help you change them.

Why would I want to change the answers my mind already gave me?

At one time or another we are all guilty of asking ourselves an inappropriate question. For example, you just finished typing three pages on your computer and accidentally hit the delete button. You respond by thinking, “Please tell me I’m not stupid enough to have actually done that?” Your mind immediately and correctly responds, “Yes, the fact is that you are certainly stupid enough to have done that.” You know what you meant, but your mind is literal, and it always drops the circumstances. The long term message it stores is: You are certainly stupid. I’m sure you can understand now why it is so important to ‘change’ some of the answers our minds have stored over the years.

How do we make those changes once we realize they are there?

By using our Monkey Minds, this connection is the key to our inner dialogue. And, by exploring our inner dialogue; we can learn how to use our Monkey Minds to lead us quickly and confidently to our own inner voice.

Then my inner voice is the one with all the answers?

Our inner voices contain the answer to every question we will ever ask. And yes, make no mistake I am referring to the future tense. Our Monkey Mind is the key we all possess and can easily use to unlock this inner wisdom. Your inner voice is inside of you now, ready and waiting to be consulted by you. All you need to do is access your connection, ask and listen.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to ask my inner voice a question and actually HEAR the answer?

You can, and it’s not only possible; it’s how our inner minds were constructed and how nature intended our inner voice to be used. Hearing our inner voice is not an ability given exclusively to saints, psychics and clairvoyants as many of us have long believed.  Everyone was given this amazing ability, even you.

If you find this hard to believe and you just thought to yourself, ‘Not me, or I don’t think so’. Stop here, and repeat those words to yourself again. As you repeated the words, what did you hear? I guarantee you HEARD a voice, your voice, speaking the words inside your mind. Congratulations, you’ve just experienced hearing your inner voice!

Sound too simple to be true? Why should it be complicated? We’ve all been talking to ourselves for years. We’ve just never learned how to listen for the answers. Now we can. And, I am confident that once you understand your minds inside story, you can sit back and listen as it reveals your own amazing abilities to you!