Seeing With New Eyes

Happy Sunday! It’s New Month. October now in Tucson!

The air is finally cooling, the desert sunsets feel softer, and something about this season invites reflection.
As we move into fall, it’s a perfect time to notice not just what’s changing around us—but what’s happening within us.

Our minds are powerful storytellers. But sometimes, the stories they tell aren’t entirely true.
Today’s article explores those sneaky thought patterns—called cognitive distortions—that can twist our perception and drain our peace of mind.

Let’s shine a little awareness on them together. 🌞

🌿 Beyond All-or-Nothing: The 15 Most Common Cognitive Distortions and How to Spot Them

Your mind is an incredibly powerful tool—but it isn’t always accurate. Every day, your brain processes thousands of thoughts, and sometimes it takes shortcuts that quietly distort reality.
These shortcuts, called cognitive distortions, are patterns of thinking that can make situations seem worse—or more hopeless—than they truly are.

The good news? Once you recognize these distortions, you can start shifting your perspective and reclaiming your peace of mind.

Here are 15 of the most common cognitive distortions that may be shaping your reality without you even realizing it.

1. All-or-Nothing Thinking (Black-and-White Thinking)

What it is: Seeing situations in extremes, with no middle ground.
Example: After eating a cookie while dieting, thinking, “I’ve completely ruined my diet, so I might as well eat the whole box.”
How to spot it: Notice words like “always,” “never,” “completely,” or “perfect.” If you’re seeing something as total success or total failure, you’re in all-or-nothing mode.

2. Mental Filtering

What it is: Focusing only on the negative while ignoring the positive.
Example: Getting nine compliments and one critique on a performance review—and obsessing only on the critique.
How to spot it: Catch yourself when you replay negative moments but dismiss positive ones as “not important.”

3. Overgeneralization

What it is: Drawing sweeping conclusions from a single event.
Example: After one bad date, thinking, “I’ll never find anyone.”
How to spot it: Look for words like “always,” “never,” or “everyone.” If one experience defines all future outcomes, you’re overgeneralizing.

4. Jumping to Conclusions

This distortion has two forms:

• Mind Reading: Assuming you know what someone else is thinking.
  Example: When a friend doesn’t text back, assuming “They must be mad at me.”

• Fortune Telling: Predicting negative outcomes without evidence.
  Example: Before a job interview, thinking, “This is going to be a disaster.”

How to spot it: Ask yourself, “Do I have real evidence for this assumption, or am I guessing?”

5. Magnification and Minimization

What it is: Blowing mistakes out of proportion or shrinking your achievements.
Example: Calling yourself “stupid” for a small error (magnification) or dismissing a success as “just luck” (minimization).
How to spot it: Notice when your emotional reaction doesn’t match the event—or when you downplay what you’ve done well.

6. Catastrophizing

What it is: Expecting the worst-case scenario.
Example: Feeling chest tightness and immediately thinking, “I’m having a heart attack.”
How to spot it: Listen for “What if…” thoughts that spiral into worst-case outcomes.

7. Emotional Reasoning

What it is: Believing your feelings are facts.
Example: “I feel anxious, so something bad must be about to happen.”
How to spot it: Be aware when emotions become “proof” of truth. Feelings are real—but they don’t always reflect reality.

8. Should Statements

What it is: Holding rigid rules about how you or others should behave.
Example: “I should handle this stress on my own.” or “They should know what I need.”
How to spot it: Watch for words like “should,” “must,” or “have to.” These often create guilt or resentment.

9. Labeling and Mislabeling

What it is: Defining yourself (or someone else) by a single action or mistake.
Example: Forgetting an appointment and thinking, “I’m such an idiot.”
How to spot it: Pay attention when you use global labels like “failure” or “loser” instead of describing the specific behavior.

10. Personalization

What it is: Taking responsibility for things beyond your control.
Example: When friends cancel plans, thinking, “They must not want to see me.”
How to spot it: Ask, “Am I blaming myself for something that has many other factors?”

11. Control Fallacies

What it is: Believing you have no control—or total control—over events.
Example: “There’s nothing I can do about my anxiety” (external) or “It’s my fault my teenager is struggling” (internal).
How to spot it: Notice when you feel either completely powerless or overly responsible.

12. Fallacy of Fairness

What it is: Expecting life to always be fair.
Example: “It’s not fair—I worked harder than they did.”
How to spot it: Look for comparisons and resentment tied to the phrase “It’s not fair.”

13. Blaming

What it is: Assigning fault to others—or to yourself—for everything that goes wrong.
Example: “My parents ruined my life.” or “If I’d been better, they wouldn’t have left.”
How to spot it: Notice when your focus is on blame instead of understanding or solutions.

14. Fallacy of Change

What it is: Believing you can make others change if you try hard enough.
Example: “If I explain it one more time, they’ll finally get it.”
How to spot it: Recognize when you’re spending more effort trying to change someone than adjusting your own perspective.

15. Heaven’s Reward Fallacy

What it is: Believing sacrifice and hard work will automatically be rewarded.
Example: “I’ve worked so hard—why isn’t my life getting better?”
How to spot it: Notice resentment when effort isn’t acknowledged or “good behavior” doesn’t lead to expected results.

🌼 Breaking Free from Distorted Thinking

Recognizing these patterns is the first step toward freedom—but change takes practice.

When you catch yourself in a distortion, try this:

1. Pause and name it: “I’m catastrophizing right now.”

2. Question the thought: “What evidence supports or contradicts this?”

3. Consider alternatives: “What else might be true?”

4. Respond with compassion: Speak to yourself like a trusted friend.

Everyone experiences cognitive distortions—it’s part of being human.
The goal isn’t perfection; it’s awareness. When you notice these patterns sooner, you can respond more wisely and gently.

Your thoughts shape your experience, but you have more power over them than you might think.
Start noticing your mental filters, and watch your inner world become clearer, calmer, and more balanced. 🌿

🧘‍♀️ What Is the Cognitive Distortion Awareness Worksheet?

This worksheet is a simple but powerful tool to help you see your thoughts clearly—and stop letting them quietly run your emotions and decisions.

Every day, we experience thousands of automatic thoughts. Many of them are shaped by hidden mental filters called cognitive distortions—habitual ways of thinking that can make life feel heavier than it really is.
You might find yourself assuming the worst, taking too much responsibility, or feeling “never good enough” without realizing that your mind is telling you a distorted story.

This worksheet helps you slow down, observe, and gently question those patterns. Through simple prompts, you’ll:
🌿 Identify the thought that triggered stress or anxiety
🪶 Recognize which distortion is at play
💡 Examine what’s actually true (and what’s just fear talking)
💖 Reframe the thought with compassion and clarity
☀️ Ground yourself in a new, calmer perspective

💫 Why It’s Worth Downloading and Using

Doing this worksheet isn’t just a mental exercise—it’s an act of self-awareness and self-kindness.
When you write things down, you bring the subconscious into the light. You begin to see that you are not your thoughts—you are the awareness behind them.

Practicing this for even a few minutes a day can help you:

• Break free from overthinking and self-criticism

• Feel more balanced and emotionally grounded

• Strengthen mindfulness and inner peace

• Shift from reaction to reflection

• Cultivate the calm confidence that comes from truth, not fear

Keep the work everyday for a week, It lets you notice which patterns repeat and how your awareness is growing over time

Tucson Spiritual Events

🌟 Awaken to Higher Consciousness

Tune into the Sound Current with HU

Date & Time: October 11, 2025 • 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Location: Udall Park — 7290 E Tanque Verde Rd., Tucson, AZ 85715
Cost: Free & open to all

What to Expect

Join the Arizona Satsang Society (a chartered affiliate of ECKANKAR) for an afternoon of soulful resonance. This special gathering invites you to:

• Experience a 15–20 minute HU chant, an ancient mantra for spiritual unfoldment

• Engage in relaxed, authentic conversation about the nature of the sound current

• Share your insights, ask questions, and connect with kindred seekers

HU is considered a sacred name for God Chant, used across cultures for millennia to uplift consciousness. All are welcome, regardless of spiritual tradition or background.

Why Attend?

If you’re seeking deeper connection, clarity, or inner stillness, this event offers:

• A chance to tune inward via sound

• Safe space for spiritual inquiry and sharing

• Heart-centered community with others on the path

Whether you’re new to this practice or have chanted HU before, this gathering is a doorway to deeper awareness.

Quick Info & Contacts

• Organizer: Arizona Satsang Society / ECKANKAR

• More on HU & sound of soul: TheSoundOfSoul.org

• Questions? Call (877)-300-4949

• Event link / more info click HERE

✨ Free Beginner’s Astrology Class

Learn how the stars speak to you & others

🗓 Date & Time:
October 11, 2025
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

📍 Location:
ASAOM & Han University of Traditional Medicine
2856 E Fort Lowell Road
Tucson, AZ 85716

💵 Cost: Free

What You’ll Explore

Dive into astrology in a grounded, beginner-friendly way. You’ll discover:

• The “who, what, where, how” your natal chart reveals

• How planets and signs point to core themes in your life

• Practical tools to begin reading your own chart or others’

Whether you’re curious about your sun sign, moon, or rising—or just want a fresh lens on what astrology can offer—this class welcomes all levels.

Hosted by the Tucson Astrologers’ Guild, this is a sweet opportunity to explore the astrological world without pressure.
All are welcome, no prior experience needed.

Why It Matters

Astrology is a symbolic language of the soul. It doesn’t dictate your destiny—but it clues you in to your gifts, challenges, and inner dynamics.
For spiritual seekers, astrology can become a mirror for deeper self-understanding and spiritual growth.

Attending this class gives you a gentle, supportive way to begin that journey—alongside others on the quest.

For more info, click HERE.

🌿 Final Thoughts

Awareness is the beginning of transformation.
When you take the time to notice your thoughts without judgment, you begin to see the patterns that shape your emotions and choices. That awareness creates space — and in that space, healing begins.

Whether you’re exploring mindfulness, sound, astrology, or simply learning to be kinder to your own mind, remember: growth doesn’t come from perfection. It comes from presence.

Each time you pause, breathe, and choose a gentler thought, you realign with truth — the part of you that’s calm, compassionate, and infinite.

✨ You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness behind them.

With love and light,
Tomoko 🌸

🌸 A QHHT session isn’t just hypnosis — it’s a journey into the infinite part of you that remembers everything.
Experience past lives, receive messages from your Higher Self, and awaken insights that bring peace, healing, and deep remembrance of who you truly are.
✨ Sessions available in Tucson — www.tomokouno.com

🌸 I also have Facebook Group called “Tucson Spiritual Living” We can talk about anything Spiritual there. Please click here to join!