It’s Something Good Or It’s NI

That out of control dog, the mind.  Best friend:  the mouth.

I am noticing how much of the time I talk about things that don’t please me in any way.  And I’m noticing how much of the time my friends, parents, and most specifically, my husband talk about things that don’t please me.  More importantly, the things they’re talking about don’t please them either.

If you’re talking about something, you’re thinking about it.  If you’re thinking about it, you’re vibrating on a match with it.

Therefore, if you’re talking about something you don’t like, you’re vibrating on a match with something you don’t like?  Why do that?

If my thoughts are creating my reality, that means my words are too, because my words and my thoughts are linked.

Tim and I have made several attempts in the last few months to make a commitment to talking only about things we like or want.  But, of course, we find ourselves yammering about problems, things that annoy us, or just plain inconsequential or boring riffraff like some TV show he watched while he ate breakfast or what the neighbor did in his yard.

So we’ve tried to come up with a sign or word that we could both use to tell each other that the topic is out of bounds, that it isn’t something that pleases either of us or something one or the other of us wants.  We discussed various rude noises or hand signals, simple words like stop or not listening or don’t care.  None of this felt comfortable.

Finally, one day, when he was talking about some broken tool or something, I said, “Ni!”

“What?” he asked.

“Ni,” I repeated.  “From the Knights of Ni in Monte Python and the Holy Grail. It sounds funny, has a funny origin, and coincidentally, the initials stand for ‘Not Interested.”

You know the Knights of Ni?  If not, here’s a clip:

One of the fastest ways to feel good is to use humor.  And saying “Ni’ to someone is perfect symbolism.  In the Knights of Ni scene, the Knights of Ni tell the movie’s heroes that they can’t pass unless they bring a shrubbery.  Then they even specify the kind of shrubbery they want—“one that looks nice … and not too expensive.”

Isn’t that what creating the life we want is all about?  You say what you want and get clear about it.

In the movie, if the Knights don’t get what they want, they say, “Ni.”

So now when I find myself babbling to myself or others about something that isn’t good, I say, “Ni.”  I say it to Tim too.

Now if only I could say it to my mother …..  (My mother is one of the most relentlessly negative people in the world—and she ever so helpfully passed on that negative vibration to me.  I’ve been overcoming it my whole life—but wait … NI!)

So today, Tim and I have been talking about more of our wants, about how cute our dog is, about the calm, dry day we’re having, about the pounds we’re dropping (13 down for me, 16 for Tim).

Tim laughed at me today when I started to tell him something then stopped myself and said, “Ni.”

But hey, it took my attention off the negative thing I was about to share.

“Ni” feels good.  And that’s what it’s all about.

Wouldn’t it be cool if we could start a new trend?  Millions of people going around saying “Ni” when the conversation turns to complaints, gossip, laments, or any other negative topic.  Wouldn’t it be cool if we talked about things that made us feel good?

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