"Don't Believe Everything You Think"-Joseph Nguyen

 PREFACE

While reading Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen, I felt a deep connection with his message and wanted to share my summary and personal experience. One of the biggest struggles many of us face is dealing with feelings of depression or anxiety, often without any clear reason. Sometimes, life just feels dull or meaningless. Even though I try to stay positive in every situation and keep my faith in God (or the universe), I still find myself feeling low at times. This book helped me understand why that happens—and provided a powerful shift in perspective.

In the introduction, the author, Joseph Nguyen, assures us that after reading this book, we won’t be the same again—and that we’ll find everything we’ve been searching for in life. He also mentions that he approached writing this book with an open mind and pure intention, with a genuine desire to discover and share the truth.

1. The Journey to Find the Root Cause of Suffering

The author describes suffering here as psychological and emotional suffering. In our journey of self-improvement, we often feel purposeless, hopeless, and directionless. There are times when we don’t know what to do anymore, where to look, or whom to talk to.

As an answer to this, the author discovered a powerful insight: “Understanding how our minds work and how the human experience is created.”

2. The Root Cause of All Suffering

"The root cause of our suffering is our own thinking."

If we understand that every feeling we experience is rooted in our thoughts, we realize that by changing our thinking, we can change how we feel.

"The moment we stop thinking is when our happiness begins."

3. Thoughts vs. Thinking

Here, I’ll simply explain the major difference between thoughts and thinking.

• The source of thoughts comes from something beyond our minds—the universe, if you will. Thoughts arise naturally and effortlessly; they just happen without any force or effort.
• Thinking, on the other hand, is the act of engaging with those thoughts. It requires energy, willpower, and effort because it's our mind actively interacting with what we've received.

For example:
The author asks a question and gives us 30–60 seconds to answer:
"What is the dream amount of money you want to make in a year?"

Within seconds, an answer pops into your mind—that’s the thought. It comes quickly and effortlessly.

But as soon as you start thinking about that thought—wondering how it’s possible, doubting yourself, calculating the obstacles—you might go on an emotional rollercoaster. You’ll begin to feel heavy, restricted, and limited, often accompanied by negative emotions.

"The only thing that was truly useful and helpful was the initial thought that popped into your mind."
"Thoughts create. Thinking destroys."

"If I am having a lot of negative emotions, I know that I'm thinking too much."

3. The Truth About Positive Thinking

Many people assume that we must think positively in order to feel positive emotions—and I used to believe that as well. However, the truth I discovered in the book is that “Our natural state is happiness, joy, love, peace, and gratitude.”

For example, the natural or default state of a baby is pure joy and contentment.

Any thinking we do takes us away from that natural state of being. As a result, we can end up feeling stressed, unhappy, or overwhelmed—essentially, experiencing negative emotions.

4. The Three Principles Behind the Human Experience

The author explains three key principles through which the human experience is created:

1. Universal Mind
2. Consciousness
3. Thoughts

5. If we stop thinking, what do we do about our goals, dreams, and ambitions?

The author explains that goals and dreams are created from two sources: inspiration and desperation.

• Inspiration: Dreams and goals that arise naturally as thoughts.
• Desperation: Dreams and goals that emerge through thinking.

I hope you can see the difference between inspiration and desperation.

6. Allowing Thoughts from the Universe

We begin to allow thoughts from the Universe to come into our mind that lead us to divine inspiration to create something that has never been created before in the world

7. Unconditional Love and Creation

Unconditional Love:
Unconditional love is when you don't place any specific reasons behind your love. For example, if I love you because of your smile, your kind character, or your eyes, that’s not unconditional love. If you stopped smiling, would I stop loving you? No. Unconditional love doesn’t have reasons; it just is. The answer is simply, "I don’t know why I love you unconditionally."

Unconditional Creation: If we are working to achieve a goal that no one wants, that. Simply to create it just because we want to create it. When we create from this state, we feel whole inside .

8. Nothing Is Either Good or Bad

A piano has 88 keys, and we don’t point out any specific key as "wrong" for no reason. A key is only considered "wrong" if someone is playing a specific song and hits a key that doesn’t belong in the song. (think it out)

Looking for Universal Truth:
Remember, you can find universal truth deep within your being (your soul). Don’t waste time searching for it outside of yourself.

9. How Do You Know What to Do Without Thinking?

When we make decisions, we often want to rely on non-thinking. Trying to overthink, analyze, create pros and cons lists, or ask everyone for advice can lead to anxiety and frustration, making it harder to make a choice.

The best solution is to "listen to your intuition and look within yourself for the answer."

Your intuition will always guide you to where you need to go and what you should do at any given moment.

Note: Follow your intuition, your gut feeling, your inner wisdom, and trust in God/the universe.

10. How to Follow Your Intuition

Non-thinking happens in the present moment—it’s a direct connection to Infinite Intelligence, God, or the Universe.

When you’re following your intuition, you’re in a state of non-thinking (or flow) and are in direct connection with God. In this state, you always know what to do without overthinking, and you're guided by infinite intelligence.

All we need to do is trust our own intuition and have faith that our inner wisdom will show us the way that is best for us.

If your mind is full of old thinking, it’s impossible for new thoughts to enter your mind and create the change you seek.

11. What Happens When You Begin Living in Non-Thinking?

Most people begin to think something is wrong when they feel happy and peaceful for the majority of the day. As humans, we’re biologically wired to resist what feels unfamiliar because it represents uncertainty.

"Life can often feel overwhelming, but by trusting our intuition and letting go of overthinking, we can find peace and clarity. Remember, everything happens for a reason, and the universe is always working for you, not against you. There are no failures—only lessons and opportunities to grow. Trust yourself, and the answers will come."



Conclusion:

I hope you find this useful. I’ve tried to condense and extract the key points from the book that can help us in our daily lives. By trusting our intuition and embracing non-thinking, we can live more peacefully and create the change we seek.