OK, today I want to talk about something that is extremely important - thoughts. I want to share something that has recently come to light in my life. My thoughts will dictate where I go for the day.
Now I have heard people talk about this a lot and the bible even says that we are supposed to cast out bad thoughts but I never really got it until recently. Now I have tried unsuccessfully to get rid of those bad thoughts for years and for years I thought I wasn't spiritual enough or something because it never worked. See a bad thought would get in my head and I would start trying to get rid of it but it wouldn't work.
But here's what I recently discovered about those thoughts. They had a very direct effect on my mood and feelings. I once had someone tell me that I needed to lead my heart (my emotions) and I can definitely see his point. Now I am not saying that your emotions are not important or that you shouldn't listen to what you are feeling because that's not true. But I do want to spend a couple of minutes talking about how your thoughts effect them.
See, if you concentrate on something long enough, it will definitely effect the way you feel. What's worse is if you meditate on something bad, many times your thoughts will run wild. You can end up dreading or mentally walking through all kinds of situations that never will actually happen. Have you ever gotten a piece of bad news and not been in a place where you could do something about it instantly? When that happens to me, I can get really worked up over nothing.
I remember just recently I was feeling like things were off. Now as you may know, dealing with my emotions is a relatively new thing for me as I have only been doing this for a couple of years. So as I sat there trying to figure out why I was feeling like I was in a funk, I did a mental inventory. My relationship with my kids was very good. I was getting them the help they needed. I was seeing good things happening in my business. It was growing and I had made several very positive changes that were showing great results on a business that was doing well before we made them. I was (and still am) dating a great woman. She is the most amazing person. I know she loves me deeply because she tells and shows me and I love her very deeply too.
So as I sat there trying to figure out why the funk, I noticed that I felt like something was wrong and it made me feel a little strange. But when I did a mental inventory, everything was going (and still is) great. So what was going on? Here is what I discovered. When I went to bed at night, if I wasn't careful, I my mind would wander all over the place and most of the time, I was running bad scenarios through my head. I didn't mean to do this but I didn't stop it from happening either. Now I know life is full of things that happen that are bad. The bible even says that we will have trouble. I also believe that we should plan for certain contingencies in our lives. That's a smart thing to do. But I was planning on all kinds of stupid contingencies. As I planned through each one that was bad, I realized that it had a negative effect on my emotions and thus a negative effect on my mood.
But there is good news! I figured out how to cast down the thoughts and it was really simple. You don't make them go away and keep your mind blank. You fill your mind with good thoughts. What if I started planning for the good things that God has in store for me? What if I started thinking about how He wants to bless me and how He has the power to do so? What if I looked back at some of the sweet texts that my beautiful girlfriend sends me and think about how much she loves me and I love her? What if I start thinking about all the good things going on at work or with my kids? I noticed that when I do this, my emotions are good and my spirit lifts.
So what am I telling you? When you feel your emotions are in a bad place, check yourself. If there are good reasons for your negative emotions, then don't deny them - deal with them. But I think you will find that many times we get upset for no good reason. When that happens make the conscious decision to meditate on good things and not bad ones.
That's another Opinion of the Minion.
Now I have heard people talk about this a lot and the bible even says that we are supposed to cast out bad thoughts but I never really got it until recently. Now I have tried unsuccessfully to get rid of those bad thoughts for years and for years I thought I wasn't spiritual enough or something because it never worked. See a bad thought would get in my head and I would start trying to get rid of it but it wouldn't work.
But here's what I recently discovered about those thoughts. They had a very direct effect on my mood and feelings. I once had someone tell me that I needed to lead my heart (my emotions) and I can definitely see his point. Now I am not saying that your emotions are not important or that you shouldn't listen to what you are feeling because that's not true. But I do want to spend a couple of minutes talking about how your thoughts effect them.
See, if you concentrate on something long enough, it will definitely effect the way you feel. What's worse is if you meditate on something bad, many times your thoughts will run wild. You can end up dreading or mentally walking through all kinds of situations that never will actually happen. Have you ever gotten a piece of bad news and not been in a place where you could do something about it instantly? When that happens to me, I can get really worked up over nothing.
I remember just recently I was feeling like things were off. Now as you may know, dealing with my emotions is a relatively new thing for me as I have only been doing this for a couple of years. So as I sat there trying to figure out why I was feeling like I was in a funk, I did a mental inventory. My relationship with my kids was very good. I was getting them the help they needed. I was seeing good things happening in my business. It was growing and I had made several very positive changes that were showing great results on a business that was doing well before we made them. I was (and still am) dating a great woman. She is the most amazing person. I know she loves me deeply because she tells and shows me and I love her very deeply too.
So as I sat there trying to figure out why the funk, I noticed that I felt like something was wrong and it made me feel a little strange. But when I did a mental inventory, everything was going (and still is) great. So what was going on? Here is what I discovered. When I went to bed at night, if I wasn't careful, I my mind would wander all over the place and most of the time, I was running bad scenarios through my head. I didn't mean to do this but I didn't stop it from happening either. Now I know life is full of things that happen that are bad. The bible even says that we will have trouble. I also believe that we should plan for certain contingencies in our lives. That's a smart thing to do. But I was planning on all kinds of stupid contingencies. As I planned through each one that was bad, I realized that it had a negative effect on my emotions and thus a negative effect on my mood.
But there is good news! I figured out how to cast down the thoughts and it was really simple. You don't make them go away and keep your mind blank. You fill your mind with good thoughts. What if I started planning for the good things that God has in store for me? What if I started thinking about how He wants to bless me and how He has the power to do so? What if I looked back at some of the sweet texts that my beautiful girlfriend sends me and think about how much she loves me and I love her? What if I start thinking about all the good things going on at work or with my kids? I noticed that when I do this, my emotions are good and my spirit lifts.
So what am I telling you? When you feel your emotions are in a bad place, check yourself. If there are good reasons for your negative emotions, then don't deny them - deal with them. But I think you will find that many times we get upset for no good reason. When that happens make the conscious decision to meditate on good things and not bad ones.
That's another Opinion of the Minion.
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