If You Could Choose Your Thoughts
What would you think?
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If You Could Choose Your Thoughts, What Would You Think?
We all have a choice in our lives. No matter what you may think at the moment, you may want to look at the idea that there is always another choice.
What if you were presented with a serious ultimatum?
“You’ll sign this agreement, or I’ll shoot you. You have no other choice.” Backed all the way to the edge of the cliff, he saw that he did have another choice. He did not have to sign an agreement that compromised his belief and endangered his family. He did not have to succumb to being killed with nothing to say about it. But he could turn around and step off the cliff.
Sure, it would be suicide. And that of course is not the most popular decision to make. But it did, at least, afford him a choice that had not been considered by anyone else. (You can’t take my life, if I offer it free.)
Now this is an extreme case to be sure; And probably not one that any of us would even consider. But it shows the fact that we do always have another choice.
Consider these options:
• Just because a relative is constantly expecting you to take the kids for them every weekend, doesn’t mean you have no other choice.
• Just because the boss expects the report early Monday morning---even though you had planned a day trip with your family---doesn’t mean you have no other choice.
• You have finally decided to cut out sweets from your diet. The party you have been looking forward to comes, and all that is being served is…you guessed it…pies, cakes, brownies and ice cream. Do you have any other choice but to eat it?
After all, the host will be offended. You just have to eat something, or the crowd will think you are stuck up. Our daughter, Beaunet, was a vegetarian for many years. She never ate meat. But at gatherings, she was always able to find something that was in her wheelhouse. Usually, she fortified herself beforehand. Knowing there would be so much meat related foods, she prepped ahead of time. She had a choice.
What happens to your self-esteem when you do not actively make a choice? What are you reinforcing when you don’t make better choices? You are only being abusive to yourself.
Let’s take this one step farther. How much of the day do you indulge your subconscious mind?
How do you think during the day? Are you always in control of your thoughts…the ideas that come into your mind?
Try this exercise for five minutes: sit quietly…concentrate on the thoughts that are on your mind. Purposely contrive your thinking.
It takes a lot of effort to purposely drive your own thoughts. You may last about three or four minutes, that is if you’re really good at it, then your control will probably slip away.
---if you are driving your vehicle in life, you are on task, totally motivated, fully following your intention and consciously controlling your future. ---that can only be done when you are aware of your thoughts and take charge of changing them if they are not serving you properly, if they are not bringing you joy.
Expecting a Certain Response to Any Given Action.
Whenever you expect a certain response to any given action, you are setting up a future. This is something that has been difficult for humans to recognize. It actually took modern day scientists to piece together fragments of information over the years so that it made some kind of sense.
There have been scientific tests, done double blind; done single blind; even done with everyone knowing what was going on, just to see what kind of results there would be. For instance, a group of scientists were told that while performing a certain experiment, the cells they were testing would not grow. Guess what happened? The cells did not grow.
While going through instructions for the next experiment, the second group of scientists were told the cells would grow. Guess what? The cells did grow.
Do you get the picture? If we expect a certain response to any given action, you are setting up a future. Let’s take this one step further. Healing prayer groups were set up to determine if prayer was influential to healing.
The healers were informed about the subjects they were to pray for. Every effort was made to ensure the privacy of each patient. No names or cities were given to the prayer healers. No one knew if the patient was male or female, old or young, married or single.
The only information given about the patients was the illness they each had. What do you think happened?
Even though each prayer healer wanted the best for the subject they were to pray for, each patient that was prayed for with this information actually became worse. The reason being was that each healer used the information given as a way of identifying the subject. There was actual energy put into the thought of their illness. This became the focus of the future. The illness became more intense.
So, praying for the patient would be much more advantageous if the healer knew nothing about them, not even the illness.
The sense, then, is that what we think, happens. We create our existence whether we want to believe it or not---whether we put forth effort towards it or not, whether we think it’s a silly idea or not. The universe is put together in a certain way. The Universe knew the perfect plan. We don’t really have a say in it. It’s already put into motion. Our conditioning has been so powerful that it has all but destroyed our ability to be self-aware.
By the word or idea ‘conditioning’ I mean what everyone in your life has told you from the moment you were born. Very well-meaning people, who may not have known what is really true, taught you their truth. It usually was not empowering to you, but helped you maintain a position in society.
Consider that what they had been told might not really be right. And even if you agree that ‘yes, it probably is not right.’ You still have it engrained into your subconscious mind.
Whatever is going on in your life right now is a result of your subconscious agreements to key phrases or ideas over the years.
If you are in a really wonderful relationship with someone who is perfect for you, and you are very passionate with your job or career and blissfully happy with your home and neighbors, then it is because your subconscious mind agreed to these things when you were young, and continually is playing it out in your life.
If you are sick all the time, in a horrid relationship or can’t find a relationship with someone, hate your living conditions and your job, it is because your subconscious mind agreed to these ideas or concepts when you were young and is continually playing it out in your life.
Negative affirmations
I am really making a mess of this…. I really don’t deserve to be happy…. I’m always falling in love with the wrong person… I don’t ever have enough money to pay my bills…
You will then be at the mercy of invading and subconscious thoughts. Out of all the thousands of things you think during the day, only about 5% of them are original purpose-driven thoughts. Everything else that moves through your mind is what I call Default Thoughts.
A great book that goes into deep detail about how the Subconscious Mind works. I’ve mentioned it before, I am sure. Three Magic Words, by U. S. Andersen. I’ll have another journaled article soon with more on this excellent book.
The tool that can benefit you through all this is a simple one: AWARENESS…Be aware of what your mind is thinking. Then, you will have a chance to make a choice. But you can’t make a choice if you are not aware of the opportunity.
Always be vigilant in your thoughts. Make a conscious choice to be aware of what you are thinking as it comes up.
If it is not empowering to you or does not serve you well… change your mind…make a choice to think a more empowering thought.
Then you will be purposely driving your own thinking. If you could choose your thoughts, what would you think?
Melissa Leath writes A Mystics Journal on Substack. She supplies outrageous metaphysical babble/rant from a modern-day mystic's viewpoint and provides workshops about empowerment and psychic/metaphysical development. Her books Psychic Integrity, The Respected Practice of Modern-Day Mystics (Balboa Press, division of Hay House Publishing) and Does Your Child See Sparkles? are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Melissa’s long-term study includes years of group development, platform mediumship, meditation, becoming a spiritual medium and minister and a BA in Metaphysical Counseling. She has worked with 10s of thousands of clients in USA and other countries, taught development classes for 12 years and settled into online workshops.
Please contact Melissa at melisssaleath@gmail.com.