Before we can talk about how to discipline the mind, we need to understand what exactly do we mean by "the mind". To keep this as simple as possible, the mind is the non-physical part of us that is composed of both consciousness and unconsciousness. It is separate from the physical part of the body known as the brain. The brain is the organ that is part of our central nervous system and controls our physical and bodily functions.
The mind, on the other hand, controls our emotions, our thoughts, and our will. Some believe that the mind is the eternal part of us known as the "soul". Undeveloped and unconstrained, the mind will take off like a runaway train or a wild horse. Buddhism calls this "monkey mind" meaning unsettled, capricious, restless, uncontrollable, confused. Picture the monkeys you see in the zoo or the wild and how they flit from tree to tree hanging on and jumping around willy nilly. This is how undisciplined minds behave. Thousands of thoughts fly by in the course of everyday life, yet we are unaware of the majority of them.
Feed your mind positive input.
If we want to harness the power of our minds, we need to discipline it to think the right kind of thoughts. There are three main steps to cultivating a disciplined mind and today we will cover the first one.
Our minds are like computers. How they are programmed is how they will perform. Many of us grew up in an environment of worry, anxiety, fear and the like so we already have a library full of negative thoughts. If we feed our minds junk, violence, and negativity which abound in the media, on television and in our world, our thoughts will be full of this stuff. You may not even be aware of the negativity that is coming out of you. The good news is we can change the way we think by changing what we feed our minds.
If we want healthy, vibrant bodies we will feed ourselves healthy, nutritious food and drink plenty of water. In the same way, if we want healthy, peaceful and emotionally stable minds we need to feed our minds life-giving, positive and faith-filled thoughts. I prefer to use phrases from the Holy Bible and I can attest to the fact that they do work. Here are some of my favorites:
-If we want to conquer fear and doubt, start thinking thoughts of faith.
"God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind".
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding."
If we want to become more bold and less timid,
"The Lord is my rock and my fortress."
"No weapon formed against me shall prosper."
"If God is for us, who can stand against us?".
If we want to be more loving,
"Love your neighbor as yourself"
"Love is patient. Love is kind. Love keeps no record of wrongs."
"Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
If we want to become more bold and less timid,
"The Lord is my rock and my fortress."
"No weapon formed against me shall prosper."
"If God is for us, who can stand against us?".
If we want to be more loving,
"Love your neighbor as yourself"
"Love is patient. Love is kind. Love keeps no record of wrongs."
"Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience."
If we want to be more at peace, memorize these verses:
"The Lord will give keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him."
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything pray and give thanks to God and He will give you peace that passes all understanding".
If we want more ease and less struggle, instead of thinking "This is too much for me" or "I'll never be able to ....." think and say out loud:
"I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me".
"God will make my crooked paths straight".
"Be still and know that I am God"
If we want more abundance and provision, stop thinking thoughts of lack.
"My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus".
"No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
These are just a few examples I personally use to reprogram my thinking and you can too! Pick out some verses that resonate with you and begin to verbalize them daily. I post them on sticky notes around the house to remind me.
Reprogram Your Mind
If we want to be more powerful, peaceful, and successful, we need to be more positive. We need to reprogram our thinking with truth and the best source of truth I know is the Holy Bible. Now you can use whatever sacred texts or affirmations you choose, but I suggest the Holy Bible and here's why.
God is obligated to fulfill His Word. He is not obligated to follow through on anyone else's word. The words of scripture have supernatural power in them and that is the missing ingredient in using anything else. Positive affirmations that are not the Word of God will only take us so far. Why?
Because God rewards Faith! He wants to know that we are depending on Him and him alone and not merely our own will and self. When we learn to depend on God more, and ourselves less, we will see strife, turmoil, and unease evaporate from our lives and we will enjoy more harmony, joy, and rest.
This covers the first step to disciplining our minds. Stay tuned for more on Step 6 of igniting the power within when next time we'll talk about the importance of meditation.
If you enjoyed this post and would like to join our community, simply enter your email address in the box provided and you'll receive my weekly posts. You'll also receive a copy of my free e-guide entitled "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path". I'd love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment and share it with your friends on social media.
Stay tuned for more on how you can ignite the power within and discover your Destiny!
Until next time, keep looking up!
Ariel Paz
All rights reserved.
If we want to be more at peace, memorize these verses:
"The Lord will give keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him."
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything pray and give thanks to God and He will give you peace that passes all understanding".
If we want more ease and less struggle, instead of thinking "This is too much for me" or "I'll never be able to ....." think and say out loud:
"I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me".
"God will make my crooked paths straight".
"Be still and know that I am God"
If we want more abundance and provision, stop thinking thoughts of lack.
"My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus".
"No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
These are just a few examples I personally use to reprogram my thinking and you can too! Pick out some verses that resonate with you and begin to verbalize them daily. I post them on sticky notes around the house to remind me.
Reprogram Your Mind
If we want to be more powerful, peaceful, and successful, we need to be more positive. We need to reprogram our thinking with truth and the best source of truth I know is the Holy Bible. Now you can use whatever sacred texts or affirmations you choose, but I suggest the Holy Bible and here's why.
God is obligated to fulfill His Word. He is not obligated to follow through on anyone else's word. The words of scripture have supernatural power in them and that is the missing ingredient in using anything else. Positive affirmations that are not the Word of God will only take us so far. Why?
Because God rewards Faith! He wants to know that we are depending on Him and him alone and not merely our own will and self. When we learn to depend on God more, and ourselves less, we will see strife, turmoil, and unease evaporate from our lives and we will enjoy more harmony, joy, and rest.
This covers the first step to disciplining our minds. Stay tuned for more on Step 6 of igniting the power within when next time we'll talk about the importance of meditation.
For Reflection
What do you find yourself dwelling on? What causes you stress? How can you replace negative thoughts with thoughts of faith and power?
If you enjoyed this post and would like to join our community, simply enter your email address in the box provided and you'll receive my weekly posts. You'll also receive a copy of my free e-guide entitled "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path". I'd love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment and share it with your friends on social media.
Stay tuned for more on how you can ignite the power within and discover your Destiny!
Until next time, keep looking up!
Ariel Paz
All rights reserved.
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