Training the Mind

Terrible or not, difficult or not, the only thing that is beautiful, noble, religious and mystical is to be happy.
~ Arnaud Desjardins

When I began my journey, I asked myself, “Who am I?”

Am I anger?

Am I jealousy?

Am I sadness?

Am I frustration?

Am I anxiety?

Sometimes you may feel angry, but you are not anger. You may be in a state of anger, but you are not anger. You may be in a state of sadness or fear, but you are not sadness or fear. These are simply changing states of mind. No state of mind is permanent. No matter how sad you are, that feeling will eventually change. No matter how angry you are, that feeling will also pass. We visit different states of mind, residing in them temporarily, just as we can visit—or be in—different states in the United States of America.

On my journey to discovering who I am, I learned that I am not these states of mind—these emotions. But what are emotions?

Emotions are often called feelings because we feel them in the body. That is true because emotions are chemical responses created in the brain. These chemicals do not just stay in the brain: they circulate throughout the body, just like blood, oxygen, and nutrients. Consequently, they can manifest in, and affect the quality and appearance of, the entire body.

Often, we can look at a person and tell if he is worried, peaceful, angry, happy, sad, joyful, sick, or healthy because of the physical appearance of his or her body. If chemicals created from negative emotions are released into the body, imbalances can—and usually do—occur. These imbalances can manifest themselves as something simple, like mild sinus trouble, or as something much more serious, like cancer.

Physical manifestations can result from our emotions, but where do these emotions come from? What are you doing right now to answer that question? Thinking, right? For most of us, our feelings are connected to our thoughts. Thinking positively is the most powerful thing you can start doing today to recreate your life.

Thoughts are real! Energy is required to create a thought. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. This is a fundamental principle of modern science. On the other hand, energy can be transformed. Just as ice can melt into water, which can evaporate into steam, energy from the body is transformed into a thought in the mind. Once the thought energy takes shape, it has a “life of its own.” That thought will eventually manifest into physical reality, just as steam can be turned into water, which can be turned into ice.

Imagine that thoughts cost money. Most of us expend some form of physical or mental energy to earn money. With that money, we purchase things that we need or desire for our lives. We do not go to our neighbor and buy his garbage. I personally have not had one person offer to pay me for my junk. So, if thoughts cost money, would you buy miserable, angry, jealous, and fearful thoughts to fill your life? I sure wouldn’t!

The good news is that thoughts are free. Even better, we can select which thoughts we want. No matter what is going on in your body, your job, your love life, or other personal circumstances, you have the power at every moment to choose how you will think.

What if you are thinking, “Sure, she makes it sound so simple. She does not understand what I am going through or the people I have to deal with or…”

If that is what you are thinking, then STOP right there!

Maybe I do not understand, and nobody ever will. Fine. I will give you that. All the more reason for you to take personal responsibility for your own thoughts! They are your thoughts. You created them with your own energy. You can change them. It takes discipline to think positively in difficult situations. I never said simple was going to be easy.

My son came home from school one day looking discouraged. I asked him about his day. He told me that the kids and even the teachers at his school all seemed so unhappy. After being surrounded by these people all day, he felt drained and depressed himself. He did not want to go to school anymore. I told him that life was giving him a wonderful opportunity to learn how to start thinking positively. I said that he needed to work hard at training his mind to look for one good quality in each person or situation. This is the way to start thinking positively: find the good qualities and hold them in your thoughts.

Many religious texts teach this technique. For example, the Holy Bible refers to it in Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers,

whatever is true,

whatever is noble,

whatever is right,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely—

If anything is excellent and praiseworthy, think about such things, and the God of peace will be with you.

I suspect that not only the “God of peace” but also the “Peace of God” will be with you if follow this tenet: Focus your thoughts on what is good in every human being and every situation.

What if you cannot find one good thing in the people or circumstances in your life? What then? Can you answer that question? I can. Here is my answer: If you cannot find one good thing in the situation, then be the one good thing!