Skip to main content

The Power of Thought, the Magic of the Mind!


The title of this post is a quote from Lord Byron. It speaks to the amazingly complex and beautiful thing most of us have the privilege of having (full use of) and yet so few of us know how to really use and that is our Mind.
I have been in complete awe since about 2013 with the amazing power of our minds, in essence the higher faculties of our minds which are; reason, memory, perception, will, intuition and imagination. However, I must admit that I have been equally amazed at how challenging it can be to harness this power. I believe harnessing this power leads to what’s referred to in the personal development/self-help field as “transformation” and in doing so, be able to live joyful, purposeful and fulfilling lives. Sounds great right? Yet, I have at times been very discouraged at just how challenging harnessing this power can be for most us. Especially for those of us that have never been taught anything about these higher faculties of the mind and those of us who have lived in excess of 35/40 years and thus, most of our beliefs about ourselves, others and the world have pretty much been deeply entrenched not only on a subconscious level but I believe (as do many others) on a cellular level as well.
Someone I know recently asked me this question “Do you believe that I can eventually change the entire thought patterns that cause me so much anxiety if I continue to work on that?” This person also mentioned they felt they had 40 years of anxiety they were dealing with. My response: “Yes and no. I think it’s probably possible but would take a lot of time and practice, something most of us living average working lives don’t have the discipline or luxury of doing. If we could spend just 2-3 hours a day on meditation, concentration, learning to discipline our minds, developing and strengthening our higher faculties, we could probably all change a lot and rather quickly. But I also think that there are some underlying beliefs that are ingrained into our biology most probably from our infancy and early childhood that get triggered so automatically (within milliseconds probably) and unconsciously that sometimes it feels like all the years of meditation or mind training are pointless.” I recently heard in a You Tube video I was listening to, it could have been Dr. Gabor Mate or maybe it was Sadhguru, “Imagine how well we would know ourselves (they were talking about the importance of inner awareness) if we could spend 6 hours a day for 6 months in contemplation and meditation…how excellent any person can become after 6 hours of daily practice at their chosen craft/skill”  I know it is a challenge for most of us to fit even 20 minutes of meditation in the am and 20 minutes in the pm, into our busy day to day routines, yet alone 2-3 hours a day, with 6 hours being almost laughable. The sad truth is most of us can't even spend 5 minutes by ourselves before turning to our cell phones, t.v or some other distraction, even books or other people, which many people would not consider a distraction. "Changing your thoughts is easy, keeping them changed is the hard part” Jacob Glass  
So you may be wondering, if it is so time consuming and so hard to change, why bother? I've wondered this same question several times myself since 2013 but moments of discouragement are rare for me these days as I have spent the last 6 years making financial and lifestyle choices (they mostly feel like sacrifices) in order to have the time to do the “inner work” that I now know is required for true transformation. I then also quickly remember how much better my life feels for me since I started taking the time to do my inner work. My outer circumstances have fluctuated some and at times feels like the outer circumstances have taken a path straight to hell but I am quickly reminded of how more at ease and in control of my life I feel when I can control my response, attitude, mood and energy towards outer circumstances. I am far from perfect, I still occasionally have my very reactive moments (some that have cost me dearly) and know I have a long way to go but to answer the question why bother? Because the thought of living another 5, 10, 15, 20 or 40 years letting negative emotions, negative thoughts and self-limiting beliefs keep me from my true potential and from truly enjoying my life, makes me push past the desire to want to give up. I also believe that we will all soon have access to modalities that exist in the world today, which can help us heal our early childhood scars, wounds and traumas, and will fast-track us into being able to develop and harness our higher faculties of mind.
Above I mentioned that 40 minutes a day is not enough for most people but what I didn't say is that those 40 minutes a day, is a great start and can begin to change the course of your life, making it well worth the effort, time and sacrifices needing to be made. 
Please stay tuned for my self-published book Balls The Size of Melons; Enjoying the Journey of Life which will have many tips and suggestions on learning to develop the amazing power of our minds.
For now, I leave you with this second quote from Jacob Glass. Remember it and remind yourself to be your own best friend.
“Your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy” 

Come fly with me:
www.vida805.com

Join us in helping Youth to harness the power of their minds:
www.vidacenter.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rubber Hits the Road

“Life's challenges can either make you or break you. Let them make you ". Billy Cox I wrote in a prior blog post that enjoying the journey of Life entails several things including, "...dealing with obstacles, struggles, challenges, losses and curve balls as they come but not letting them keep us down..."  Back in April of 2018, when I started my blog post and wrote those words, when I was getting my new business project Vida805 off the ground and was getting ready to self-publish my book, my Life changed drastically. That's an understatement, it was more like a major curve ball came my way. I was truly blindsided by Life's circumstances. I am not sure if I am ready to process all of what happened and how it has affected my life and the lives of so many other people. Not because I am not ready to disclose the details, I have been open about it (there was no way not to be) with family, friends and acquaintances but more so because I am still processing i
2 comments
Read more

The Authentic Self

  "The core of authenticity is the courage to be imperfect, vulnerable and to set boundaries" Brene Brown Of course Brene Brown's quote is spot on and at mid-life and after many, many years of working on my own personal development and self-growth which started at around age 24, I can honestly say, I have lived authentically most of the time...At 50, I'm probably and finally at about 90% shooting for that last 10% in the next few years, what can I say it's hard in this culture with the expectation, particularly for women, to sacrifice so much of ourselves for others.  It has not been an easy journey, especially as a first generation Mexican-American female and daughter of immigrant parents. It has definitely been a process and fortunately certain life experiences early on, helped set the course for me, such as a love for the outdoors/adventure and sports at a young age, interest and knack for academics/learning (came easily) and a strong and courageous mother as a
Post a Comment
Read more

More Than We Can Handle

“We all have to deal with something. I know that to be true. They say God never gives us more than we can handle, but I say sometimes He assumes we’re stronger than we are. Life is a challenge.” Susan Mallery "God does not give us more than we can handle" Every time I see this written or said by anyone, anywhere, I cringe and silently say "Yeah right". My adopted son, two months shy of his 18 birthday took his life in May of 2018. His pain and inner turmoil was more than he could bear. Life had dealt him and his older siblings a bad hand. That is the honest truth and there is no sugar coating the cards he was dealt, he and his siblings spent 5 years in foster care never being truly loved and hugged by caring parents or adults. My son, Andrew was just 6 months old when he was removed from his birth parents. That was just the start. And like my son, there are countless others who attempt to end their pain through suicide, alcohol, drugs and all sorts of addictions as
Post a Comment
Read more