The Ability to Change Your Mind

One of the things that has been the greatest blessing along this journey has been the startling revelation that I can change my mind... in everything... about everything... no matter the circumstance, place, situation, or person confronting me at that moment.


I look back on how I used to function, and it seemed like my internal state was always at the mercy of the external circumstances.  My emotions and mental state were always tossed around like a ship on rough seas.  I never knew from moment to moment how I was going to be internally.  People talk about peace of mind, but this is not peace of mind.  It is more like an internal recognition of peace that simply pervades the mind, the circumstance, or the situation as it is... I am at peace with it... not at peace from it.  It is a recognition that I cannot be harmed... no exceptions.

I saw Inception the other night, and I must say that it is an incredible illustration of how our minds can be fooled by what is not real.  The dream within the dream within the dream that the actors portray not only makes for good film making but draws a very real analogy to our "real world"...

We swim in illusion.  Our senses play their part in disguising the world from us; our minds draw curtains of belief, wrong-knowing, and judgment over the world.  Everything about this world seems real... but... shockingly, this is not the case.  Once the casing of belief begins to crumble, one can see the fallacy of belief itself.  It is only a mental filter that in a very real way shapes our world.  As we see, we react.  As what we see changes, we stop reacting and instead begin creating.

The more deeply that I recognize the power of my thoughts, the more and more urgent is the necessity to change those thoughts. With changing thoughts comes a changing world, a world I do not have to fight or become entangled with, a world I do not have to fear, a world that echoes the growing beneficence of my thoughts.  "Judge not lest ye be judged," is a statement of profound truth... if you judge, you will always, always, always judge yourself.  You cannot escape your own judgment.  Therefore, change your mind.  Allow forgiveness to wash it clean of that which you would hold.  A free mind holds nothing, yet holds the Universe at its beck and call; because creation is then understood at its root.

As I move more deeply into this, the most important thing I do every day is place my mind into the correct posture for the coming day.  I do this before leaving the bed... before becoming engaged in my day.  I don't care if it takes an hour or three... I know that I cannot live in joy if my inner thoughts are not aligned with joy.  The time before bed is also sacrosanct to me... I will not go to bed until everything I can think of with the day is forgiven... otherwise, the morning will be long in trying to reorganize my mind.  As a result of this, for the most part my life just simply goes along.  Rarely is there disturbance or struggle of any kind.  Situations arise of course... but they are merely seen for what they are, an appropriate response is given, and the rest remains up to the Universe to sort out... because I KNOW the Universe means me well.  I am not at the mercy of anything... especially the seeming externals of what is "out there."