As I was reading my cousin Emily's blog on the things we fear, I started to think about what rules my thoughts in my daily life. Do I live my life based on what I fear or what I have faith in or maybe both? It seems that lately this is what is intended for me to really contemplate. I have read book after book lately about how I really am the creator of my own life. Whatever circumstances I am surrounded with is essentially my own creation and they start with my own thoughts. So many times, I really am not aware of my thought process. So, the last 4 or 5 books I have read is about that. If I am not happy with how my life is going, than can I change my thoughts? I know it is so much easier to type than to actually do. I think it takes practice. If I could get everyone a present this year, it would be the book "As a man thinketh." by James Allen. It is only about 75 pages and really has great truths in it. I hope to get better at being aware of my thoughts and realizing that I control much more of my life than I realize..
10 years ago
3 comments:
Its a topic I feel I could talk about all day. There are so many fears out there. Some fears are necessary and help us survive. Like, what Katie said about the fear of germs. And then there are those fears that prevent us from doing productive positive things. For example: If I am so afraid of rejection that it prevents me from applying to another graduate program, fear is then not playing a positive productive role in my life but is playing a negative damning role. Or the fear of not being financially "ready" to have children keeping me from trying to start a family etc. Those things are the opposite of faith!
melanie! holy cow. its shay. how are you!? i didn't know you had a blog. i was trying to think of people that would have them and i decided to try and type your name in. it worked! haha that is pretty sweet. i hope all is well with the bond fam.
This is a powerful topic. I am currently reading "Through His Eyes," by Virginia H. Pearce (President Hinkley's daughter.) It is all about removing the clutter of negative thoughts and damaging or false beliefs from our minds, then replacing them with thoughts and beliefs that will lift us up.
I am trying to see how those concepts can help with putting my own struggles with mental illness into perspective. I have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and for a long time I resisted that diagnosis and tried to handle things on my own. For a time my mind was tangled up in some very powerful and damaging delusions. I am still trying to sort some of those delusions out and replace them with healthier thought patterns. It took some time for me to have the humility and understanding to accept that there was no shame in having a real and treatable mental illness. I owe it to myself and to my family to take psychiatric medication to control the physical processes of that illness, but there is also a great deal that I can do on my own to learn to better control my own mind. I must take great care of what I feed into it. I do tend to be very absent minded, and I often have great difficulty with organization, punctuality, and concentrating on the world around me. It is good to be reminded that although changing those things might take lots of time, patience, and hard work, it is possible. Maybe I should check out your favorite book, "As a Man Thinketh."
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