How do we recognize the power of our thoughts if we are unaware in the first place? Does it take a life altering event? Is it something we learn with age? Maybe we are exposed to a book or movie that introduces the concept? I have to believe that when the student is ready, the teacher arrives and that there is some divine reason why and when we become “aware.” I will never forget the first time my eyes were opened to the concept of our thoughts creating our reality. I was meeting a potential advertiser who was the director of an energy medicine school. She said to me, in a whisper, “You see, at this school we believe that we are all spirits having a human experience.” I almost fell off my chair. What the heck was she talking about? And yet, there was a part of me in which that statement resonated so clearly and profoundly, I knew it to be true to the very core of my being. And thus began my five year journey into spirituality, mysticism, metaphysics and the understanding that we are so much more powerful than we know, that we are spirit having a human experience and that we do, indeed, have the power to change our reality through thought. But first, you must become aware.
I don’t believe it takes a life altering event or that understanding the power of thought is something we only learn with age. For me, I was only 39 years old and stumbling across Malinda was hardly a life altering event! Although in the process of all of this, my life has undoubtedly been altered and I’m thankful every day that I was in the right place at the right time to hear that message and do something about it. There are no coincidences. If you’re reading this article, I believe you are in the right place at the right time. In fact, as I’m writing this paragraph I happened to look up through the skylight of the loft I’m in and I see this beautiful red-tailed hawk land on a tree branch right outside the window. I believe that spirit can send you messages through animals, music and other people. So I looked up the meaning of seeing a red-tailed hawk and here is what I read:
“This powerful bird can awaken visionary power and lead you to your life purpose. It is the
messenger bird, and wherever it shows up, pay attention. There is a message coming. It reflects a
need to be open to the new or shows you ways that you may help teach others to be open to the
new.”
You may already understand the power of seeing this bird while I’m writing this article as my purpose is to teach others to be open to new ideas, new concepts, and new thoughts.
I can’t predict when or why someone becomes aware that their thoughts create their reality, I can only imagine that their soul knows when they are ready and sets them on a path to discovery. There are some that will go through an entire life and never wake up, but that is their path as well. However, once the concept has been introduced to you, if you feel the resonation the way I did, you must pursue the investigation of it. I promise you, it will open your mind to ideas and concepts that you never thought possible. And therein, lies the power of thought.
If you are truly interested in the neurophysiology of thought processes, a great resource is “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself,” by Dr. Joe Dispenza. This book encompasses the process of how your brain forms a thought and the physiological effects of that thought. Don’t think for a second that there aren’t physiological effects on the body as a result of the thoughts you have. I have heard countless examples of people who have either made themselves ill or cured an illness as a result of their thought processes.
Unfortunately, for most of us, until we realize that we do have the power to control and focus our thoughts, we are at the mercy of these thoughts controlling us. Your mind is constantly talking to you and most of the time it doesn’t have good things to say. If you spend a day or even a few hours just listening to the thoughts inside your head as if it were someone else talking to you, you’ll realize that you just might be living with a maniac. One minute your thoughts are saying one thing and the next they’ve either changed the subject or are contradicting what they just got through saying. How do we live like this? Because most of the time we aren’t even aware of the internal chatter and the effect it has on us. Most of the time we identify with this voice as if it were truly us. But it’s not. There is something deeper inside that is what we’re truly made of that goes beyond the voice in our head. Some call it consciousness or awareness, but I like to think of it as our soul. If you can find that place and tap into it, I believe that is where you’ll find your true desires. The problem is that most of us never or rarely tap into it. It’s not easy as you have to get past the crazy lunatic in your head that is talking all the time. Telling you what you should or shouldn’t do, what you should or shouldn’t like, how you should feel, what you should say, it’s exhausting. Not to mention the fact that this voice can totally turn your life upside down in the blink of an eye.
Half the time we don’t even pay attention to the feelings we have in our bodies, we just stay in our heads thinking about all the terrible things that could happen. But in brief moments, I believe we do glimpse the understanding that we should know better to be entertaining negative thoughts. And innately, we know how to stop them, so why don’t we? Why do we torture ourselves with these negative thought processes? If we can just stay in the present moment and focus on what is happening right now, we can save ourselves so much grief and torment. I wonder why we persist in allowing the pain body to govern our lives when intuitively we know that there is no point to it. I suppose it’s all just part of the process of being human and learning to master our emotions with each situation that is presented to us. We have to be persistent and take the time to practice getting past it. We do this through meditation, quiet time or silent retreats. Going inside and really listening to what our soul is aching to tell us. The reward is understanding who you truly are…spirit having a human experience.