Unchained Mind

We Are the Products of Our Thoughts Thought of the Day Our thoughts are the seeds of life, and the thoughts we plant bear the fruits we sow. Thoughts of fear bear fruits of fear. Thoughts of hatred bear fruits of hatred. Thoughts of love bear fruits of love. When we plant seeds of love where seeds of fear and hatred exist, we are potentially growing a beacon of hope for love to exist, even in the most barren of soils. If we treat our thoughts the way we treat food, we digest what’s good and reject what’s bad. We take in enough to satisfy us and dispose of waste. When we eat a fruit, seldom do we eat the entire fruit. We eat the pulp and may discard the skin and the seed. Similarly, when we absorb our thoughts, we can differentiate among the pulp, the seed, and the skin. We can discard the thoughts that bring negativity to us and embrace thoughts that bring happiness, joy, peace, and tranquility. If we embrace thoughts that say we’re unworthy, not good enough, or have no future, we may be consuming the skin and the seeds of doubt that should be discarded and not absorbed. There is a Buddhist quote that says, “We are what we think. All that we are arises from our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” We can refocus on the thoughts that uplift us and ignore the ones that bring us down. Let’s spread seeds of love in everything we do today.   Thought of the Day A simple rule of thumb for stress control is never to allow our thoughts to outpace our breathing. During stressful situations, we often get the feeling our thoughts are racing out of control. It feels like our head is spinning as our body tries to keep up with the pace of our thoughts. By focusing on calming our breathing, we can channel our thoughts and slow them down to the pace of our breathing. In doing so, we can regain control of stressful situations. There is a constant battle between our thoughts and our breathing. Fear restricts breathing. When we spend quiet time in our day, putting our fears at ease, we can usher in emotions of love while restoring peace in our world. Just for today, let’s promise to regulate our thoughts to a pace slower than our breathing.   Thought of the Day Our neglected emotions become hiding grounds for the things that can harm us. I always look for a deeper meaning in my experiences. Recently, I killed a snake, and it didn’t even have teeth. It was hiding under my abandoned kitchen garden, under the overgrown weeds and grass. It found warmth in the mess I had created. It found warmth where I had created neglect. This got me thinking. What are the snakes in my life? What are the neglected areas that are giving warmth to my snakes? Am I giving teeth to my snakes? I decided to do a major cleanup of my neglected emotions, and I uncovered hidden snakes that gave warmth to my fears. Now the fears are diminished, and so are the snakes. So I ask, What are the things that keep your snakes warm? What is disrupting your peace of mind? Are you cleaning up the areas in your life that have been left abandoned because of the mess you’ve made? Spend some time today cleaning up negative emotions and welcoming new beginnings. Thought of the Day Thankfulness is the one prayer that God answers instantaneously. The most important prayer we’ll ever pray is “Thank you, God.” I believe there are healing powers in prayers of thankfulness. They require trust in God, knowing that his will is done. We can trust that whatever the outcome in life, God is looking out for us. When we pray, “Thank you,” we reinforce a feeling of gratitude throughout our body. Every part of our being embraces the message, and we experience a feeling of transformation from negativity to positive. I’ve prayed for many things in my life. I’ve prayed to be rich. I’ve prayed for a house and a car. I’ve even prayed to win the lottery. Sometimes God takes quite a while to answer my prayers, and it baffles me. I think that if I were God, all it takes is for me to wave the magic wand and all prayers will be answered. Then it dawns on me that an all-powerful and all-knowing God knows my needs, and therefore there is no need to ask. So I pray for thankfulness, and with each prayer I experience a lift in my heart and the joy of gratitude. With each prayer of thankfulness, God brings the light of his love to my heart, and the darkness disappears. Thankfulness is the only prayer I’ve gotten an immediate response to. Thought of the Day The most important stop in life is the one we fear the most. We can pour love onto a situation where hate exists. I once had an experience in which the person sitting in the most visible area of my place of worship was in a wheelchair. He didn’t smile, and he looked uncomfortable. He didn’t look in my direction when I passed his way, so I assumed he wanted to be left alone. In my mind, the spot he occupied became the left-alone spot. It was the most uncomfortable spot for me. Then God spoke to my heart about the role I was playing in creating this uncomfortable spot in his place of worship. So, that Sunday, I walked straight to the spot where he was strapped in his wheelchair and introduced myself. I told him how special he was to me. He shook my hand firmly, and then we shared a hug. That moment transformed the most uncomfortable spot in the room to the most loving spot in the room. He no longer sat in church as a victim of a tragedy. He was the most important spot, and everyone gravitated to his spot, including me. He now sits proudly in his wheelchair, looking forward to worship with a smile on his face. I learned a very important lesson that day. Before I contribute to my hatred, however small or big it is, I can throw love on it. Love always win. Just for today, we can repeat a prayer of thankfulness throughout our busy moments. Thought of the Day Our thoughts are like pearls in oysters. Not all thoughts produce the perfect pearl, but if we gather them all, we can choose the ones that serve us the most and discard the ones that don’t. Then, somewhere along the line, we may create the perfect necklace. Sometimes we get stuck with the wrong thoughts—those that show us in defeat mode. Then we miss the thoughts that show us the road to success. We walk along the path of failure as it pulls us deeper and deeper into its grasp as things fall apart around us. We can change things by analyzing the thoughts we focus on, the thoughts that drive our actions. We can focus on thoughts that show us a path to success and act diligently to make them a reality. We can embrace the thoughts that are like pearls in our oysters and build on them until we achieve the perfect necklace. Just for today, commit to turning things around. Thought of the Day We can change the world one light at a time. What if every act of kindness switched on a light bulb? What if every act of unkindness switched one off? How many lights would we be credited for switching on? What if we got a chance to review our lights? Would we be staring in amazement at the lights