Have you changed your thinking, or has your thinking changed you?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? That question could start a whole discussion of itself.

So, which came first, the thought that changed your thinking or your thinking that changed your thought?

How many for thoughts came first?
How many for thinking changed the thought?

Most people become their thoughts – they do not HAVE thoughts and feelings; the thoughts and feelings have them.
This is because most of our thoughts and feelings are subconscious. So, that would make the answer to the above question—thoughts came first….
But, once we become conscious, our thinking would create our thoughts. And as we create our thoughts, we create our lives, our world.

We’ve seen this quote before:
“You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That’s the only thing you should be trying to control.”
Elizabeth Gilbert
We’ve referenced this verse before too; the Creation Story, in Genesis 1:28, humankind is given ‘dominion’ over all creatures in the sky, the oceans and on land, everyone of them, we have dominion over Dominion means sovereignty; control.

Metaphysically, all the birds, and fish and animals are thoughts. So, we are to have control over our thoughts.

Either way we look at it, when we become conscious, we are changing our thinking. We are telling our consciousness and our subconscious what we wish to think, what we wish to create.
So, our goal is to be conscious as much as possible in your life. That way you control your thoughts.

In, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, Miguel Ruiz states:

“God is life. God is life in action. The best way to say, “I love you, God,” is to live your life doing your best. The best way to say, “Thank you, God,” is by letting go of the past and living in the present moment, right here and now. Whatever life takes away from you, let it go. When you surrender and let go of the past, you allow yourself to be fully alive in the moment. Letting go of the past means you can enjoy the dream that is happening right now.”

This is one way to be conscious.

Another is to appreciate where you are, what you are doing. You have heard of the monk who practiced mindfulness while he washed the pots and scrubbed the kitchen floor.
We could learn something for this type of spirituality. We are too often tied up in the happenings of the day. And I used the word ‘tied up’ purposely.
Doesn’t it feel as if we are tied up when we have too many items on our ‘to do’ list?

Must they ALL get done today?

When we change our thinking, we change our belief system. Coming to Unity is a perfect example of that.

I would venture a guess that most of us sitting here did not grow up in Unity churches or centers. So, what changed our thinking that brought us here?
Obviously, we were dissatisfied with the philosophy of the church we attended previously, if we even attended one.

I know I searched for a spiritual community for years, looking for that place where I felt comfortable, accepted and loved, as well as, challenged to go deeper.
I rebelled from traditional Christianity. Anthony Anxgorou said, “Rebellion is when you look society in the face and say I understand who you want me to be but I’m going to show you who I actually am.”

Nature is the basic or inherent features of something. Natural means existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind. Spirituality is natural, it is basic human nature. Spirituality is our essential nature as human beings. We are human beings, “being” human. It is our nature to be human and to “Be” or exist naturally
David Yeubanks said; “Institutional or organized Religion is more normal than natural, in fact “institutional religion actually isn’t natural, because it takes too much effort and manipulation. It is not organic, just organized. It doesn’t come naturally, it is more contrived and involves a lot of effort and prohibition of natural instincts and intuitions thru manipulation. “
He continues, “Religion actually works against nature, that’s why most folk are sloppy and sluggish about it, yet committed to the manmade struggle, almost to the point of psychosis.”
We are naturally spiritual, naturally social, naturally sensual and naturally sexual. Why are so many people afraid of being naturally human and humanely natural?

I like this graphic…it really says a lot. On the one side we have many of the thoughts that go through a persons’ mind, and the pretty much dead tree shows what happens to our psyche when we continue with this type of thought.

On the other side we see positive thoughts surrounding an obviously living tree. And easy analogy, don’t you think?

We control our mind when we recognize the fact that it can think only one thought at a time. Our thoughts cannot run riot unless we choose to permit them to do so. If we see to it that our mind is filled with constructive thoughts, it cannot think its old thoughts over and over.

If we fill our mind with thoughts of life and health, the old thoughts of weakness and physical insufficiency will have to go. If we concentrate on thoughts of love, peace, and good will, we cannot hold thoughts of hatred, animosity, and in-harmony. If we want to be happy, prosperous, and successful, we must supply the mind with thoughts of happiness, abundance, and success.

The secret of thought control lies in keeping the mind centered on thoughts of Truth

And just a reminder, our last Principal is to put your knowledge into action, or as Miguel Ruiz says:

“You can have many great ideas in your head, but what makes the difference is the action. Without action upon an idea, there will be no manifestation, no results, and no reward” ― Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom