The Garden In Your Head

“As The Plant Springs From, And Could Not Be Without The Seed,
So Every Act Of A Man Springs From The
Hidden Seeds Of Thought,
And Could Not Have Appeared Without Them.
This Applies Equally To Those Acts Called ‘Spontaneous’ And ‘Unpremeditated’ As To Those, Which Are Deliberately Executed.”

~ James Allen ~

According to Dr. Caroline Leaf (Cognitive Neuroscientist), we have about 30,000 thoughts every day. According to James Allen’s quote above, those thoughts are hidden seed – 30,000 seeds we sow every day into our own lives.

I think you will agree with me that it will be impossible not to see results if you plant 30,000 seeds every day! So now the biggest question is: What kind of seed are you sowing? Are you growing a beautiful peaceful garden in your life or do you constantly feel trapped and unsatisfied? Are your thoughts positive or negative? No matter what kind of seed you sow, your results will confirm the quality of the seed. Let me explain how it works in reality:

We think first. These thoughts are the seeds of our lives.
When we allow these thoughts to remain (whether they are positive or negative), when we dwell on it and rethink it constantly, they root themselves in our minds and start to grow – we start to believe it.
Whenever you believe a thought, it will change your attitude towards the person or the circumstances.
Once your attitude has been affected by your belief, your actions have to obey. Your actions will display your inner belief and attitude – you can’t hide it.
Your actions will have results in your life.

Let’s examine some of our thoughts for a moment to understand this process better.

THOUGHTS ABOUT YOURSELF

What kind of thoughts do you daily think about yourself? Will you be comfortable if your thoughts were exposed to others? Let’s use a negative example. Say for instance you think that you will never amount to anything (maybe this thought exists because your parents or teachers told you so). If you allow that negative seed to be considered in your mind, it becomes your thoughts and after a while you believe it. Before long, your attitude will reflect your feeling of worthlessness and you will receive results equal to your belief and behaviour.

How do you fix this?

Examine your thoughts.
What wrong thoughts do you have about yourself that’s holding you back in life?
What could your life look like if you believed different thoughts about yourself?
Decide whether you want to continue to believe negative thoughts or change it.
Start sowing positive seed into your mind and dwell on these thoughts daily. There’s a reason why positive affirmations have power.

(Also read “I am a Parent” for advice on self-image.)

THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR SPOUSE

What does your relationship with your spouse look like? Now I know, if your relationship is bad, changes are that you blame your spouse for the condition of your marriage. You might have legitimate reasons, but should your spouse read this, will they blame themselves or you?

Example: Let’s say you think your spouse is spiteful towards you and in everything they do, you see spite and hate. The moment this thought moves from just a thought to a belief, you are entering dangerous territory in your marriage. Your spouse will not be able to do anything without you measuring their actions against your belief about them. Before you know it, this belief will influence your attitude and actions against your spouse and the results will speak for itself.

We judge all people, including our spouses, according to their actions.
But we judge ourselves according to our intentions.
Because you don’t know your spouse’s intentions,
you decide, in your mind, what their intentions are
and then react according to that belief.

How do you fix your thoughts about your spouse?

Examine your thoughts about your spouse.
What wrong thoughts do you have about your spouse that is ruining your marriage at the moment?
What could your marriage look like if you believed different thoughts about your spouse and your marriage?
Decide whether you want to continue to believe negative thoughts or change it.
Start sowing positive seed into your mind and dwell on these thoughts daily.

(Also read “Fight For Your Marriage”.)

THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR CAREER/JOB

Do you enjoy your job?
Do you enjoy working with the people in your team?
Do you like the company you work for?
Are you growing and getting better at what you do?
Are you adding value at the company?

Example: Let’s say your boss asks you to do something that’s not in your job description. You have two options of how you can react to his request.

You can think that this request is not part of your job description. You might immediately believe that he is only asking you to do it, because he doesn’t like you or because he wants to overload you with work. Once you believe this, your attitude will change and it will influence your actions. Your actions will have its results in your own career-success and also in your credibility with your boss.

You can think that even though this request is not part of your job description and you are really busy, it might help you to grow and learn more. The moment you believe that you are capable to perform at a level that will impress your boss, your attitude towards him and the task at hand will have its results on how you do the job and the satisfaction you get from doing it.

(Also read “Self-Interrogation”.)

You can literally take any result in your relationships or circumstances and dissect it down to the level of your first thought. If that thought was negative and you “entertained” the idea long enough, changes are that it will eventually grow negative results in your life. If the initial thought was positive and you allowed it to grow, it will have positive results in your attitude, actions and results.

May you grow a beautiful garden and have the results to proof it!

“Be Transformed By The Renewing Of Your Mind.”

Live Fully, Give It All, Die Empty
Debbie