Changing My Mind
Consistently changing one’s mind can be seen as a sign of indecisiveness or lack of resolution, but spiritual maturity requires a constant resetting of the mind. Just as our homes need to be cleaned regularly, so too our minds. When we have guests, we make a special effort to make sure the home is welcoming, clean, and a comfortable place to be. Our mind can be likened to a home. The kind of thoughts we entertain, can make us feel safe and peaceful or agitated, anxious, and so uncomfortable that we would prefer not to be there. We can walk out of our house, but our mind goes with us everywhere.
If we pause a while and look into what is going on in our minds, we may find a lot of unwanted guests. It may be populated by people who want to grab our attention, talk incessantly, make us feel depressed, and exhaust us. Then there are our own desires, other people’s opinions, irrational fears and disappointments. We need to protect our minds from the constant replay of all of these unwanted thoughts. We need to consistently clean our minds. When I was working in Canada broadcasting world news, I finally had to make my mind a toxic-free zone; to protect it from all of the pernicious news arriving on the desk.
We need to know how to clean the mind. The mind is only one ‘device’ of the soul. It allows us to hear our thoughts, and to form emotions and feelings about what we hear. We also have an intellect. The intellect discerns, judges, and concentrates. These two faculties work in tandem if we perfect the art of doing so. The mind cannot change on its own. The will to change comes from the intellect.
We want our minds to be clean, strong, and beautiful. This is the true nature of the mind, so by cleaning it, we are restoring the mind to its original condition. To keep it clean, we need to become aware, daily, of the kind of thoughts we are having, and discern if they are doing us any good. If I have negative thoughts about someone, how can that possibly help me? I must re-focus and replace those thoughts with ones that bring peace to the mind and send good wishes to the other.
To keep the mind strong, we need to reinforce what we believe in. We need to respect the mind, and if we need to recalibrate our beliefs about others or the self, we need to do that with deep awareness and understanding. To make the mind beautiful, we need to introduce thoughts of an elevated nature. Thoughts of spirituality, based on truth and recognition of the nature of the soul; its eternal existence and its original beauty. We must create the best thoughts possible. Then we will feel protected, safe, peaceful, and full of love.
The companions we associate with will be those who have our best interests at heart. The company of the best minds will uplift us. We can seek the company of the highest mind of all, the Supreme mind, of the Supreme Soul, and keep a connection with that One. If I am close to that divine energy, there is a very beautiful influence on my mind. Feeling the presence of that Being brings beauty to my mind and heart. As time goes on, with this constant practice of cleaning, strengthening, and beautifying the mind, the process becomes refined and full of enjoyment, as we experience the inestimable results.
