"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven" - John Milton
Pssst.... wanna know the secret to happiness? It's really quite simple, yet most of us are never taught that we only have to change one thing in order to obtain it and that is - where we focus our thoughts.
Part of my work allows me to help others overcome challenges. The majority of my clients come to me because they are overweight or have chronic health problems. The clients who struggle with their weight focus their thoughts on how much weight they must lose or their lack of willpower. They talk about how weak they are when it comes to food. They dwell on how unmotivated they are to exercise.
I once worked with a client we'll call Sally. Sally was 40 years old, 100+ pounds overweight and had suffered two heart attacks. She was taking medication to lower her cholesterol and high blood pressure and seeing a chiropractor for sciatica and two ruptured discs. She was in constant pain. Her profession was cleaning houses and she had been unable to work for nearly a year.
Every session, Sally would begin by providing me with a list of all the things she couldn't do. She was frustrated and angry at how miserable her life had become. Sally and I began to identify what she might be able to do to break out of her thinking pattern and learn to live with her impaired ability to walk.
It wasn't long before Sally realized that she was in a self-imposed prison. She spent her day wishing for things to be different. She focused all her thoughts on what she could no longer do instead of being grateful for the things she could do. She expended a great deal of energy being angry that she could no longer eat the foods she loved instead of seizing the opportunity to experiment with new foods. She saw exercise as a form of punishment instead of a way for her to tone her muscles and shed the extra pounds that were causing her to not be able to do the things she wished for.
Sally began to 'mind her thoughts'. She started a Gratitude Journal and every day she wrote five things that she was grateful for. This was no easy task for Sally in the beginning, but in less than a month, Sally was able to write an entire page of things she was grateful for. She began to visualize her weight melting off. She looked forward to the day when her doctor told her she could discontinue her meds because her cholesterol and blood pressure were within normal range. She imagined what it felt like to get through the day without the burning pain shooting down her leg. She allowed herself to believe her discs could repair themselves.
Sally's dreams came true. She is now 118 pound lighter. She's healthier than she's been since she was a teenager. She started her own office cleaning business and has six employees. Life is good for Sally.
We must be mindful of our thoughts. We have the power to determine what we focus our attention on. Stop the mindless wishing things would be different. Rather than waste your time and emotional and spiritual energy focusing on why you don't have what you want, focus on how you can begin to pursue other ways to get it.
Choose where you focus and what you focus on. Choose thoughts that nurture. Concentrate on what you have, not what you've lost or never had in the first place. You'll see the results in your health and your life.
In Love and Light,
The Spiritual Peacemaker




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