I Think. . .Or Not!

 

“As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.” ~James Allen

 This week, God eavesdropped on my thoughts, twice. And acted on them, and I noticed! It got me thinking (again) what exactly do I think about, and are my thoughts really private? [And No, I'm not mad at Him for that.]

Much has been written, said and thought about our thoughts. James Allen’s little book ‘As A Man Thinketh’ has been a big influence for me since I read it many years ago. Its message is that the path of my life follows the thoughts I engage and entertain. ‘Thoughts become things’ was another idea that’s stuck; it came from The Secret. This was scarier as well as enticing. Basically, I do think my way to whatever I get, good or bad.

Back to this past week: was it really eavesdropping? I think not. Psalms 94:11 says “The Lord knows the thoughts of mankind; they are futile.” [CSB] Does this mean we give up thinking? Can you? The average person has about 48.6 thoughts per minute, adding up to a total of 70,000 thoughts per day, according to the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at the University of Southern California. Hence, Philippians 4:6 exhorts us “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” [CSB] We can't stop the thoughts but we can do something about what we think.  

We are therefore not to not think, but to be conscious of what we think about and only entertain those thoughts that are pure. Philippians 4:8-9 gives a list of what to focus on - whatever is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, has moral excellence and is praiseworthy. I came upon a number of quotes of what others have said about thinking to get us thinking about thinking.

“The man who sows wrong thoughts and deeds, and prays that God will bless him, is in the position of a farmer who, having sown tares, asks God to bring forth for him a harvest of wheat. That which ye sow, ye reap.” ~ James Allen

“A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.” ~ James Allen

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

“The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy.” ~Florence Scovel Shinn

“A man is but a product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” ~ Alexander Graham Bell

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” ~Oscar Wilde

“Sometimes there is no darker place than our thoughts, the moonless midnight of the mind.” ~ Dean Koontz

Are your thoughts your own? Are they building or tearing you down? Will you be happy when your thoughts boomerang upon you or shocked at what hit you? Do you have moonless deserts in your mind? If we are a product of our thoughts, the you that walks publicly can be traced back to your private thoughts. Nothing under the sun remains hidden. Dwell on these things. 

“Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli

 

Book of the week – As A Man Thinketh by James Allen

Podcast Suggestion – The Jeff Cavins Show

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Pain

Image
  On Pain Kahlil Gibran, 1883 – 1931 And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain. And he said: Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy; And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields. And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief. Much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:   For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,   And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay whic...
Read more

Out for Service

Hi readers. Unfortunately the musings are at still at the garage and return date is still out in the clouds. I found a great quote that put this pause into perspective for me. As you hold out patiently, I'd love for you think about the things that look like unnecessary curve balls in your life today. Are they really?  Enjoy the archives, luckily they are rich in content as we wait for a return.  " The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life God is sending one day by day. " ~ C.S. Lewis CG
Read more

Horse and Buggy Days

Image
  “ I am old enough to enjoy a bit of nostalgia, but wise enough to know that there haven’t been any “good ol’ days” since Eden (the garden, not the prime minister). ” ~ Ron Brackin During my devotion this week, I found myself reminiscing about the ‘good ol’ days’. One of the verses I’d read had put me in that frame of mind and I rested there a while before reality called me back. The verse was from Habakkuk 3:2, which reads “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” (NIV) I had been reading a news article before I read my Bible that day, and it’s easy to see why that verse jumped out at me and sent me into the land of Nostalgia. Things are bad and so much is not working out. Time is moving but not much else is. Problems are mounting and solutions are few. So yes, I remember the days when prayers were answered; when miracles were popping all around me; when it was one...
Read more