Garden of the Mind

 As a man (woman, child, or anyone) thinketh, so is he. Or as it's written in the King James version of the Old Testament:

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" Proverbs 23:7

The interesting thing about this verse is that it doesn't say think in our mind. It's thinking in our hearts. 

When most people consider "thought" it's the conscious thought that is brought to mind. It's what we are intentional thinking about, what we are aware of.

What's not considered is that many of our thoughts are reactions to how we feel. When something happens we respond "naturally" or, more correctly, subconsciously--how we've been conditioned or programmed to act/react--and those responses bring thoughts to our conscious.

This is where awareness, or mindfulness, comes into play. We really need to be aware of how we feel and the thoughts that result from those feelings. Without this mindfulness it'll be extremely difficult to make changes, because change begins with awareness and thought.

When negative thoughts, accompanied by negative feelings, pop up these aren't necessarily bad. How we let these affect us does determine whether we grow or wither. If they're keeping us from progressing, from becoming better, then they need to get weeded from our minds and hearts. 

If we don't like the thoughts and feelings we're experiencing, we need to plant new ones. New thoughts, accompanied with positive feelings, need to be planted and nurtured.

The process involves using our conscious mind to implant the thought into the subconscious. But it's more than just the thought. Real emotion needs to accompany that thought to make it feel real to the subconscious.

And this is not just a one time deal. The first time is like the seed. But if all you do is throw a seed in a garden it's unlikely to grow. It's more likely to get eaten by a bird or scorched by the sun.

And even when the seed is planted it still needs care. It needs watering. It probably needs fertilizer, or nutrients to help it grow. Weeds that will try to choke out the growth of the seed need to be removed.

Like a garden, the seeds we plant in our minds and hearts will eventually be manifested in a physical form. We can't just plant them with a thought and be done. They require careful, consistent, patient, and persistent work to help them to grow.

Secret Garden, Clivden. Credit Simon, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Secret_Garden,_Cliveden_(7958662690).jpg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

While your looking to plant new seeds of thoughts into your heart, you might consider what you'd like the garden of your mind to look like. Most gardeners don't just throw seeds in the garden haphazardly. They have a plan. They have a vision of what the garden will look like.

What is your vision? How do you want to be? Do you want to have a positive outlook? See the good in all things?

Remember to be patient, persistent. Even with real garden seeds there are some that will begin sprouting within days, while others take weeks. There are even seeds that take months before anything begins to show above the surface. 

Once your heart thoughts begin to grow, don't stop nurturing them. Some people will do just enough work to start to see some results, but then they stop nourishing those seedlings.

Most people quickly give up. Like throwing the seed in the ground and hoping or wishing it would grow, but failing to do the work necessary to help it grow. The result is most people don't see any results and quickly attribute "positive thinking" or similar mental and emotional processes used for self-improvement as "woo woo", unscientific, irrational, unrealistic, and not based on real evidence. 

I'm not saying you won't find any weeds (hurdles, challenges, difficulties, etc.) that will get in the way of an eventual harvest. They will come. 

But, you need to be mindful and aware of doubts and other negative thoughts. If you can, pluck them from the garden of your mind and toss them out. 

If you can't pluck out those thoughts, plant other positive seeds. Cultivate and nourish the seed and seedling. Give it the positive energy from your heart. 

The thoughts and feelings you feed are those which will grow.

Consider this other verse of scripture, this time from the New Testament:

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. --Luke 6:45