I seriously need to be in bed right now, I feel so sleepy, plus I am ill (bad throat infection- today is the first day in 2 weeks I've felt quite normal- and only *quite*). However, when I get excited about something, I have a very active mind, and can't sleep. So I figure if I do all the things I am *thinking* bout doing to start with on this site, then I won't lay awake planning it all in my head. I might just prevent insomnia by going to bed later! we shall see…

POWER OF THE MIND

So many people just do not realise how powerful the mind is. I hope that by writing this, some more people in the world can begin to discover how amazing it is when used for our advantage.

In simple terms, the subconscious mind is like fertile soil, and our thoughts are like the seeds we plant. As the soil is fertile, any seed will grow there. It is up to us, consciously, to choose the seeds we plant.

So many of us have grown up with bad habits of mind, like worry and self-doubt; thinking we are not good enough, that we'll never do this or that, that we will fail.

Essentially, what this means is that we are thinking thoughts of worry, doubt, self-loathing… and these seeds are being planted. The soil does not know what plants we want to grow, it just allows them all to grow!

So, it is up to us to change our minds, to change the seeds we plant.

Even if you don't believe this, just try it. Become aware of your thoughts, notice how many negative thoughts can go through your mind even in the space of a few minutes. Make it your mission to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

Becoming aware of your thoughts is the starting point. When you become aware, you take a step back, and you can watch the thoughts and learn from them. Then you can begin to change them.

When you notice a negative thought- and this generally happens a lot when you first start to change the way you think- start making it your habit to NEVER finish it. If it helps, imagine that negative thoughts take you down a black road… a dreadful road that leads to dreadful things like pain and worry and fear… a road you'd rather not go down. Instead, there is a golden road that leads to joy and happiness, success and all kinds of wonderful things. Whenever a negative thought comes to mind, if you allow that thought to continue, you are taking yourself down that black road, to all kinds of unhappy things.

You no longer have to do that to yourself. It was just a bad habit, because you didn't know how powerful your thoughts are. The subconscious mind, the fertile soil that receives all our thoughts, can also be likened to a computer and thoughts to the programs we put in. If we are constantly worrying or thinking badly of ourselves, beating ourselves up and saying we're no good, the computer believes that this is the program we want to create in our lives. It then goes out into the world- the real world- and looks for situations where it can fulfil what it thinks we want it to fulfil. So, just by thinking negatively, we can end up attracting negative events into our life- because our subconscious thinks this is what we want, and so skips by the happy programs, seeking out and attracting the negative.

When you really think about it, it is remarkable, because it can work entirely the other way around… we can think good thoughts that program the subconscious mind to give us good feelings, and to seek good people, events and situations.

If we continue thinking negatively, we will continue creating negative and troublesome things for ourselves, because the thoughts are like commands to the subconscious to seek out the things that support whatever we are thinking. Now we know how it works, we don't want it to continue seeking out troubling experiences that reinforce how bad we feel about ourselves.

To prevent this, get into the habit of stopping negative thoughts. You can come up with any number of techniques to do so. A good one to start with is saying in your mind to yourself, gently but firmly, -STOP- any time a negative thought begins to take form. You can even imagine a big stop sign in your mind if you wish! This helps to re-train the mind to get out of the bad habit of following negative thoughts, and gradually, they come to mind less often.

Science has accepted now that there is an inextricable link between mind and body. For example, if you imagine you are holding a big, juicy lemon in your hand… you can probably just about feel the texture of the skin, as if it were real… and you can imagine taking a knife and cutting into that lemon… and smell that fresh, zesty smell as you do so… and see the yellow colour as you cut that lemon in half. Perhaps you can feel some of the sticky juice as it runs out. Now, imagine you raise that lemon to your mouth and you suck it…

If you got really involved in that, you'll have made some kind of 'sour face' and you might have even felt a funny tingle on your tongue or in your mouth somewhere. This shows the link between the mind and body… your body responds to the memory of tasting a lemon.

So, anytime you think about bad things that happened in the past, your body responds by physiologically re-living the experience. Your thoughts about it keep it alive.

Anytime you worry about the future, your body prepares you for the event by putting you in fight or flight mode. Handy if you're face to face with a sabre tooth tiger, not so handy when dealing with the everyday world of work.

The good news is though, and I cannot emphasise this enough- the one thing you have ultimate control over, is your thinking. Victor Frankl said this most profoundly. Despite suffering terrible deeds done to him in a concentration camp, he came to the realisation that nobody could take away from him what he chose to think about. So although he was in the most terrible circumstances, he could still choose to fill his mind with good, happy, beautiful things. What an amazing realisation.

So, begin now to fill your mind with good, happy, beautiful things. Anytime a negative thought begins to form… you have the power to stop it.

If we tell ourselves that we are wonderful, that we can do anything, that we can achieve our ambitions and our dreams, then we empower ourselves to do those very things. Just imagine how much better that kind of self-talk makes you feel- and then start developing it. Talk to yourself encouragingly, as if you were talking to a good friend. Be supportive, nurturing and kind to yourself. Never follow a negative thought again.

We have the power to create wonderful lives, and it all starts with how we think. We can't control 100% what happens in our lives, but we can control our thoughts- and when we do, our lives become that much more wonderful.

Try it and see.