A Spiritual Practice: Tend Your Thoughts

Thinking that is balanced, joyful, grateful or loving improves emotional and physical health. It restores the immune system, reduces pain, and restores flexibility to muscles and joints.

I can hear someone saying, “…but I feel miserable and victimized. How could I possibly get more positive about my life?” Here’s a spiritual practice that helps me sort out and train my thoughts to better “mirror” the positive, peaceful and energizing qualities of Spirit.

When I’m feeling like life is unraveling or hopeless, or like I’m getting sick, I sometimes picture the thoughts in my mind as sheep or cattle, and myself as the shepherd or cowboy cattle driver– yee-haa!:). The cowboy’s job isn’t to micromanage every individual head of cattle, but to tend to the ones that might be getting off the trail, or doing something dangerous or destructive. Through an act of intention, he heads them back to where they’re safe and guided. He doesn’t take it personally when cattle wander off. In fact, he knows that some will wander off, and that it’s his job to bring them back.

As with herding cattle, tending our thoughts is a skill that can be developed with persistence, practice and patience. Like most spiritual practices, it’s a skill that’s best developed with frequent, short efforts– such as several two-minute periods during the day– to minimize frustration.

Mary Baker Eddy describes this practice as “sculpting” our thoughts:

“We are all sculptors, working at various forms, moulding and chiseling thought.

We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually…. Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love — the kingdom of heaven — reign within us.…”
(from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures…click the above quote to read it in context, or the picture to read the book)

Spirit-mind-body treatment can help you tend sick or limiting thoughts. Drop me an email if you’d like to try it…

Miles
(561) 626-9043
mh@MilesHarbur.com


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