Creating Space - Part III - Mental Housekeeping

So, recently I've talked a lot about creating space... creating space in our schedules,  creating space in our surroundings, and now part III of the Creating Space Series is upon us.  It's time to talk about the big daddy task of creating space in our minds... or "mental housekeeping."
I believe that mental housekeeping is the most time-intensive and challenging of the three because it's so foreign to most of us.  Schedules and surroundings are tangible.  We can literally block out time for ourselves on our calenders and make ourselves follow through.  We can physically clean our homes and discard material possessions that we don't need in our lives anymore.  They are actions in a physical world.  But the mental housekeeping is not really tangible... not really physical or material.  It's all thought... and thought is a whole different ball game... a whole different realm... and a very powerful realm at that!

Have you ever thought about what controls you?  Do your thoughts control you? Or do you control your thoughts?  I believe that we are much more than our minds.  It has taken me 35 years to come to this conclusion, but I feel that I've discovered an amazing secret that is transforming my life in beautiful ways... simply put, we are in control of our thoughts.  What I am learning is that our minds are tools for us to use in any way we wish.  Our minds today are a culmination of life-long habits and thoughts - good habits, bad habits, loving thoughts, fear-based thoughts... all thoughts that can be transformed if we wish them transformed.  The thoughts that WE CHOOSE  to think create our experiences.  Our thoughts create our experiences... done... simple as that.  Hard to swallow sometimes because it means that we are accountable for every experience that we have...good, bad, or ugly.  But also beautiful to know that what I choose to believe and think about manifests in my life.  It's reassuring to know that I, along with the brilliance of the universe, create my reality.  I am an active player in my own life!

I am reading "Dare to Be Yourself," by Alan Cohen.  He has a wonderful analogy I'd like to share. Take your common computer microchip.  A microchip is like a tiny little electronic brain that contains programmed information that runs a computer.  The program or information is embedded in the microchip's memory by electronically pounding the information - over and over and over again.  After tons of repetitious "poundings," it produces electronic grooves cut deep into the chip so that it will perform according to its manufacturer's purpose.


Alan believes that the process of the microchip is similar to the way our minds are programmed.  We, or others (parents, teachers, society), pound our minds with repetitious information or thoughts until deep grooves are cut, enabling us to perform the information's purpose.  So if we have a fear-based thought that has been embedded in our minds all our lives, we might feel there's no way we can get rid of it, but we CAN!  It takes some deep introspection and time learning to work with ourselves, but we truly CAN transform our thoughts!  Here's the really cool part about Alan's analogy. 

What about erasing a microchip?  To get rid of information on a microchip, the microchip is simply subjected to ultraviolet light.  One pass of the light is sufficient to undo all the memory that has been pounded into it.  He's not saying it's as easy as sitting under an ultraviolet light to clear away all our unwanted, negative thoughts, but he is saying that light, in this analogy, is the same as love.  And when we begin the process of love in our lives, it heals anything, including the deep grooves of our life-long thought patterns.  Pretty cool? 


There is an incredible power and intelligence within each of us that is constantly responding to our thoughts and words.  And as we learn to be aware of our thoughts and consciously choose our thoughts, we align ourselves with this awesome power.  (I call it God, you can call it whatever you like... it's the power of the universe.)

So how does all this fit together with making space in our minds -the mental housekeeping?   Last week I talked about how releasing the old "stuff" that does not benefit us anymore allows fresh, new space in our physical environment.  And when we hold that space for new and better "stuff," we are telling the universe that we are ready for blessings... in this case the "stuff" is our thoughts.  In this case, we're telling the universe that we are ready for new and improved thoughts!!!  By working with ourselves to release our old and perhaps negative or unwanted thoughts that are not serving us well, we are creating space in our mind for new and positive thoughts.  Just as we take the time to create our schedules and our surroundings with space, so must we do this with our minds... perhaps our most powerful tool of all. 


Next week, I'll talk more on the process of mental housekeeping and what has been helpful for me... hope you'll check it out. 

So, today I intend to be aware of my thoughts.  I want to consider which thoughts are serving me and which are not.  And for the thoughts that aren't helping me to be my best, I ask God to open my heart to the possibility of transforming them into something AMAZING!!! 

I appreciate your visit, and hope your week is full of awareness and positive thought!


Stacey