November 28th 2009 - Restriction and Choice: Part 1

So I am not called a hypocrite, I am not perfect at ANYTHING I am pitching. I have an easier time with some issues than others. Most of the stuff I have written about, I have at least had remarkable improvement. I don't know if you ever get to the end of any of this. I think that perfection is a myth. Any record can be broken. I think that there is a constant evolution. You can always do a little better. If you catch me in a moment of weakness, and I am not taking my own medicine, please remind me. Believe me, I have challenges just like everyone else. I mostly handle them differently than I used to. I find that RESTRICTION is key - restricting the conditioned complaining, whining and obsessing that the mind offers me about a challenge and CHOOSING to think differently about the situation.

For whatever reason, your body will crave all kinds of sweets, processed and junk foods that are bad for your body. If you feed those cravings all the time, you will not enjoy good health. If you RESTRICT those cravings, and choose to eat good foods instead - or at least most of the time - you are much more likely to enjoy good health.

Just like you have to feed the body good food to be healthy, you must feed the mind good thoughts for it to remain healthy. Like the body craves unhealthy foods, the mind has an odd craving for unhealthy thought patterns. The mind constantly feeds itself on obsession, fear, worry, doubt, blame, anger, etc. You can control your mind, though, by RESTRICTING it as soon as possible after it starts feeding on a negative thought pattern. You can then actively CHOOSE good thoughts to feed it. When the mind CHOOSES to feed on anger, you can challenge the mind by refusing to get angry (or by doing the best you can), and by CHOOSING the thoughts you want.

In other words, you can CHOOSE to let the mind control you. This is allowing the mind to do the CHOOSING for you. This is the default option CHOSEN by most people. The problem is that most people are not even aware that there is a CHOICE, just like I was not aware that there was a CHOICE most of my life. You can't make a CHOICE until you are aware that one exists. This is why it is very important not to become judgmental about others, after you improve. You always have to remember that you were once in the same boat. Everybody else in the world is not going to understand a concept just because you now understand it.

OK, so if you are not going to let the mind do the CHOOSING, you can take control of the mind, and make the CHOICES about what to think.

To be continued...

Choose Wisely,
Alan