A Boxed Mind - How To Open It Up.

The limit to what we can recognize is the margin to our liberty. (SHudgins)

Why are children fascinated by boxes? We can decorate them and become robots for Halloween. We store things away in them. We move our things from one place to the next. It holds everything we may or may not need. 

Our mind is like a box. We hide things we do not want to confront. We store things we do not use. We move information in and out of our mind. We can get rid of useless appointments, but we seem to hold onto self-aversion.  We hold onto pain as if it were a security blanket. 

Our mind can often confine God into a small box in order to try to understand or limit His abilities to our standards. The box tries to make sense out of the nonsense and chaos in order for there to be some peace. It is like He becomes a Genie when things go wrong. We wish the wrong would not happen and for Him to make it right by our demands and terms. 

When there is hurt a wall is put up. Soon there are feelings of being confined to the box in our mind. In relationships, sometimes there is a feeling we are stuck in not being able to do anything about it. The lid to the box is the thoughts: should’ve, could’ve, won’t, cant and it will close you inside like the jack-in-a-box.  The box contains these four walls, which are often formed by our thoughts: 

• 1^st wall: Feelings of unhappiness, but feeling there is nothing that would make you happy.

• 2^nd wall: Feeling of failure and no one will ever love or accept you.

• 3^rd wall: Feelings of seclusion by unable to tell anyone your thoughts, because you will be judged or they would be disappointed in you.

• 4^th wall: Feelings of being unworthy because you feel you can't do anything right. 

When you feel discouraged, hopeless, angry or frustrated sometimes you could be boxed in and feeling alone; unable to express your feelings without rejection. Shutting down and not talking is putting yourself in a box, when there can be clarity through the misunderstanding between you and the other person.  Pushing other people away or not allowing others to become close to you is being in the box. 

Our mind produces such strength which affects our mood. How you relate those thoughts to yourself can be uplifting or condemning. Continuous flow of negative thoughts with self-criticism results in a care-free attitude. These thoughts create undo stress. Stress induces the body to react to itself by becoming sick with headaches or weakening the immune system. 

How can we get out of the box?

•  Be self-aware. If you are shutting down and pushing others away by being in a silent moment or the feeling unworthy, then find that one person who is always willing to listen to you. 

• Challenge your wall by taking the thought: “I can’t”. Write out your obstacles. Write out ways around them and create positive statements. Say those positive statements to counter act the negative thoughts.

• Peek outside the box and stimulate your visual sense of the positive successes you have had. Like a photograph of positive memories.

• Reward yourself and celebrating the successes you do have. Write out those steps and create the motivation to initiate the momentum of moving forward.

Finally, be open to new things. Step outside your comfort zone and look outside and reach out to others who are outside of their box. Create your own rules and don’t let them define you.  Going after your dream and failing is a less of a risk than not going after it and having a negative thought of never knowing what could have been. It is easy to be boxed in. It is harder to fight for your dreams and hopes, but you will begin to realize how precious life truly is. 

Changing your perspective on your experiences will free you from everyone else’s insecurities that are projected onto you. It is true the world we live in has high demands and we are expected to be the best. However, we can fear and hide in a box or we can overcome them by thinking differently and choosing not to fear. Love is the motivating factor. It is the gas to the car that will help you run the course of your life with momentum that you are a valuable player in this game of life. 

“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

May you continually forge your attitude in trusting Him and not be boxed in by self-defeating thoughts. I have found prayer is the key of keeping me out of the box.

By Faith, 

Slow down, lest we forget our Purpose

It can be a busy day; often times there are more busy days than the lack of them.  The busyness twirls the mind around like a fair ride that can leave you dizzy and wondering why you got on the ride in the first place. Life can be like that ride and depending on what you make of it will determine if you desire to enjoy the fun or decide to never to get on the scary ride again.

Or you leave one room for another room with a set purpose in mind. Once you get to your destination, there you become side-tracked and forget your purpose for going there in the first place. You become frustrated because you knew you had to do something, but now cannot quite put the finger on it. No matter how many reminders you might have, no matter how many times you try to remember, it eludes you like a wild animal breaking free from your grip.

Our attitudes may define who we are if we are not careful. It is easy to adapt and to relax and become the situation. Almost like a frog in a cold kettle set over a fire that slowly becomes accustomed to the heating water, until it is boiled. How often do we forget our purpose in life? How often do we forget our role in our marriage? How often do we forget who we are as an individual? Many have said that they ‘lost their identity’ and that they are now ‘finding themselves.’

When we lose sight of our main focus we tend to forget. We forget who we are. We lose that identify and purpose for our life. Oftentimes it is like chasing the wind as it carries a piece of paper, our life.  That paper is a written note proclaiming who we are and where we are to go with an intent purpose in mind.

For some people, they seek definition of who they are through their friends. They seek others for approval of their relationships.  They seek others for happiness. They seek their life in this or in that, yet end up empty each and every time. They feel if they tried harder, focused harder, the answer they sought would be found.

 One passage in the bible has always intrigued me. Jesus knew the hearts of men. Just like the night of his betrayal and before it even happened, Jesus explained to Peter that he would deny Him three times and as a reminder of what He told Peter, a rooster would crow after the third denial. This was so that Peter would believe and remind him of what his heart did. Yet, that is not the passage I had in mind.

The passage begins in John 5.  John writes about a man who came to the healing pool daily. He had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. He came to the pool to be healed because angels would come down and stir the water and who entered the pool first would be healed. Jesus knows the hearts of men, but today was different than any other day. Jesus approached the man and He asked the man, “Do you want to be healed?” Why? If I have a purpose of going somewhere then I know why I am there. The man wanted to be healed. Jesus knew it. Why did Jesus notice the man with this question and not heal him like he did countless others?

Jesus wanted to awaken the purpose. We forget who we are and what we are to become when we become busy in our life, or when we tell our self lies, listen to others. While our intent of our purpose is the desire to be healed, we forgot what to do. Misplaced keys, misplaced cell phone because we became intense on the side attractions and so busy we forget to create a memory of where we put our item so that we can retrieve it later.  Have you forgotten the purpose of why you came to Christ and have forgotten how to live? Maybe religion has suffocated you and snatched the true freedom you were called to be in. Maybe it was a marriage that suffocated you in not reaching your full potential. It might even be selfish thoughts, which have prevented you from obtaining your full potential. Sometimes it can be the distraction or the self-defeat thoughts we tell ourselves that we are never good enough. I will never reach my goal, so what is the use. The invalid man in John 5 told Jesus that he couldn’t roll into the pool and that no one would ever help him, and thus, that he would never be healed. He lost sight of his purpose.

What is your purpose in life? Do you want to be healed? Find that inner voice deep and focus on Christ that will give you the power and the energy to walk and to be healed. The question to ask is, “Are you willing to take the first step that might seem so unnatural at first?” We have to rid ourselves of the past in order to walk the past. To rid the past is through forgiveness of us and others. To be healed is to understand that the power is not in the water. The power is in our determination to focus on Christ and doing what He commands us to do. The next time you feel misplaced, look up and pray and stay in constant communication with Him. He is reminding us every day our intentions and purpose of walking with Him. Others may say too fast to soon, not to do this, not to do that, but is it the will on man’s voice or the will of the Father that knows best? Be still and focus on Him and listen to his voice and you will find that purpose He has placed into your heart.

Will you be courageous enough to take the first step and walk?

The next time life deals you with a blow and you feel paralyzed, do not forget your intent and purpose of where you are going. When we walk with Him, he will guide us into the paths of righteousness. Are you willing to have the faith that Forges Attitude In Trusting Him?