Pogue,

So have you decided to be mindful of what you say? I mean after our last letter. And whilst deciding to be mindful did you make note to examine your thoughts accepting that a thought is formed before ever a word is spoken. Yes I know some people will say “I just didn’t think” or “I just opened my mouth and it came out”. But it came out because we’d thought this through so well it’s now a natural reaction. Over time we lay down pathways in our thought process and will just default in certain situations to given patterns of behaviour.

There’s a lot to be said for counting 6 or whatever before responding, especially if you have to deal with something you have feelings about.

Understand, our thoughts are foundational on the path to “Go deep or go home” because it is right here that change must begin. In various spiritual writings there are admonition to become the observer, to stand off and watch yourself if that is at all possible.

What a liberation to realise that the “voice in my head” is not who I am. Who am I then? The one who sees that.

Eckhart Tolle.

You are not the voice in your head. For many that voice is the root of their identity. That’s ‘me’ or ‘I’ in their thinking. But they’re wrong and the fact that we can learn to stand aside and observe this voice, well doesn’t that prove the point? We’ve exchanged letters long enough for you to know you are a spiritual being and if you are prepared to go deep, embrace silence and stillness, you can remember this. Believe me, I know how easy it is to become your thoughts and dwell there as if this is the centre of your being. But it’s an illusion. We’re all much more and we have forgotten.

At the end of the longest journey, your head to your heart, our spirit is waiting to welcome us home.

Anon

Let’s start critiquing our thoughts. Why am I thinking that? What will they cause us to do? Are they positive and do they add to the world? Long before we take any action, speak words, let’s observe them. I say again, you are spirit and as such you can align yourself with all that is spiritual in the world, in fact in the universe. With deeper things. With a world where most remain blissfully igorant of. All about there exists potential, the world is alive with possibility and it’s largely going wasted because our thoughts don’t go there or come from there so neither do our actions. It’s a place where we can rise above what we will come to see as the pettiness of our thoughts. Instead of judging others we will seek to inderstand them. What has gone before in their lives. I agree, wrong actions remain wrong actions and need to be addressed but understanding why someone acts as they do changes our view. Hopefully also changes our approach. It’s commonly said abusers have, in their time, been abused, been the victim. It’s learnt behaviour. It’s much like a person who has grown being told they are not wanted, a mistake, of no value. Over a period this becomes a learnt belief.

If you and I can change our thoughts or better still the way we think, if we raise our own standing in the Universe from a place of judgement or maybe hate and anger to a place of love and compassion we are doing two things. Firstly, with love and compassion we move closer to God conciousness, the ultimate conciousness and this will have a series of effects.

Secondly, we will approach people differently and our interaction will have an affect, a positive affect in their lives. Dr David Hawkins documents how the prescence of people who live in these higher attitudes will positively affect those struggling in lower attitudes. One- on-one a person living in a higher place will cause the other to begin to lift themself up and move away from attitudes and beliefs that have held them. Indeed Dr Hawkins writes of how the prescence of and relationship to such people is more powerful than all the words spoken.

Pogue, reread your Bible. Notice that there are occasions when Jesus just being there was enough. It caused reactions. Positive reactions. Positive energy in your life brought on by consistent positive thought, as you observe and discipline these, can work wonders. And it’s your choice.

It’ll be hard work at the outset. You’ve thought as you have for…ever. Now you are turning the ship around. It will take a long deliberate exercise. You’ll fall down but no failures, only lessons. Then you’ll go on. If it helps, remember that diet determines performance. Make deliberate choices. An athlete aiming to set records doesn’t diet on donuts however much she may crave one. So observe your thoughts and feed them positive uplifting things. Things that encourage and affirm. Steer away from things that provoke low emotions.

There’s so many choices. And whilst there is magic around, you are still going to need to apply discipline. But that’s “Go deep or go home”.

Yours, planning my diet,

Wic