"The ability to think is what separates man from other animals; only sometimes that's a good thing."
Today we're going deep, so get ready. Brace yourselves because this one is going to make you...well...think! Keep in mind as you're thinking, that "spiritual", a term I'm going to use a lot, does not mean "religious". I repeat, spiritual does NOT mean religious. It means "that which is not tangible". Or, simply put, the things in your life that belong to you but can't touch with your hands, like...well... your THOUGHTS!
Inside the mind of every man exists the constant battle between good and evil, right and wrong, should and shouldn't. Every minute of every hour of every day, a decision to do one thing conflicts with the decision to do the opposite. We are consciously aware of some of these battles; others we're not. They go on while we are awake as well as while we are sleeping. Though the body may be resting, the mind won't necessarily follow suit. Have you ever awakened on "the wrong side of the bed"? Have you ever gotten up with low energy or with feelings of defeat and not known why? Have you ever awakened with feelings of victory and not known why? You just woke up in a super good mood or a really bad mood with no explanation as to why? It just was what it was? That's because the opposing spiritual influences in your life fought for you and whatever side you chose was celebrating! Let's look at what spiritual influences are. For some, they are God and Satan. For others, they are angels and demons. Still for others, they are pleasant experiences or horrible experiences; new friends vs. old friends. Still yet, family vs. outsiders. But regardless of what they are for you, the battle takes place in YOUR mind. Newsflash: Because the mind belongs to YOU, you can shut it down anytime you get ready! How, you ask? STOP thinking about it! The spiritual influences are just there to get you to make the decision they want you to make. You can keep the battle going or you can give it up. Not give up; give it up. Now that sounds like good news to those who don't like to fight their own battles. Give it up? That's easy. Oh contrere, mon frere. You don't give it over to another person. You have to give it over to the heart--your heart! My heart, you ask? Yes, your heart. NO BATTLE TAKES PLACE IN THE HEART; IT'S ALL IN THE MIND. Your heart doesn't think; it functions on instinct. The heart doesn't think about self. It instinctively does what's right, and if your heart is good, it ain't even personal. (I know. There I go with that word again, but hey. Like I told ya, it's great for emphasis.)
Our ecosystem is a great example of how that works. With no human interference, the lesser animals and insects are guided by instinct as they do what they do in the cooperative effort called nature. They don't think about what's in it for them; they just do what they were put here to do. Well, some of them end up dead, you might say. Of course they do. They're supposed to. It's all a part of the balance of nature. Contrary to what some believe--and this is no slight or put down to anyone's beliefs--many animals were placed here as food. Those used for food are often larger than others, have litters of many, and/or have the ability to breed in a manner that keeps up with their part of nature. Without being eaten, they'd overpopulate and become too numerous, upsetting the balance of nature. Then there are those that aren't necessarily used for food. A major part they play in the ecosystem is to feed on others or to spread materials necessary to build up other parts of nature, which is also part of the design for balance. Yes, some of them end up dead, too. Sometimes as the end of their life cycle. Far too many times as roadkill, but if there were no cars operated by humans, those numbers would decrease drastically. (And for the wise guy reading this, cars operated by animals only exist in YOUR world!) Captivity doesn't always serve them well, either. And of course, they die for other reasons, too, but let's not complicate this any more than we have to. You're thinking way too hard if your mind is going there. Slow your roll, Sid!! (You have to watch PBS to get that one.)
Back to the humans. Instinct in humans, takes place in the heart. If we were led by our hearts and not by our minds, we'd instinctively do what was right for everyone involved. If heart or instinct were our guide, we'd all work together, symbiotically(cooperatively), like traffic lights and traffic. Some of us would know when to go; others would know when to stop. There would be no conflict. When we stop to think about what we're going to do, self gets involved, and anytime self is involved, no one else gets to be. With self, there is no symbiosis, the working together of more than one or more relationship, all for the greater good.
Shutting down your thoughts and giving your issues over to your heart is not as easy as it sounds because it takes time and practice. Not only that, it takes TRUST, and if you're used to having to fend for yourself, trusting, especially without thinking of a plan to protect yourself, is not the easiest thing to do. Life would be great if we could all trust and live by instinct, but since we are thinkers for the most part, here's a piece of advice for life: Be careful of your thoughts! For most of us, the spiritual influences in our lives are our mates, parents, siblings, friends, teammates, neighbors, coworkers, or even strangers. Simply stated, our thoughts are influenced primarily by other people. That's what interferes with our instinct. Someone else is always telling us what to do or what they think. If we take in what they say, they are essentially making our decisions for us. All of us need that in the beginning when we are not mature enough to make good decisions on our own, but when does it end? By now, some of us should be teaching and influencing others to grow, but we're still looking for others to take on that responsibility for us. That, in itself, is not always the problem. The real problem is that we don't stop to check the credentials of those we give the leadership role in our lives! Who is influencing you? Who have YOU appointed to guide your thoughts? Have you checked their credentials? A title like Dr., Rev., Bishop, Father, Apostle, Evangelist, Mom, Dad, Teacher, Sister, Deacon, etc., doesn't guarantee the wisdom, or even common sense, to guide others. It's usually there to make the owner of the title feel good or look important. These days a person can get his/her title from the internet; others are there by default. Be warned.
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