Take Captive Our Thoughts
Are you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, fearful, frustrated because of the demands of life; distracted and struggling to complete tasks or projects that you really want to accomplish. Or how about those changes in mood that occur from one day to the next leaving you feeling out of balance and just not yourself.
There can be many reasons underlying these emotions and experiences. I would want us to consider the impact of our thought life. Our thoughts hold a frequency and vibration in our bodies because of the chemicals in the brain that they emit. Both negative and positive thoughts create these chemicals that can be either toxic and harmful or encouraging and helpful to our overall well-being. These thoughts for many of us are ruminating, condemning, fearful thoughts that create toxic emotions impacting our bodies and immune system. If stuck long enough in a chronic state of a fear-based condemning thought life, we find ourselves tired, exhausted, worn out, stressed, and potentially sick. Many times and far too often chronic stress can lead to significant health-related illnesses and dis-ease.
According to Dr. Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist, 75 to 95% of illnesses are directly related to our thoughts. Even more reason to pay attention to our thoughts and learn how to take hold of them. Let's choose to renew our minds by taking the first step of change toward awareness, meaning slow down, pause and consider the connection of what we feel to what we think. As Buddha suggests, "What we think, we become."