Inward transformation begins with self-reflection. You have to train your mind to be able to filter information.
When I was younger I was told that your thoughts, all of them, are actually yours. I was led to believe that I was a bad person if a bad thought came up. I soon realized that bad thoughts were coming up and I wouldn’t have any idea where they came from. I started cancelling and rejecting bad thoughts. I no longer allowed them to linger. That is how you train your mind to filter information so that you can experience an inner transformation. We all know how a filter works right?
Let’s say you have some water with pieces of dirt mixed in. Of course you would want the water to be purified before you tried to drink it so you would pour the water in a strainer. The strainer allows the water to flow through but it will hold back all of the solid pieces.
When a negative thought pops up in your mind you can filter it, put it in a mental strainer, and all of the dirt (bad) that is in that thought will be held back.
Strain the thought by telling yourself, “this thought is not of me and I reject it!” Then, immediately replace it with a positive thought. You have to always choose to discard a negative thought in the exact moment and overwhelm it with many positive thoughts.
Purifying your mind allows you to self-reflection. It allows you to pull from your memory all of the good that you have experienced, all of the Giants you have defeated, and all of the hurdles that you have leaped ove
r. When you find yourself in a bad place then it’s time for some self-reflection.
When you self-reflection, bad thoughts may come up. That does not mean that something is wrong with you. Let’s denounce the teaching that makes you think that if a bad thought comes up then you are bad. Bad thoughts will come up. There is no way to control that. What you can control is whether you choose to forget them or file them.
Self-reflection and pull out the good that you have stored in your mental filing cabinet.
Your mental filing cabinet should be stored with victories and pleasant memories. Reflect on that!
