| Perhaps the most basic of all the 'mental laws', and | | | | If you really did imagine sinking your teeth into that |
| one hopefully drummed into every student of | | | | lemon and squeezing the juice into your mouth then a |
| psychotherapy and the mind, is that every thought has | | | | couple of things will probably have happened: The |
| a consequence. | | | | muscles of your jaw will have automatically tightened |
| Yet so often in our day to day lives we choose to | | | | as you did so and there will have been an increase of |
| see thoughts as simply abstract things - we think them | | | | saliva in your mouth. |
| and then forget about them, as if they had never | | | | Now, we know that the flow of saliva is not under the |
| existed. No harm in this, we reason, it's just a thought. | | | | control of the conscious mind; it's controlled by the |
| Unfortunately, there are dangers in this way of thinking. | | | | unconscious mind. It simply cannot be willed. |
| Believing that thoughts themselves have no real and | | | | What's happened, of course, is that the subconscious |
| actual affect upon us, we can so very easily allow | | | | mind cannot distinguish between real and imaginary. |
| even the most negative thought to go unchecked and | | | | For it, a thought is treated as a reality and an imagined |
| unchallenged. After all, we reason, it's only a thought, it | | | | lemon is as real as an actual lemon. The simple act of |
| doesn't really matter. | | | | thinking about sinking your teeth into a lemon is enough |
| It's as if we believe that thoughts are wispy and | | | | to produce the exact same physical affect as if you |
| insubstantial things, with no real existence, capable of | | | | had really done so. |
| dissipating and disappearing into the ether once we | | | | A thought which existed in the mind has had a tangible |
| have experienced them. Perhaps it's because our | | | | effect on the body. |
| thoughts are such private things that it's easy to | | | | In India, the very real nature of thought has been |
| imagine them as insubstantial and intangible. | | | | recognised for milleniums. There, astrologers make |
| This of course can only happen if we hold the belief | | | | horoscopes for the birth of a thought or a question, in |
| that the mind and the body are quite separate, | | | | order to better understand it. It is a practice that has |
| disparate entities, each with its own distinct domain, | | | | survived thousands of years. This branch of astrology |
| operating independently of each other. | | | | is called horary astrology. For these astrologers, a |
| The truth, of course, is that mind and body are indeed | | | | thought is something very real and tangible. |
| interconnected, with each affecting the other. Each | | | | The fact is that the thoughts we think affect us on |
| thought we think has its consequence. And those | | | | many levels, including the physical. This means that the |
| consequences can indeed have a tremendous affect, | | | | thoughts we have and the things we tell ourselves, |
| not only on our mind and our feelings, but also on our | | | | about ourselves, in the privacy of our own mind affect |
| body. Negative or positive, thoughts do indeed have a | | | | not only how we feel, but what we become. After all, |
| very real affect upon us. | | | | if thoughts have physical consequences, then they can |
| Let me illustrate this with a simple little exercise that | | | | make us ill or well. |
| nicely demonstrates the tangible effects of thought - | | | | When you find yourself thinking negatively, or |
| and the interconnectedness and inseparability of mind | | | | experiencing a period of difficulty in your approach to |
| and body. To do this, I am going to ask you to use | | | | the world, when you find yourself thinking thoughts |
| your imagination. | | | | such as: 'I'll probably come down with...'; 'I'll never be able |
| Imagine yourself walking over to your refrigerator. As | | | | to..'; 'I'll probably only fail...'; 'I don't really deserve...'; |
| you open the door, there's the soft sound of the seal | | | | immediately replace the thought with a positive |
| being broken and perhaps the feeling of cold air | | | | statement or affirmation. And repeat it at least 10 |
| escaping. Now, imagine that there's a lemon in there | | | | times. Make a habit of this and you can change your |
| and imagine yourself reaching in and taking that lemon | | | | reality. |
| out. Perhaps it feels a little cold in your hand, as you | | | | Here are some examples you can use, and of course |
| bring it over to a board or somewhere you can safely | | | | you can create your own as you go along. Select one |
| cut it. | | | | and use it for at least a month. |
| Now imagine yourself taking a knife and slicing the | | | | 'I am becoming balanced and whole in body, mind and |
| lemon in half, lengthways. Perhaps you can see the | | | | spirit' |
| white, pithy part and some seeds too, as juice trickles | | | | 'The past is over now and I am free to move on with |
| out. Now cut the lemon again, so that you have a | | | | my life' |
| quarter, a nice wedge. Lift it up and hold it under your | | | | 'I am alive, healthy and free' |
| nose. Perhaps you can almost smell the pungent lemon | | | | Be sure to repeat your positive statement 10 times |
| aroma. Now, quickly imagine yourself taking a great big | | | | when you awaken in the morning and just before |
| bite into that lemon. Really squeeze it so that the juice | | | | sleeping at night. Repeat it any time you find yourself |
| spurts into your mouth and onto your tongue, maybe | | | | engaging in negative thinking. Remember, practice is |
| some of the juice even trickles down your lips onto | | | | the key here. Simple persistence produces real results! |
| your chin. | | | | 'What we are is the product of what we have thought. |
| Exercise over. | | | | It is founded on thought. It is made up of our thoughts. |