The Power of the Heart and the Mind.

It is a peculiar thing that every one of us recognizes that we have a mind and emotions; that we know what we are talking about when we discuss them with others and everywhere in the world, when the mind and the emotions are mentioned, people recognize what it is that is being discussed yet... most people are unaware of what these things actually do and how to operate them to their greatest benefit.

The tabloids are filled with directions on how to win love and attract a mate. They chatter on endlessly about diet and money and whatever trivial thing might be in the public’s notice. It’s an endless river of homespun wisdom and advice woven out of a fabric that runs and tears the moment it encounters water or wear. It’s the easy lie masquerading as truth and inevitably it leads to a product that you can purchase, which was the whole idea of the article or news report in the first place.

Then there is the other level of psychological perspective which has its feet in the trivia and its head in the clouds. It is also invariably connected to a product. These products span the gamut from pharmaceuticals to ritual. Doctors dispense compounds designed to mollify your discomfort at trying to come to terms with your heart and your mind and the world outside. People crisscross the globe proffering techniques that will make you balanced and successful. It can be assumed that some people get some benefit from some of these.

As with anything, the people who want the real answer and the real solution are in the minority. Everyone says they want the thing that actually works but when confronted with their own responsibility in respect of it they veer off in search of something more convenient and immediate. It’s like yoga and healing modalities. If you can appear to get the results from weekend seminars and ten day intensives why would you want to have to practice it all the time throughout your life to get results? This is especially true when great transformation is required and the attendant sacrifice comes into play.

Of course, if you love doing something for the sake of doing it, the benefits are ‘almost’ incidental. You just love doing it. Those who love doing anything get very good at it. Let’s look at the mind and the emotions now and see if we can’t agree on some definitions and then get back to application. If either one of us gets lost let’s just stop where we are and the natural loop will bring us back to the same place at some point (grin).

Trying to define the mind or the emotions could require that this essay never completes. There would always be more to say and more questions that followed. We don’t need that confusion. We only need to gain enough definition to provide some mutual understanding to build on. We only need a little understanding.

Let’s think of the mind as a house with a basement. There is also an attic but we won’t be going there on this round. The house is where you live and the people who enter and leave all day long are the thoughts. In the basement are other thoughts and the automatic habits and routines you’ve made part of you and a number of sunken chests. Your deeper urges and fears live there and they enter the house on their own. Or when summoned, all day long.

You can’t see them as well as you can the thoughts that enter the house through the front door but you are made aware of them by their impact on you and the other thoughts. You are made aware of them by how you feel and act when they enter the living room. They are stronger thoughts, better defined and outlined. You might well wonder, given their greater presence, why you can’t see them as well as the other thoughts... but that might be how some of them got so big and strong in the first place. How did they get big and strong? You feed them with your attention. Your attention might be that of desire or fear. You can fill in the blanks. In many cases, some of these thoughts seem to be stronger than you are. It accounts for all of the things that people do and say and that you hear about every day or learned about in school. It accounts for all of it.

If I told you that you could have everything that you ‘really’ want and that you could be successful and free from want, you might be interested, or doubtful. Let’s address those who are interested, after all, this doesn’t cost you anything and there’s no product at the end of the post. I’m going to cut to the chase because I could wander around in here for weeks and months and, well... there it is.

Think of your mind as a house that you live in ALL the time. We won’t address the sleep side of the issue now but there is one. Think of what powers the appliances, the heat and lights. What powers everything are your emotions. You can think of your car as your mind as well and the fuel as your emotions. The emotions are also the food that the people who come into the house -from the front door and from the basement- eat.

Think of the world outside as a greater mind in which all of the smaller minds live. Consider that the idea of more than one mind is a problem you need to get over but... another time for that part of the story. Let’s just stay with your house and your power source.

Whatever is going on in your house is going on with your permission. It is true that people are going to wander in all day because you permit and have permitted this. They are going to climb up from the basement too... because you have permitted this. One day, the day might come when you decide to become a door warden at both the front and basement doors. By allowing and denying entrance you can control everything that happens in the house and also whatever happens in the world outside in relation to you. One affects the other just as the other already affects you now.

Some of the people coming up from the basement are going to be rowdy. They are not used to being told to take a hike. The first thing you have to realize is that you are stronger than the strongest one of them and that they weaken with every denial of entrance. In the meantime, by encouraging and attracting specific thoughts into the house, you strengthen your capacity to deal with all comings and goings and you also have unlimited power to draw on- your feelings- and to do as ‘you will’. This ability can be remarkably increased depending on your understanding of Will.

I don’t know your situation. It could take you some time to know just who to let in and who to keep out. It might take you a long time to get serious about it and that is the key. It can be painful to do and many of these thoughts know you well and are going to plead for food and company. Some of them can be very persuasive and inventive. You have to starve them to death. You can’t feed all of them and some won’t come when you are feeding others. It’s up to you which thoughts are going to live in this house and whether your house becomes a sail boat that cruises through life or a plane that soars in the heavens. Everyone you meet is dealing with this one way or another. Everyone is dealing with the same thing all of the time. Though everyone wants the same thing, few of them are ready to make the adjustments to acquire it and peer pressure plays no small part in this.

The things of the world are always coming and going and always around. Some people have more than they will ever need and along with those who do not, they both have much less than they want. However, there is only one thing worth having and everything that you need and want comes along with it, if you can get it. This is the meaning of that phrase, “seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all of these things will be added unto you.” It’s really all about setting your house in order and you can do it at any time. It’s the only problem anyone has... ever.

Just you start practicing crowd control and watch and see who shows up wanting to come past the velvet ropes. The bigger surprise will be when you discover who is already in the house and has gone unnoticed amidst the clamor. Of course, this could very well result in your being led to a mountain top and offered everything that the world has. I suspect you will know what to do at that time, given that you already possess the world and everything that is in it, even though you may not want it at all. One of the great mysteries and deceptions is to have someone who doesn’t exist offer you something you already possess.

Visible sings: ♫ It Must Be Love ♫
'It Must Be Love' is track no. 8 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Color Ball'