STOP! Don't Change Your Thinking

Most of us are familiar with the popular adage that says “Change your thinking; change your life.” As far as I can discern this phrase was first introduced by author and self-development trainer, Brian Tracy, in the book by the same name. Popular self-help author and motivational speaker, Dr. Wayne Dyer, later popularized the idea in his best-selling book, Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life. Subsequently, other speakers and authors, including Pastors Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen, have propagated this teaching in the more mainstream conservative religious movement. Of course, the idea did not begin with any of them. The belief in the power of our thoughts dates back centuries and forms the foundation for the New Thought movement of which Unity is a part.

In fact, one of Unity’s five basic principles, as stated on the Unity.org website is “We create our life experiences through our way of thinking.” In her book, The Five Principles, Unity minister and author Reverend Ellen Debenport restates this principle as, “Human begins create their experiences by the activity of their thinking. Everything in the manifest realm has its beginning in thought.” As a result of this teaching, we as students of Unity spend a great deal of time and energy attempting to control our thinking in an effort to create the life experiences we desire.

Simply stated, changing our thinking changes our experiences. The principle is that we experience life as a result of our beliefs, which are established according to the thoughts we habitually think. Many of us who have been a part of the movement for some time have read books, attended various workshops, classes and retreats, all promising to teach us how to “change our thinking” in order that we may manifest the lives we desire. We have learned how to use denials to clear our minds of limiting thoughts and to use affirmations to fill our minds with positive thoughts that assist us in demonstrating our desires. While they are beneficial, there are times our thinking has not significantly changed after years of using the tools of denials and affirmations. It then becomes easy to wonder just how long it will take and how much effort must be exerted in order to make the changes we desire. To paraphrase Albert Einstein, “You cannot solve the problem with the same mind that created it.”

While it is true that our way of thinking greatly impacts what we experience, there is more to the story and it is now time for us to move beyond focusing solely on the mind. It is time for us to shift the focus of awareness to our heart. This does not mean that we have to dismiss the foundational philosophy of Unity. We are being called to build on that foundation, expand our awareness, and embrace yet another level of understanding. Charles Fillmore, the co-founder of Unity very clearly stated that we cannot change our thinking by relying on “the thinking faculty located in the head.” He stated,

“The most important power of man is the original faith-thinking faculty. We all have the thinking faculty located in the head, from which we send forth thoughts, good, bad, and indifferent. If we are educated and molded after the ordinary pattern of the human family, we may live an average lifetime and never have an original thought. The thinking faculty in the head is supplied with the secondhand beliefs of our ancestors, the dominant beliefs of the race, or the threadbare stock of the ordinary social whirl. This is not faith-thinking. Faith-thinking is done only by one who has caught sight of the inner truths of Being, and who feeds his thinking faculty upon images generated in the heart.

Faith-thinking is not merely an intellectual process, based upon reasoning. The faith-thinker does not compare, analyze, or draw conclusions from known premises. He does not take appearances into consideration. He is not biased by precedent. His thinking gives form, without cavil or question, to ideas that come straight from the eternal fount of wisdom. His perception impinges upon the spiritual and he knows.” – Charles Fillmore, Keep A True Lent

The thoughts that come from the thinking faculty located in the head originate in the hard drive that is the subconscious mind. Similar to the hard drive in a computer, the subconscious takes in and records information from various sources, primarily from our families of origin, collective consciousness, and whatever we choose as our source of information and entertainment, whether television, movies, novels, or other. This hard drive becomes the source of our thinking. Unlike the computer hard drive, however, there is no convenient and effective ‘delete’ button for the subconscious. We have done our best to delve into the subconscious mind and eliminate the beliefs that do not serve us. And, at times we have stimulated a great deal of pain and suffering for ourselves in the process. It is time for us to STOP.

It is now time to embrace the fact that this method does not produce permanent positive effects. It is futile to believe that by using the mind we can change the mind. It is time for us to accept this, let go of the struggle and, as Mr. Fillmore said, allow the thinking faculty to be filled with images generated in the heart, which is the seat of true wisdom. It is time to embrace a new paradigm, and begin to allow the heart, not the head, to be the source of our thinking.

We achieve this, not be resisting the thoughts or by attempting to change them, but by surrendering to them. When thoughts arise, we can invite the wisdom of the heart to take the lead by taking a deep breath and feeling the breath move into the region of the physical heart. Mr. Fillmore said the physical heart is the representation of the Divine Heart which is the source of all. He said, “God is the great heart of the universe.” As we feel the heart center expanding with the breath, we can imagine the energy of Love as a light that emanates from the heart. As we allow the Light of Love to extend from the heart into the region of the head, we see that light cleansing the head-centered thinking, and filling the thinking faculty with images from the heart. We then breathe into the images, allowing them to reveal themselves to us without evaluating, analyzing or comparing them to the things the head-thinking faculty has stored and thinks it knows. We relax and allow the heart wisdom to be the source of our thinking.

These images may at first seem foreign and we may not immediately comprehend them. This is normal. In response, the head-thinking faculty will typically attempt to categorize these images and make them fit into its usual way of interpreting things. It is important not to resist, but instead breathe even deeper into the awareness of the Love Light in the heart, continuing to allow it to reveal its true wisdom. In this way the heart-thinking (or faith-thinking) faculty is strengthened.

I encourage each of us to not work at changing our thinking. Instead, we allow our thinking to be changed by focusing on the true Source of all wisdom. In doing so, we use the power of Mind and Heart to bring into manifestation a world that reflects Divine Love and Wisdom. That is the Essence of each of us. When we do that our lives are changed and we live the extraordinary richness of a life centered in the heart.

J.D. Messinger is our very special guest speaker and workshop facilitator this coming Sunday, April 17. I hope you will join us for a day of exploration and discovery as he brings his powerful message, “The Binding Force – What binds is greater than what divides.” For more information, please visit his website – JDMessinger.com.

On Sunday, April 24, I will begin a series of lessons entitled "Life is Art," focused on how we "create" our reality, including the power of thinking. I hope you will join me as we explore its deeper meaning and how we can apply it in our lives.