Chapter 2
A Peaceful Mind Generates Power .I prodded him for his plan,
Last night I got into bed and read the 23rd
Psalm. I read it out loud and it did me a lot of good."
Well, there are two cryptic phrases for you — "an ear full of
trouble" and "a mind full of peace." Which do you choose?
The essence of the secret lies in a change of mental attitude.
"A telephone is simply a gadget of
communication. You are some blocks from me, but by
means of the telephone we are together. Besides," I
continued, "the Lord is with each of us. He is at both ends of
this line and in between. He is with you and He is with me."
As a physician said, "Many of my patients have nothing
wrong with them except their thoughts.
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...' To be
happier and healthier they need a renewing of their minds,
that is, a change in the pattern of their thoughts.
In the course of my talk I
suggested that people who were carrying worries in their
minds might go to the stem of the vessel and imaginatively
take such anxious thought out of the mind, drop it overboard,
and watch it disappear in the wake of the ship. Doesn't the Bible
say something about 'forgetting those things that are
behind'?"
immediately start filling your
mind with creative and healthy thoughts. Then when the old
fears, hates, and worries that have haunted you for so long
try to edge back in, they will in effect find a sign on the door
of your mind reading "occupied." fortified,repulse
practice thinking a carefully
selected series of peaceful thoughts. Let mental pictures of
the most peaceful scenes you have ever witnessed pass
across your mind, as, for example, some beautiful valley
filled with the hush of evening time, as the shadows lengthen
and the sun sinks to rest. Or recall the silvery light of the
moon falling upon rippling waters, or remember the sea
washing gently upon soft shores of sand. Such peaceful
thought images will work upon your mind as a healing
medicine. So now and then during every day allow motion
pictures of peace slowly to cross your mind.
Speak peaceful, quieting words, your mind will react in a
peaceful manner. Use such a word as "tranquillity." Repeat
that word slowly several times. Tranquillity is one of the
most beautiful and melodic of all English words, and the
mere saying of it tends to induce a tranquil state.
Another healing word is "serenity." Picturize serenity as you
say it. Repeat it slowly and in the mood of which the word is
a symbol. Words such as these have a healing potency when
used in this manner.
One of the quotations which
he used is from a sixteenth-century mystic, "Let nothing
disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes
away except God. God alone is sufficient."
He was snappy, argumentative, high-strung.
Everyone present knew him quite well and realized he was
under great nervous pressure.
I tried saying it over, especially that line
where it says, 'He leadeth me beside the still waters; he
restoreth my soul.' I liked that line. It sort of got me. I sat
there repeating it over and over — and the next thing I knew I
woke up.
here are other practical ways by which you can develop
serenity and quiet attitudes. One way is through your conversation.
Depending upon the words we use and the tone
in which we use them, we can talk ourselves into being
nervous, high-strung, and upset. We can talk ourselves into
either negative or positive results. By our speech we can also
achieve quiet reactions. Talk peaceful to be peaceful.
On the contrary, start each day by affirming peaceful,
contented, and happy attitudes and your days will tend to be
pleasant and successful.
The words we speak have a direct and definite effect upon
our thoughts. Thoughts create words, for words are the
vehicles of ideas. But words also affect thoughts and help to
condition if not to create attitudes.
Another effective technique in developing a peaceful mind is
the daily practice of silence. Everyone should insist upon not
less than a quarter of an hour of absolute quiet every twenty-
four hours. Go alone into the quietest place available to you
and sit or lie down for fifteen minutes and practice the art of
silence. Do not talk to anyone. Do not write. Do not read.
Think as little as possible.
Throw your mind into neutral.
Conceive of your mind as quiescent, inactive. This will not
be easy at first because thoughts are stirring up your mind,
but practice will increase your efficiency. Conceive of your
mind as the surface of a body of water and see how nearly
quiet you can make it, so that there is not a ripple. When you
have attained a quiescent state, then begin to listen for the
deeper sounds of harmony and beauty and of God that are to
be found in the essence of silence.
I am looking into a garden filled with
graceful palm trees, swaying in the balmy breeze.
The air is
laden with the aroma of exotic flowers. Hibiscus, of which
on these islands there are two thousand varieties, fill the
garden. Outside my windows are papaya trees laden with
ripening fruit. The brilliant color of the royal poinciana, the
flame of the forest trees, adds to the glamor of the scene; and
the acacia trees are hung heavily with their exquisite white
flowers.
Fill your mind with all peaceful experiences
possible, then
make planned and deliberate excursions to them
. in memory.
saturate your thoughts with peaceful experiences,
peaceful words and ideas, and ultimately you will have a
storehouse of peace-producing experiences to which you
may turn for refreshment and renewal of your spirit. It will
be a vast source of power
It is a
panorama of rolling hills, gentle valleys, and singing
streams, the latter clean and sun speckled, and babbling over
rocks. Winding roads meander through pleasant meadows.
Little houses dot the landscape. In a central position is a
white church surmounted by a tall steeple.
No
matter how busy you may be or what responsibilities you
carry, this simple, rather unique practice, having proved
successful in many instances, may have a beneficial effect
upon you. It is an easily practiced, easy way to
a peaceful mind.
"Dear Jesus, as You healed people in the long ago
and gave them peace, heal this man now. Give him fully of
Thy forgiveness. Help him to forgive himself. Separate him
from all his sins and let him know
that You do not hold them
against him. Set him free from them.
Then let Thy peace
flow into his mind, and into his soul,
and into his body.
He follows the laws of God and he has
lots of driving force.
He is a healthy, happy man,
for he has peace in his heart
and mind.
Well, there are two cryptic phrases for you —
"an ear full of trouble
trouble"and "a mind full of peace." Which do you choose?
and turned momentous topic prodded him
plaintively,sneaking haunted repulse
articulation,profound" tranquillity.
"serenity snappy, argumentative, high-strung.
23rd Psalm
fill your personal and group conversations
with positive, happy, optimistic, satisfying
expressions. a quiescent hectic
incredible
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