Mind Soul Connection
Greetings all! A reminder that the movie “Sound of Freedom” is in theaters on July 4th. I highly encourage all of you to go watch this film which is a true story/biography about Tim Ballard. With his wife’s blessing, he left a secure career to rescue children, taking on the dangerous cabals who traffic our children. We must get at least 2 million moviegoers on July 4th, which according to Jim Caviezel, (movie star from Passion of the Christ and this movie), represents 1 ticket for each child in trafficking. TWO MILLION of our children worldwide are sex slaves. If that doesn’t break your heart I don’t know what will! I have shed that many tears with more each day! Now on to our sermon:
Today’s sermon is about the mind/soul connection. Where the mind goes, the soul will naturally follow. My concern for myself and others is when negative thoughts and memories blanket us in painful darkness that makes us feel sad, depressed, and hopeless, we want to give up hope for the wonderful life/plan God has for each of us.
Many times we don’t even realize we are dwelling on negative thoughts and in dark places. I know over the past 4 years, with SO MANY negative events, I have been feeling the above emotions often. Even though these thoughts and feelings aren’t represented in the way I live my life, my sermons, or the counseling of others, it lives in my soul and taints the beauty that God has planned for my life.
After the heart attack, (wake-up call) I realized I must have a lot more repressed stress than I thought since my body was physically fit and my diet was/is healthy. I had no “pre-existing” medical conditions that said a heart attack was likely, let alone imminent. Something else pierced my heart and I am certain it is stress. Little by little I have become aware of how often I dwell on the negative things people say and do, rather than being that fierce, faithful warrior in Christ I had learned to be. I have often wondered “What happened to that person” as if I had nothing to do with allowing my mind and soul to be controlled by outside noise. Life had beat me down and I had let myself become a victim of other people’s bad behavior and life’s circumstances.
I am sure that MANY of you feel exactly the same way, and may not be listening to your words and thoughts yet. I highly encourage you to journal 2-3 times a day if you can or just once if time is an issue. Write down your thoughts and feelings. Journal how you are feeling in regard to pain, energy, and overall mood. Don’t read them at first, just write what you are thinking. At the end of the week, read what has been on your mind.
You might discover worry, fear, sadness, revenge, and unforgiveness. It is possible that you are struggling to keep an optimistic and positive outlook on life. Maybe you have given up on those emotions altogether. Since the advent of Covid, more and more people are despondent over the degradation of their lives. Illness and death are all around us, a lack of enough resources to enjoy our lives and for many, a lack of even the basic needs for themselves and their family. There is much darkness around us, much sadness, more sick people, (mentally and physically), and too many “bad” changes, but if you become aware of your “self-talk” you can overcome the negativity by replacing negative words and thoughts with positive ones.
One way is through reading the Bible, especially the New Testament/Gospels. Another is through positive affirmations. Write down things that make you feel happy, hopeful, and optimistic on pieces of paper and place them on your bathroom mirror, in your bedroom, and around your living area. Another is to watch and listen to things that are funny. It is important to put positive and happy things into your mind in order to get positive things into your soul.
The mind/soul connection is real. If you feel God is not near and looking out for you, then your faith is lacking. All of the negative emotions I mention above can crack your faith and hope for a future as described in Jeremiah 29-11. “For I know the plans I have for you” says God “plans for you to prosper and do well.” Have you ever noticed just meeting a stranger who is full of God suddenly puts a million rays of sunshine into your soul? Your eyes light up and your body/burdens feel lighter. Without any change to your external circumstances, you feel better. That’s God!
The goal is for each of us to understand the body/soul connection and BECOME THE LIGHT to others. If all of us would radiate the joy, love, faith, and hope of God, then the energy of this world would become more positive and fuel happiness. People would naturally feel more peace and hope despite the wolves that currently surround us. Feeding the soul positive energy is imperative and that starts with your mind!
As I said earlier, I am speaking from experience and am following my own advice. No matter who you are or how grounded in God, when there is a long period of time when one negative event occurs after another, we are bound to feel downtrodden. Finding God in the midst of the pain means we must connect with our soul and feed it positive mantras. Yes, it is ok to constantly repeat positive affirmations and scriptures in your head and from your mouth in order to turn negatives into positives. In fact, I highly recommend it!
Start with Psalm 147:3 “God heals the broken in heart and binds up their sorrows.” To bind means God constrains our sorrows and fills our hearts with Himself instead. However, we must seek Him and allow our Holy Spirit to be filled with positive thoughts and good actions in order to release optimism and benefit from the promises of God. He promises to never leave us alone! He promises to protect us and be our revenge. He promises He will exact justice, so we need not dwell on those who sin against us. The Bible tells us to “kick the sand off our sandals and move to the next town…” (next person, next situation, etc.)
Positivity and optimism also enable health to flow into your body. Secular studies have discovered that heart patients who think positive thoughts have positive outcomes. In my life experience, this is true for all illnesses and circumstances. Many studies validate my life experience!
Where our mind goes, our soul will follow…
I hope and pray you will join me in making positive self-talk your way of life. I know it isn’t always easy, but if you follow my advice and keep yourself saturated in the hope, peace, love, and other promises of God, you will be surprised how your life suddenly changes from “overcast days to sunny ones!”
If you enjoyed this sermon check out our others here or if you have questions please send us a message.
May you be blessed with health, happiness, peace, and enough… Lisa ><>