This Week's Quotation:
God is the mind with which I think. I will not allow the thoughts of the world to hold me back. Under all the senseless thoughts and mad ideas with which I have cluttered up my mind, are the thoughts I think with God.
~ A Course in Miracles, Lesson 45
Thinking with the Mind of God
To bring Presence to our world requires that we think with the mind of God. A facet of our human mind though, often creates a lot of commotion that interferes. That noise-maker is often referred to as the monkey mind. It seems to enjoy making a fuss about everything.
Here’s the deal. Even though the reductionist, mechanical, dualistic worldview has been proven defective, its paradigm is still deeply ingrained and embedded in the human subconscious. Neuroscientists tell us that our subconscious mind controls 95% of our thoughts. In other words, human realities have evolved, but the monkey mind hasn’t caught up—it’s still captive of an outdated story. As a result, the human mind is undergoing a reality adjustment.
The neurological pathways for these habits of separative thought run deep. When the mind starts to ponder, Why did they do that? Or, What am I going to do about this!? The monkey mind can rant on and on with mentally disempowering shenanigans. Helpful answers will evade us if we’re not thinking with the mind of God.
I approach my mind as a sacred garden. I adopted this practice from Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroscientist that is now thriving after a devastating stroke. There are weeds to remove from the garden of our mind to make room for the life-enhancing neural pathways being planted. The brain’s plasticity ensures that new neural pathways will replace the weeds. When we tend to our mind, eliminating what’s useless, we remain Present, here, now, as if just born.
It’s often said that our mind is the only thing we need to change. It requires astute mindfulness. The simple decision to cultivate a mind that never harms any being in thought, word, or deed welcomes God’s thoughts to pour in and create new neural pathways for God’s thought train to follow.
As we’ve all experienced, the mind is a precious resource when it thinks with the mind of God. Small changes made in our perceptions each day add up to major transformations quickly. Best of all, a life shaped by the thoughts of God is a marvel to behold indeed.
About Open Windows
We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world's sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.
We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.
5 Responses
Terri, this is brilliant and inspiring. Thank you.
I will treat my mind as a garden today.
Thank you, Terri, course in Miracles and David (see his comment below). I am thinking of Phillipians and “the mind which was in Christ Jesus” . I am also thinking of “let your thoughts be my thoughts” … yes, may my mind be an expression of the Higher mind known only through surrender, trust, and Presence. Love always, Tom
The kind of mind and thinking that you so beautifully describe, Terri, doesn’t mean that we close out all thoughts from the world. To me this simply means that we are not controlled by them and actually use all the information that comes to us as a means of spreading the thoughts of God into the world.
Terri – I love the metaphor of weeding the garden – it is way to easy to just ignore what is being pushed our or covered up – and it feels so fresh to see what is at the depths and bless those things…..
Very beautifully conceived and written. Thank you for the inspiration