Day 281: Protect What Enters Your Mind
There was a saying in the '60s that said, "If it feels good, do it."
It was a hedonistic comment to let go of all the rules and do what feels good. Sex, drugs, etc.
But the deeper meaning is important. It's worth getting tattooed on your brain.
Life is at its best when we're doing what makes us feel good. Not drug-assisted feeling good, but soul-level feeling good.
About 2 months ago, I started posting my YouTube shorts on TikTok. I had avoided it all these years because I didn't feel like it was something I would be interested in.
To let it know I was a real person posting, I started looking for things to watch, and I had a hard time finding anything at all.
The things it suggested were for people in their teens and twenties. I clicked on categories; nothing of interest. I really don't spend time on social media because I'm not interested in most of what's there.
But I had to find something, so I started with animals. And every day when I would go to post, it would show me these dog adoptions from all over the world where the dogs are brought one by one into a room full of people in chairs to pick their new owner. Then it started showing me wild animals reuniting with a person who had helped them years earlier. And now it's on a Golden Retriever kick.
The thing is, I was picky about what I allowed onto my screen the same way I am with anything allowed into my mind. I choose, consciously.
That may sound extreme if we're only talking about a few minutes of scrolling, but a few minutes is still an opening. It's still input. It's still something my mind and body have to process.
You could say, "It's only a few minutes a day, just pick something, do a few likes, and leave it at that." No. It's important to understand what these images and thoughts do to your mind.
There are no neutral thoughts. That is a Universal law. Every thought either makes you feel better or worse. Yes, it's incremental, but every single one moves the needle in one direction or another. And they all add up.
The interesting part is that I now watch one dog video before I post my first video in the morning, because I've noticed how it opens my heart.
By the time I get to this part of my day, I've already been working for 2-3 hours, and a happiness and joy break is welcome. It's a reset. It takes my head out of my work and reminds me what matters in life. Being happy, experiencing love and joy. In general, feeling good.
The Teachings of Abraham say, "If we were in your shoes, we would not let the reality of something be our basis for attention. We would let the feeling-vibration of it be our basis. We would start saying to anyone who was interested in knowing what we were about: "If it feels good, I give it my full attention. If it doesn't, I don't look at it at all." You can and will create the essence of anything that you are giving your attention to."
That is why I stopped watching some of the TV I grew up watching. Why I stopped watching the news. Why I don't watch violence or anything where an animal is mistreated.
I stay informed by getting notifications on important news. Sometimes I click to see the headline and the first few sentences. Just enough so I know what's happening. I'm not the one fixing it, so I don't need all the details. And it would just drag down my energy.
I can be informed without being in the middle of the chaos.
I leave that to people who are good at maintaining their sanity while being in the middle of things like that.
We have to protect our energy. We are no good to others if we are drained or upset.
I have learned to say, "I can't hear this.", and walk away if necessary. I know my emotional limits.
From a spiritual perspective, our mind is part of our temple. It's meant to be part of our sanctuary, not our dumping ground.
I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but this is why it's so important that we continually check in with ourselves all day and ask how we are feeling.
Are we doing, thinking, watching, reading, listening to, or participating in things that take our energy down or raise it?
That doesn't mean we avoid every hard thing. It means we stop pretending we are unaffected by what we repeatedly allow in.
We are affected.
Our bodies are affected. Our nervous systems are affected. Our vibration is affected.
And because our attention is one of the biggest ways we create, we need to become more conscious about where it goes.
A dog video may sound silly. But if it opens my heart, softens my body, brings me joy, and reminds me of love, that is not silly to me.
That's choosing, tending to my inner world. That's giving my attention to something I want more of.
If it feels good at a soul level, give it your attention.
If it takes you down and you don't need it for your life, your work, your safety, or your service, you're allowed to look away.
Your mind is not a dumping ground. It's part of your sanctuary. Treat it that way.
Today's Gentle Practice
Think about one thing you regularly allow into your mind.
Ask yourself:
Does this open my heart or close it?
Notice what happens in your body when you watch it, read it, hear it, or talk about it.
Does your energy rise?
Does it soften?
Does it tighten?
Does it sink?
You don't have to explain your answer to anyone else.
Just choose one small way to protect your inner sanctuary today.
With you,
Lynn
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