What if I told you…

What if I told you that Heaven and Hell is merely your higher and lower state of mind; that you can travel there in the physical form through whatever vibration you choose to put out?

What if I told you that these are not places you go to when you die because you are an infinite energy that would live forever?

Because Gods don't have religions.

Jim Rohn once said: "I found that when you start thinking and saying what you really want then your mind automatically shifts and pulls you in that direction. And sometimes it can be that simple, just a little twist in vocabulary that illustrates your attitude and philosophy."

Everything about the a person’s life revolves around their thought. In fact, the real personality of any person is the individual on the inside of them. That’s why the bible (Proverbs 23:7) says: "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Charles Dickens said: "We forge the chains we wear in life."

For you to fulfill your destiny in life, you must have a firm grip of your thought life, meaning your mind. Your thought is the processing machine that converts your ideas into realities. If you must get it right in reality, get it right first in your mind.

You must have the desire in your mind, in your heart, in your soul, to get better today than you were yesterday. Your desire is the prime force that propels you forward, against all odds, in life.

The quality of a persons life is a result of the thinking going on in the persons mind. Therefore, their life is a product of their thinking. The personality of the person is a product of their thinking. What they produce is also a function of their thoughts. Good thinking result in good products. The body which is the carrier of your strength also respond to your thoughts.

We have all heard this famous quote: "whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can also achieve." This means, to me at least, that where it all begins is in your thoughts.

We all have our own battles we are currently fighting or battled that we have fought (and won or lost). We are sometime protected by angles or we are attacked by demons. In the spiritual world, these entities manifest themselves as physical beings that we can sometimes see, feel, and hear. But let us put religion aside and think of it in another way: just like Heaven and Hell is a higher and lower state of mind, what if angles and demons are the thoughts we feed our mind?

We all go through our days and we have our moments - both good and bad. I know I had a fair share of good days and bad days. When I had a good day, it was usually because someone said something nice to me; or I had a good dream; or I had an amazing time with family, friends or my girl; or I was extremely productive and successful with work, school, etc. And as a result, I was in a positive state of mind. Not only that, I kept feeding my mind with positive, constructive thoughts. I was feeding my angels. For example, when I would draw something and I was really happy with the drawing, I would show it off. And often, the people responded well to my art. One of my really good friends, Robert – who is also an artist – would often praise my drawings and it would uplift me and strengthened my thoughts. As a result, I started thinking about what else I can do with my art. And an idea formed in my head: “start your own art company.”I did! I called it HenMaid. The logo was a chicken wearing maids clothing. Why? Because all of my art was done by hand on a piece of paper with a pencil, despite the fact that I spend a good sum of money on a drawing pad, laptop, software and a scanner for my art company. I did not make any money out of it, but it was something I created. HenMaid, six years after its creation, inspired and motivated one of my friends to turn it into a clothing line and lunch his own business (#LaCabane). I fed my angels and they brought me to Heaven.

But when the bad days rolled in, I sometimes could not stop the 'negativity-ball' from rolling down and eventually crushing me. That wasn't the worst part. What was worse is that sometimes I would push that ball, either giving it a push start or running down hill with it, making sure it only increases in speed. Let me explain. When something bad happened – could be a small thing or something major – I would sometimes entertain those bad thoughts. On top of that, I would keep feeding those bad thoughts with more bad thoughts. I was purring more fuel into the fire. For instance, when I would go through something bad with my ex – could be a small disagreement or a full-on rumble-in-the-jungle fight (nothing physical, just a bunch of nasty words thrown around) – I would find myself shutting down and going to a dark room in my mind. There, I had a choice between figuring out what went wrong and fixing it, stopping myself from thinking more about it, or entertain my demons and reflecting on what the other person said or imagining and making up scenarios – horrible scenarios – in my head. Turning a bad day into an awful day into…

In the book “Psycho-Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz, the author brings an interesting point.

“Remember that- your automatic mechanism can as easily function as a Failure Mechanism as a Success Mechanism, depending on the data you give it to process and the goals you set for it. It is basically a goal-striving mechanism. The goals it works on are up to you. Many of us unconsciously and unwittingly, by holding negative attitudes and habitually picturing failure to ourselves in our imagination, set up goals of failure.

Also remember that your automatic mechanism does not reason about, or question the data you feed it. It merely processes it and reacts appropriately to it.”

The human nervous system cannot tell the difference between an actual experience and one imagined vividly and in detail according to Matlz. It has been theorized that those who are successfully hypnotized to do amazing things have simply had negative memories purged so they could achieve greatness. It follows that you can consciously purge negative memories and unlock your own innate success. When you begin to feel negative, look for the cause, and dismiss this cause as absurd. Determine that the irrational will not control you. Repeat this practice whenever negative thoughts and memories start to surface. Look for new, rational, positive beliefs that resonate with you.

Rational thoughts must be joined by feelings and desires. Long for who you want to be, and what you want to have. Get excited about these desires. This process is exactly like worrying, except that now you are dwelling on positive, desirable things instead of negative things. As you change your goal picture and engage your positive emotions the possibilities will become more real.

Matlz says that: “Happiness is not something that is earned or deserved. Happiness is not a moral issue, any more than the circulation of the blood is a moral issue… Happiness is simply a “state of mind in which our thinking is pleasant a good share of the time.” If you wait until you “deserve” to think pleasant thoughts, you are likely to think unpleasant thoughts concerning your own unworthiness.”

Happiness is not selfish, wrong, or something to be earned. Being happy leads to unselfishness, creativity, and helpfulness – naturally. Unhappiness leads to terrible, even criminal behavior. Happiness is learned behavior and thoughts. It must be practiced in the present moment, and cannot be made contingent upon solving some external problem. Learning to be happy means being free from the habit of responding negatively to the external things around us.

Working towards goals often leads to feeling happy. It is your thoughts about events that lead to your feelings. If bad things happen, see them as challenges; then, get yourself a goal and start working towards it. In his book, Maltz tells us: “Form the habit of reacting aggressively and positively toward threats and problems. Form the habit of keeping goal-oriented all the time, regardless of what happens.” Use your imagination to picture yourself handling challenges in positive, smart ways.

Happiness is something you do and something you choose. Consciously you must choose to think pleasant thoughts. Perform surgery on your negative thoughts – cut them out – and replace them with positive thoughts. Changing your self-image will impact your habits, and changing your habits will impact your self-image. “When we consciously and deliberately develop new and better habits, our self-image tends to outgrow the old habits and grow into the new pattern.” Most of your actions, feelings, and responses are habit. That means they can be changed.

Living with a failure mechanism in place can slow healing, and lead to overall poor health. Resentment and hatred are also bad for your health. I know because it happened to me. Although I don’t often talk about it, my health at some point declined. And it declined in such a way I have never felt before. I had nerve problems in my left arm; I was couching and my body was aching for two months; I managed to get an infection in both eyes; and my knees were weak (although I did not vomit moms spaghetti on my sweater). In Psycho Cybernetics, Dr. Maltz found that his patients that recovered faster were optimistic, positive thinkers who had a reason to get better – some goal, or something good in their future. “Mental attitudes can influence the body’s healing mechanisms.” This is even obvious with the success of placebo treatments. People who believe they are receiving healing medication improve.

What you believe works in your life will very often work for you. Even your views of aging will impact how you age. There are seven needs that, when fulfilled, lead to a better life. These needs are for love, security, creative expression, recognition, new experiences, self-esteem, and the need for “more life – the need to look forward to tomorrow and to the future with gladness and anticipation.”

This desire for more life leads to more life. “I believe that we establish this need by looking forward to the future with joy and anticipation, when we expect to enjoy tomorrow, and above all, when we have something important to do and somewhere to go.”

Creativity also leads to a longer life. Many creative people produce their greatest works after eighty. It may also explain why some people die soon after they retire. They no longer have a creative or productive outlet.

What do you think about your life? What is your thought about the situation you are going through? Do you believe that things can still get better with you? Your life is like a machine that you can develop, control, and change through your thoughts and beliefs. If you can think it, you can take it.

"He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe." - Marcus Aurelius