DEFINING REALITY WITH OUR THOUGHT

Thoughts, are such a strange but great part of us. They form part of our cognitive abilities and thus, influence perception. They are constantly being welled up even at this moment as you read this. You can be conscious of them or passively aware of the thoughts you hold yet they gradually define how we eventually comprehend the general life, things, people or situations around us.

One way of achieving this alignment of thought that is biased in perception is by conditioning. When we are constantly exposed to particular ideas or situations to the degree that we are almost aware of nothing beyond those, we oftentimes end up being conditioned to perceive those ideas or situations as reality. We can hardly see or understand life outside of that confine because our thoughts have made them familiar.

One man wrote and said, "reality is only that which you are aware of. Whatever you aren't aware of is not real to you," and nothing has been truer. If noticed keenly, we all define things or situations to be real based on our interactions with and awareness of them. Awareness is what builds whatever we call reality. If you have constantly seen a cow fly,  it will be real to you but to one who has not had an encounter; the one unaware of flying cows, it is not real but a mere fallacy if anything.

In several places, especially the regions of the Orientals, meditation is a practice that has been considered for hundreds of centuries. It is done to achieve mental stability and calm the mind and soul. For years, they understood how thoughts can shift courses of life and subsequently nations if not put to order.

Decisions come from thoughts. We first, think, then decide; whether we thought concretely or not, decision is a derivative of one's thought process. Life as well, is a product of our thinking. To each person, their own reality. Again, based on what the awareness that they are accustomed to. If a man thinks that he is not good, unworthy or hated, his mind will register those thoughts as real, and for all his life, he will interpret every interaction with people, things, and situations as though they are working against him. That will be to them, their reality. Likewise, if they see themselves as good, loved and needed, they will perceive their interactions with people, things and situations in that manner and approach life with like-mind.

Therefore, what one chooses to consider to be real is only because they have settled to be aware of it and are not letting anything or anyone else impress upon them a different experience. Shifting from a conditioning can be a tough choice to make but the beauty of life is that faculties as superficial as the mind can have such strong influence on what life is to us. "As a man thinks, so is he," is a seemingly basic yet powerful truth of how we can easily alter the courses of our lives.

If we constantly live a life filled with a pessimistic approach to things or toward people, we shall reap negativity. In the same spirit, if we are optimistic, we can very easily catch glimpses of uplifting energies and experiences. In brief, it's the natural concept of reaping and sowing. You sow and reap after the kind of that which you sowed.

How about you choose positivity? You choose to challenge your mind to avoid entertaining negative thoughts that do nothing more than drain you. If we can think, then we can become aware, and if we can become aware, then we can create reality. To help us, the Bible prescribes what is necessary to think about and it says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8).

This is why reality is subjective because you have the power to change it. Reality is a subscription. As mentioned earlier, meditation is intended to calm the soul. The soul is the faculty of thoughts, feelings and reason. This means that if you feed your thoughts rightly, you will have a more vibrant soul. The same applies to bearing the right feelings but one thing to note is that, feelings are compressed thoughts.

If you meditate on thoughts for long, they become feelings. Your emotions take upon the nature of thoughts you hold. In other words, if you can control your thoughts, you can as well control your feelings. Adopt a habit of positivity in life because it creates an atmosphere that favours hope, love and faith to grow; three virtues needed for a fruitful life. Negativity on the other hand breeds fear and holds us back from exploring the vastness that life has to offer. 

By Mukisa Bruno