Words, Thoughts and Emotions – Evil or Good?

What you think about expands. Your thoughts, your words, what you watch, and what you listen to, all feed your spirit in one way or another. If you feed your spirit negative, low energy thoughts, you are weakening yourself and your vital energy. If you feed your spirit positive, high energy thoughts, you are strengthening your spirit, mind and body.

A good analogy of this universal truth is found in the body itself. If you feed your body junk food, lots of sugar, overindulge in alcohol, do drugs, smoke, etc., then your body will get weaker, develop disease, and eventually stop working properly.

On the other hand, if you feed your body a diet of good, healthy, nutritious food, your body will function properly, you will have good health, and your energy level will be good. The choice is up to you. Will you develop healthy habits for your body or will you just roll the dice and give it no thought?

Here you may be thinking, “Yeah, but I know Jack, and he is 90 years old, has been drinking and smoking since he was a kid, eats terrible, doesn’t exercise, and doesn’t care.” Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but in general, your body responds to the fuel that you provide it.

Again, you may argue, “Well, I have been eating fast foods, drinking, smoking, and not exercising, and it hasn’t hurt me.” Here you would be wrong. Just because you haven’t seen the affects of your actions yet, doesn’t mean that your actions are not affecting you. Your thoughts, words and emotions work in the same fashion.

You do not instantly see the effects of your thoughts and words, just as you  do not instantly have a heart attack the second you eat some very fatty, artery-clogging food. The effects of your thoughts, words and emotions are accumulative. But have no doubt, they are having an affect on your life. You are feeding your spirit throughout the day, and it is either growing stronger or weaker, depending on what quality thoughts and words you are feeding it, and what emotions you allow to dominate your mind.

Thoughts such as anger, guilt, resentment, revenge, envy, etc., are all low energy thoughts and weaken you. Whereas, thoughts such as love, kindness, peace, joy, hope, compassion, generosity, etc. are high energy thoughts which strengthen and nourish your mind, body and spirit. They will bring happiness to your life, where low energy thoughts will bring you stress and keep you unhappy.

It is actually just as important, if not more so, to feed your spirit good “food” as it is to feed your body good food. Monitor your thoughts and your speech. Don’t leave this part of your life to chance anymore than you leave the health of your body to chance. Both are have their consequences, even if you don’t immediately see them.

Bohdi Sanders
The Wisdom Warrior



The Karma of Thoughts and Intentions

Nothing can exist without a cause.
Voltaire

What if karma was based on our true intentions instead of merely our actions? This would certainly seem to make our thoughts much more important, especially if you believe in the karma, the law of cause and effect. It is commonly believed by many people that our actions, both good and bad, will come back to us in one form or another. But actions can be deceiving. Many actions which appear honorable and good actually have hidden agendas and less than honorable intentions.

With this in mind, let’s examine karma a bit deeper. The law of karma basically means that the present quality of your life is determined by your behavior in the past. For example, if you have been a good person and spent at least some of your time helping others in the past, you may find that people seem to offer you help when you need it today. On the other hand, if you have been mean and nasty to people in the past, you can expect that same attitude to revisit you in the future, in one form or another.

A simple way of looking at karma is whatever you send out in this world will eventually come back to you. If you send out love, kindness, and harmony, then those wonderful traits will eventually manifest in your life in the future. But, as with everything in life, there are two sides to the karmic coin. The law of karma does not discriminate. If you mistreat people, are mean and nasty, cheat people, manipulate people, etc., you can expect those actions to eventually catch up with you too.

It is a pretty simple concept to grasp. Your actions, both good and bad, will come back to you at some time during your life. For every action, there is a reaction. Everything you do carries a consequence of some kind, whether good or bad. Most people who believe in the reality of the law of karma, or as many in the West prefer to call it, the law of cause and effect, accept the belief that our actions have consequences. But what about our intentions and thoughts; are they also susceptible to karma?

There is no act, however trivial, but has its train of consequences.
Samuel Smiles

The field of quantum physics has now proven that our thoughts contain energy. Thoughts are forces. Negative thoughts contain negative, low level energy; and positive thoughts contain positive, high level energy. Every thought that you have, produces some effect, just as every action produces some effect. While it is true that the effect of many of our thoughts is minimal, they do produce an effect nonetheless.

If this is true, and it is, then why would our thoughts and internal intentions be exempt from the law of karma? Are we not just as responsible for the thoughts that we entertain as we are for the actions which we take in our lives? Of course we are. You and you alone, are responsible for your thoughts, at least the thoughts that you allow your mind to dwell on for any length of time. And, you are surely responsible for the intentions behind your actions.

This brings me back to the original question, what if our thoughts and intentions are susceptible to the law of karma, just like our actions are?

There would be no hiding malicious intentions behind the veil of what appears to be honorable actions, at least not from the universal laws of the Universe. The thoughts that we dwell on would produce effects in our life just like our actions do. Our thoughts and intentions would become as important as our actions, at least as far as the building of our future life is concerned.

Do evil thoughts of retaliation injure oneself or one’s enemy?
Nagarjuna

Well, I have some news for you. Karma does apply to your thoughts and intentions. Do you think that the Great Spirit of our Universe cannot see the intentions behind your actions? Are you so clever and cunning that you can con the Universe by hiding your less than admirable intentions behind the veil of your seemly good, but empty actions? Can you manipulate karma like you manipulate naïve, trusting  people who cross your path? I don’t think so!

Karma cannot be conned. What you send out, in any form, will come back to you. It doesn’t matter if it is evil, selfish actions, or malicious, negative thoughts and intentions, you will reap what you sow. Your intentions do matter. It is your intentions behind your actions which make your actions honorable or dishonorable, not the action itself.

Thoughts give birth to intentions, and intentions give birth to honorable or dishonorable actions. This is a package deal. Your thoughts, intentions, and actions cannot be completely separated.

Think of these as parts of a recipe and once you mix them all together, there is no separating them again. They become a part of the whole creation that you alone created, and you alone will be responsible for. You will either reap the benefits of it or the detriments of it. It may not happen overnight, but be assured, eventually you will see the results of your creation.

There is always a cause for everything in your life – both the good and the bad. Your thoughts and intentions are not exempt from the laws of the Universe. Make sure that your thoughts and intentions, as well as your actions, are pure and honorable. You may fool the naïve eyes of man, but God sees behind the veil of your actions.

Now, though I do no wrong, I’m punished by my past. Neither gods nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit…When you meet with adversity don’t be upset, because it makes sense…
If we should be blessed by some great reward…it’s the fruit of a see planted by us in the past.
Bodhidharma

Bohdi Sanders

Author of:
Secrets of the Soul, Wisdom of the Elders,
Warrior Wisdom, and Modern Bushido

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Managing Jealousy and Maintaining
a Healthy, Happy Mind

Jealousy is a common, and natural, emotion. It is an earnest concern or painful suspicion of the faithfulness of husband, wife, lover, friend, or simply another person’s success or position in life. In short, jealousy refers to negative thoughts of insecurity, fear, and anxiety associated with worry over the loss of something that someone values. It is a natural emotion and has been observed even in infants as young as five months old, as well as in animals.

Considering that jealousy is a natural emotion found in both humans and animals, you may wonder what is wrong with feeling jealous. The answer is nothing is wrong with it; at least nothing is inherently wrong with it. Feelings of jealousy are natural. The problem occurs when jealousy becomes an all-consuming emotion.

At its root, jealousy can be boiled down to either worry or envy. The jealous person is worried about losing something important in his or her life, or is envious over what someone else has. Neither worry nor envy are constructive traits that will add to the enjoyment or positive development of your life.

When jealousy reaches the point of worry or envy, it starts to consume the mind. It is kind of like the snowball effect where the longer you roll a snowball around in the snow, the more snow sticks to it, and the bigger it gets. Jealousy works the same way when one continues to meditate on jealous thoughts of loss or envy.

The more you think about something, the more it expands. Therefore, the more someone gives energy to thoughts of jealousy, the more jealous one gets. The problem with this is when jealousy snowballs, it also creates emotions such as anger, resentment, sadness, and malice.

All of these emotions are negative, low-energy emotions which detract from both your personal growth and the enjoyment of your life. Our thoughts have energy; this is a scientifically proven fact. Some thoughts have negative energy, and some thoughts have positive energy. Jealousy usually leads to thoughts which are associated with negative energy, at least when one’s jealousy is not addressed.

This brings us to the question of what to do about jealousy, especially since it is such a natural emotion. There are several steps that can help one successfully deal with feelings of jealousy.

1)      Work on improving your self-esteem. The lower someone’s self-esteem is, the more that person will have doubts concerning his or her own worth. This leads to doubts about whether your friend, lover, husband, or wife values you enough not to leave you for someone else. Therefore, increasing your self-esteem is the first step in dealing with worrisome thoughts of jealousy. The more you value yourself, the more you will feel that you are special and that others will see you as a special, loving, quality person also. A person with high self-esteem will look at a relationship more in the terms of being mutually beneficial. Whereas, someone with low self-esteem will look at his or her relationship as one in which they have to hold on to the other person because the other person may find someone who is actually more worthy of their love and affection. Understand your worth and how special you are, and know that if someone else doesn’t see this, he or she is not the right person for you.

2)      Acknowledge your feelings of jealousy. Understand that these feelings are natural and not a problem unless you dwell on them and allow them to get out of hand. Some jealousy is natural and actually stems from caring about what is happening in your life. Obsessive feelings of jealousy is where the problem lies, not the emotion itself. When you acknowledge that you feel jealous over a certain situation, then you are dealing with it correctly. Talk to your friend, lover, or spouse about your feelings. Being open and honest, and bringing these thoughts to the surface, will many times put the brakes on jealousy and not allow it to turn into obsessive thoughts of anger and resentment.

3)      Go to the root of the problem. Is there a valid reason for your feelings of jealousy? Are your feelings of jealousy justified instead of merely being a mythical creation of your mind? If so, deal with the problem and don’t simply let it fester in your mind. Feelings of jealous could actually be your intuition trying to tell you that there is something happening that you need to address. Don’t simply worry about it, but address the problem at the root, and either correct the problem or remove the problem from your life.

4)      Focus on positive thoughts and self-improvement. Your mind can play tricks on you and has to be controlled. Do not allow your emotions to control your life. Control your emotions and focus on improving yourself. You are responsible for your actions, not other people’s actions. I will repeat, what you think about expands. If you give enough energy and thought to something you will actually cause it to manifest in your life. Instead of allowing thoughts of jealousy to expand in your mind, occupy your mind with positive thoughts of how you want your life to be. Worry is actually focusing your thoughts on what you don’t want instead of what you do want. This is dangerous, as your mind does not discriminate. It will manifest whatever you continually imagine and focus your thoughts on; so make sure you control your thoughts and emotions. Worry and jealousy also increase your stress, which can stall your self-improvement goals and destroy your health.

Jealousy is a natural emotion, but that does not mean that we have to permit it to dictate our thoughts. You control your mind and your thoughts; therefore you decide whether or not you will allow jealousy to expand in your mind and grow into something more negative. Take the appropriate steps to control your mind and continue on your path. Don’t let jealousy to expand and throw you off track. Be aware of what is going on in your mind before it spirals out of your control.

By continually using the appropriate step to control jealous emotions, you will find that you gradually have less and less feelings of jealousy. Who knows, maybe soon, jealousy will become a non-issue for you completely as your self-esteem grows and you gain the self-confidence to deal with jealousy issues head on instead of merely giving them a home in the back of your mind.

Bohdi Sanders

Author of:
Secrets of the Soul
and
Wisdom of the Elders

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Becoming Clear

Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.
Lao Tzu

Stress, worry, anxiety, and fear can cloud your mind. When these emotions are allowed to take control of your mind, it is hard to see things clearly or make good decisions. Your mind can’t focus and will began to become “muddy” if you will. It is hard to think rationally when your mind is bombarded with these emotions. Just as a crystal clear lake can become muddy when the sediment at the bottom is disturbed, your mind will become “muddy” when it is disturbed.

Don’t let trifles disturb your tranquility of mind…
Ignore the inconsequential.
Greenville Kleiser

Quit minds cannot be perplexed or frightened
but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace,
like a clock during a thunderstorm.
Robert Louis Stevenson

So what do you do to clear your mind when it has become cloudy from these emotions? Do the same thing as the lake does to become clear again – nothing. The lake simply waits for the muddy sediment particles to settle back where they belong, and once again the lake becomes crystal clear. You should do the same thing. Quit thinking about the issue at hand. Just put that subject on the shelf for a while. Do something else like meditate, work in the garden, work out, etc.

Don’t let worldly thoughts and anxieties trouble your mind.
Ramakrishna

Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted.
Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.
Margolis

It really doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you get your mind off of the problem that is causing these emotions to cloud your thinking. Just get away from it and allow the mud to settle. When you come back, your mind, like the lake, will have cleared up and you will be able to see things differently. Once again, you will be able to think rationally and intelligently, the way the warrior should think.

The mind deludes itself.
In matters of the mind, you must stay on your guard.
Takuan Soho

The key here is to be patient. You can’t make the mud settle back to the bottom of the lake by pushing it back down; it has to settle on it own, at its own pace. Likewise, you can’t force yourself to clear your mind of stressful thoughts, unless you are proficient in meditation techniques and mind control. You have to just get away from those thoughts for a while, and the easiest way to do that is to get your mind on something else.

The secret of patience is to do something else in the meantime.
Spanish Proverb

Your mind can’t hold two different thoughts at the same time. Don’t believe me? Just try it… Think of a picture of a dog while at the same time you think of a picture of an elephant. Were you successful? The same thing goes for negative, stressful thoughts. If you are thinking of something else, they can’t remain in your mind. Sounds simple, but it is true. Next time you find that your mind is clouded by negative thinking, get busy doing something else, even if it is cleaning your house. Hey, if it doesn’t work, at least you will have a clean house, either way you win…

Be master of the mind rather than mastered by the mind.
Zen Maxim

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Thought Control

The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts.
Heraclitus

Many people believe that their thoughts don’t really matter. They think that their thoughts don’t matter as long as they don’t act on their negative thoughts. What they fail to realize though is that everyone’s thoughts contain certain energy patterns. Physicists are now proving that your thoughts actually do have power; they are not just harmless little things that don’t matter.

Thoughts are forces.
Ralph Waldo Trine

Every single thought you have can be assessed in
terms of whether it strengthens or weakens you.
Wayne Dyer

Heraclitus knew this many centuries ago. He tells us that your thoughts have an effect on your soul. He goes on to say, “The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny…it is the light that guides your way.” Your thoughts are much more important to your character development than you may suspect.

Be careful of your thoughts;
they are the beginning of your acts.
Lao Tzu

The whole dignity of man is in thought.
Labor then to think right.
Pascal

Thought precedes action. Many scientists today believe that if you continue to think about something, what you think about will eventually find a way to manifest itself in your life. If this is true, it means that what you think about is extremely important. It has already been proven that your thoughts control your emotions, thus to control your emotions, which every warrior must do, you must control your thoughts. Controlling your thoughts is the ultimate test of your self-discipline. Control your thoughts; control your destiny.

When we direct our thoughts properly,
we can control our emotions.
W. Clement Stone

You should keep your mind pure, for what a person things,
he becomes – this is the eternal mystery.
The Maitri Upanishad

Understand that what you think about expands.
Wayne Dyer

Reprinted from
Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom