mental attitude

First, please let me say that i'm writing this, as I slipped (not literally) and fell into a funk today.  Amidst my already bad attitude, I was getting even more upset, because I was having such negative thoughts about myself and the world around me.  I took a moment to breathe and decided today I need  to, more than ever, practice what I preach/read.

Have you ever woken up in the morning and stubbed your toe on the side of your bed?  Then started  grumbling and complaining about your toe hurting and moaning about what a lousy start to the day it's been?  What happens after that, is only a product of our mental attitude!!

Every second of the day we have a choice to make.  Grumble and complain about our sore toe, or shake it off and refocus our thoughts and our energy.  In one of my favorite books called "The Secret" written by Rhonda Byrne, she parallels the human mind with a radio antenna and receiver.  A radio antenna emits radio waves out into the universe and when a receiver is tuned into the right channel, it receives those radio waves (I know I know, thank you captain obvious).  The human mind does the same thing with the universe.  


Our mind emits energy into the universe and the universe responds to that energy, giving back what we put out there, thus receiving what we put out into the universe.  So, when we stub our toe and exude all kinds of negative energy, the universe thinks that is what we want and gives it right back to us.  If we continue moaning and groaning, we're only going to attract more negative things.  If you don't refocus your thoughts and energy, who knows, maybe after you stub your toe, you'll burn your toast for breakfast, get stuck in a traffic jam and be late for work (and hungry) etc....  The "secret" is that we (as humans) have the capacity to change the dial on our own radio (per se). The challenge is actually turning that dial, or changing our own thought process, or mental attitude, to attract positive things in our life.  This is the foundation of the book "The Secret" and it's called the "Law of Attraction."

The power of the mind is incredible!  I'm currently reading a book called "The Sermon on the Mount" by Emmet Fox.  I'm not a religious man, but I am very spiritual and have a very close relationship with God.  I do believe in Jesus, but I feel his teachings have been largely skewed by greedy men and the hierarchy of the church (please take this with a grain of salt, as it is only my own opinion).  For those of you who don't know, the "sermon on the mount" (the actual sermon, not the book) was one of Jesus' last speeches, that basically summarized all of his teachings.  In this book --->---->---->---->------>------>
Fox writes about "Scientific Christianity" and "Scientific Prayer."  The basis of Scientific Prayer, is the power of our mind and our thoughts.  What you focus your thoughts and energy on, is in turn, what you will receive.  Sound familiar?  Fox says "The Golden Rule in Scientific Christianity is: Think about others as you would wish them to think about you."  The "golden rule" at my elementary school was "do unto others, as you would have them do unto you."  The picture below is of my second grade class.  This was the last time my best friend Daniel and I were ever in the same class together.  I'm sure it wasn't because we goofed around all the time.....


Are you beginning to see a common theme here?  This is not a new or novel idea, but it is MOST powerful.  What we devote our thoughts and energy to, essentially defines what the universe will provide for us.


In light of my negative vibes today, I consciously changed my mental attitude.  Easier said than done, I know, but i've found that focusing on the  things that I love, helped me stand up again, and brush the negative dust off me.  What did I do?  I started with singing.  I LOVE TO SING!  Jason Mraz said it best "when you sing you pray twice!"  The song I sang first was written by one of my favorite artists, Xavier Rudd.  The song is called "From Sky to Ground."  Here's a live version, as live music is more fun!  Singing gave me the courage and motivation to write this post!  What am I going to do next?  Something else I love!  I'm going to put my hands in some soil and plant new plants so I can continue to nurture life outside of my own.  Rebecca and I bought two new Blueberry saplings that will stay warm in our home and be well taken care of, until the ground is warm enough to plant them outside.  

Now that i'm smiling, i'm going to leave you with one more 

Xavier Rudd song, called "Time to Smile"!!!

What do you do when feeling down-and-out?  How do you transform your negative vibes into something positive?


Peace and Blessings,


Brandon E. Kocher