Tag: nightmare

When we want to forget – Part 2

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Those of you that haven’t read the first post, I ask that you do so. In that post, I talk about the things in our minds that we want to forget.

Have you ever had a dream and when you woke up you felt fearful or even depressed? This is what we often expect from bad dreams, or nightmares. We are told that dreams come from our subconscious. What does that mean? Nightmares can very often result, and range, from childhood experiences to the horror movie you watched last night, even experiences we think we have forgotten.

All and all, a vast amount of nightmares that we experience come from past experiences whether they experiences were intentional or not.

I think sometimes we fail to take care of our minds in the same way we are to care for our bodies. Whatever we feed it, whether mind or body, there is a result. If you feed your body junk food all of your life, you can be sure to experience difficulties with your health as you grow older. It is a fact of life that a vast majority of us know and understand.

Likewise, our minds need just as much care. While whole foods and supplements can bring us good health to our bodies when they are administered properly, they are also a preventative. Likewise, good wholesome information fed into our minds is a preventative affecting what our minds experience. And, honestly, what we experience in our minds will affect our bodies.

For example, most of us know that stress, often caused by worry, can and will eventually cause bodily side-effects such as high blood pressure as well as other health conditions including depression and suicide.

In light of this, let’s go back to the Bible verse that I shared in the previous post:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2 NIV

Roman’s 12:2 tells us that we are to be transformed by renewing our minds. Our minds need to be renewed just as much as our bodies do.

If given the opportunity to get a massage, I don’t believe that any of us – but maybe some – would turn down that free massage. We love to be pampered, because it makes our bodies feel better; it helps us de-stress. Massage brings good health, but it is something we usually don’t do enough. It is often considered a luxury.

Roman’s 12:2 is telling us that our minds have a need to be renewed. Our minds need good food. Your mind and your body are connected, and what one experiences the other will also be affected.

This is what I was beginning to experience as I read my Bible. I was choosing to fill my mind with the things of God rather than what I was doing. This would lead to making better choices, and those choices led to results that led me into becoming optimistic about my life.

One of the best healthy habits we can have is the habit of being intentional. We just cannot let life dish out whatever it chooses. You have the ability to choose, so make good choices that will bring positive results, not only for your body, but also your mind. Choose to start asking God what “renewing your mind” looks like for you. We are all unique individuals, so we all will have a unique journey.

In the next post, I will talk more about renewing our minds and what we can do about those things we want to forget.

Please take a moment to check out my book below, When The One You Love Doesn’t Love You Anymore: A Journey of Self-Discovery.

Go forth and be blessed, my friend.

To be continued….

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When we want to forget

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I believe that it’s common knowledge that we all have things that we want to forget. Often times, the things we so desperately want to forget are the hurts, especially the wrongs committed against us. But what about our thoughts? Has there ever been anything that surfaces in your mind that you wished you couldn’t see, in your minds eye?

It could be a nightmare that you just can’t seem to forget. It could be an image of a horrible accident. It could be images from a horror movie that has left you feeling unsettled and fearful. It could even be an image that you associate with something you regret.

I have to admit that there has been a lot of things that I want to forget and never remember. Just to mention a few: when I was young, I had reoccurring nightmares of experiencing tornados. I also had a fear of going to sleep, because I thought I would wake up blind. Then there were the nightmares that came from watching movies that, I believe, nobody should watch. Those images were stuck in my head and there seemed to be no way to get them out.

All of these things, among others, instilled fear within me that I couldn’t shake. It would leave me paralyzed in my abilities to deal with everyday struggles.

I think of this today, because all of those fears are gone! It’s very interesting, though. I remember about those things, but I don’t see the images that recreate that fear in me. Yes. Sometimes they try to surface and present themselves, but I refuse to let my mind go there.

There are so many things in the Bible that, I believe, we fail to completely capture.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. –Romans 12:2 NIV

When we think about the Romans 12:2, we can often take from it that we are to seek to renew our minds by reading the Bible and to learn Gods ways, but there is so much more to it.

My fears were a pattern of this world. They did not come from God. When I made the decision to follow Jesus, I still dealt with a lot of fear, even though I did not realize it at the time. Being introduced to the idea of reading the Bible on a daily basis was something I wasn’t so sure about, but once I started to read – and gave thought to what I was reading – I would begin to feel peace come over me. My Bible became the one place I could go to just be me. It was where I could think about all I was dealing with and address them. When I read my Bible, I would also pray. I was raw about it. I didn’t try some sort of formula. I just got honest, not only with myself but with God. Doing this would start a journey that would change everything for me.

To Be Continued…..

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