Filled


I mentioned generally how we pick up these beliefs in the first place.  Let’s give more details about that now. We can purposefully fill our Belief Boxes with what we really want to be in there. We can protect our minds as best as we can from what we don’t want or need.

I was out weeding my garden this morning.  A few months ago, it was difficult to distinguish the weeds from the sprouts. Because the plants are much bigger now than when the seeds first sprouted, the weeds are obvious. Also, since the plants are happily thriving, there isn’t much space for weeds to fill in any way.  The good plants are crowding out the weeds.

That is exactly what we want to happen in our minds--- for them to be filled with so much Truth that the truth or lies don’t have much space to grow in the first place.  After the inventory process is all squared away, when a few weeds do start to creep into the empty spaces, it becomes more obvious what they are now. We can detect them more easily because they are puny compared with the Truth that is thriving around them. We have the power to not only weed out the lies and truth by taking an inventory (then acting on our discoveries like I will show you in the next chapter), but to also do our best to crowd out the ones we missed when we pulled up the others or as new ones pop up.

Remember our Belief Boxes will filter the incoming data in such a way that will lead to the “Actions/Behaviors.”  We want to hold as much Truth as possible to avoid the “Input” being assigned meaning by a Belief Box full of lies or merely truths (and the entire domino process that ensues from them!).

Maybe we are hoping that reading the affirmations or phrases on our social media newsfeed will be adequate, but is that really the truth you want to settle for? Sure, it may give you some positive self talk or warm fuzzy thoughts, but is it adequate?  Positive self-talk is a good start, but with the gospel at our fingertips, we can do better than that!

What I am talking about in this section is bringing out the big guns.  How can you come and drink deeply from those Truth sources that brings directly into your mind “knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (D&C 93:24)?  Can you see how powerful it is to have a Belief Box assigning meaning to the “Input” in terms of Truth? Truth isn’t flimsy.  It will hold and help you withstand “the fiery darts of the adversary” (D&C 3:8).

There are two main parts to our mind.  The first is called our conscious mind.  This is the part of your mind that you are reading this book with.  It is responsible for helping you think through things.  It has four main functions: identify incoming information, comparison, analysis, and decision making (Source).  The conscious mind stands as a guardian to the subconscious mind.  Any information coming into the mind must pass through this part of the mind.

The second part of our mind we will discuss here is the subconscious mind. I really like this description of it: “The function of your subconscious mind is to store and retrieve data. Its job is to ensure that you respond exactly the way you are programmed. Your subconscious mind makes everything you say and do fit a pattern consistent with your self-concept, your ‘master program.’

“Your subconscious mind is subjective. It does not think or reason independently; it merely obeys the commands it receives from your conscious mind. Just as your conscious mind can be thought of as the gardener, planting seeds, your subconscious mind can be thought of as the garden, or fertile soil, in which the seeds germinate and grow” (Source).

I will not claim in any way to be an expert in neurobiology, psychology, or anatomy and physiology of the brain.  I am, however, able to draw on my own personal experience, training, and study of these subjects.  I would encourage you to learn more, for there is exciting information on these subjects and ever-increasing resources to understand more.  For our discussion, I will keep it simple.

It is at this subconscious level that the beliefs are planted. These beliefs simply need to bypass the conscious mind and the critical faculty that stand as a guardian to the subconscious mind and then the beliefs are in our Belief Boxes. This receptive state in which the subconscious portion of the mind is open happens naturally many times already in any given day.  We just aren’t usually aware what is happening.

Have you ever driven somewhere familiar and you don’t remember arriving at your destination or can’t recall a portion of your trip?  It’s that kind of “zoned out” feeling, or when we are on auto-pilot.  Our bodies are relaxed and our conscious mind is relaxed. The subconscious mind has all the information we need programmed in, so we don’t even have to think, or use our conscious brain, to do certain things.

Beliefs are plopping right into the soil when the subconscious mind is wide open.  These times may include: when we are waking up or falling asleep (as well as the time right before we go to sleep or immediately after we wake up), reading, movies, any screen time, music, meditation, or when a perceived authority figure is speaking to us.

So, if we want to use this knowledge to our advantage, how can we purposely allow Truth to land right into the soil of our minds?  What do you do right before you go to sleep or wake up? Prayer puts our mind in this receptive state as well.  The brain waves literally slow down while we pray (Source). As we pray in such a state, God can plant Truths directly into our minds in a way that can change our actions/behaviors.  The Truths may be about who we are, what we need to know, encouragement, promptings, course corrections, or answers to our questions.  So, if you pray right before you go to bed and right as you are waking up, you can get a double-dose of your Belief Boxes with the lids off and wide open to receive these eternal Truths.:)

I mentioned reading.  There are many important benefits to regular scriptures study.  But what about in this context?  Can you see how God can plant vital Truths directly into our mind that will change what we do?  His words can be written in our minds.  As we earnestly study them they become a part of us. Our Savior's voice can also go directly into our Belief Box this way.

We can also read talks, articles, or books that speak of Truth. Truth is all around us and we can find it in any topic. We can purposely seek out the words of prophets, apostles, and others who speak eternal Truths to crowd out the many voices that whisper or even shout out lies or t-truths. We will talk more about another reason why having God’s word at our easy disposal is important in the next chapter.  But for now, can you see how we can purposely fill our minds up with Truth in this way?

Does it make you almost freak out that any screen time is planting beliefs?  The media knows this!  It is unreal how much time and effort is put into marketing research for even a few seconds advertisement for a commercial or movie clip.

We plop our young children in front of screens all the time.  Sometimes we aren’t even fully aware what they are viewing as all this screen time fills their tiny minds with anywhere from the seemingly harmless to the vicious lies that will determine their actions/behaviors in the future.  I believe screen time can be used for good and God’s purposes, though.

I hope you can easily recall screen times that have been a blessing to you---these things that have filled you with light and spoken Truth.  Now that you know, be aware of what you allow into your precious mind.  After all the effort you have gone to take inventory, do you really want to have all the junk coming right back in? There are many media options that inspire, ennoble, and represent goodness.  Don’t waste your time on those choices that plant lies.  Don’t even waste your time on the mediocre. You decide what works for you.  It’s your mind and you are the master of it.

I mentioned music.  Is this getting to sound like a broken record?  You know what I am about to say here.  My kids can hear a song sometimes even once and have just about every word down.  What are the lyrics of the music you are listening to?  Have you taken the time to really listen to what they are and connect the beliefs that are being programmed into your Belief Boxes?

It can be astounding what the words are really saying and how offensive the same song suddenly becomes when we pay attention to it.  Also, even music without lyrics can affect us.  Pay attention to how you feel with certain music.  Do you feel relaxed as you listen to heavy metal?  Be honest with yourself, too.  I’m not saying you must only listen to Hymns (which may not be such a bad choice when you think about the awesome Truths that would land smack into your mind).:)  Just be aware.

There are some really excellent music options that are really fun to listen to. Just like with other media choices, there are horrible options, decent, and excellent.  You decide what you want to invite into your mind.

I also said authority figures can completely bypass the filter.  When I say authority figures I am trying to describe those who, or we perceive to, be an authority on a given subject.  Authority figures are usually parents, teachers, bishops or other church leaders to name a few.  Our conscious mind moves out of the way because we assume what they are saying must be Truth.  We believe they are an authority on the subject.

As Pearce said, authority figures can be responsible for the programming of many of the truth beliefs.  The truth beliefs are usually fine, but the problem comes in the way we take them in.  We promote them to a Truth belief because an authority figure said it and we find ourselves doing some pretty crazy “Actions/Behaviors.”

Releasing trauma requires an experience (Skinner, Treating Trauma from Sexual Betrayal, 177). Some trauma releases necessitate the physical body’s involvement in the experiences such as through massage, yoga, chiropractic work, QNRT, and EMDR.  Maybe finding a way to memorialize the traumatic event by paying it forward. Sometimes extending forgiveness is what is needed to release it. Other times the release can come through a compassionate friend who listens to us and creates a moment where we feel felt. Releases can also come through creative endeavors such as art, dance, or music.  Writing to oneself has also been shown to bring release the trauma (cite from Kolk’s book).

Certain traumas have been released for me in moments when The Spirit has witnessed the Truthfulness of what I read in my scriptures; suddenly the lies that I had been clinging to pale in comparison.  Other releases have happened for me as I have soaked up Christ’s love for me personally.  The point I want you to understand is this: there are countless ways and combinations of ways that a person can release trauma through experience.  There is no magic bullet to release trauma and each one of us will have different details of how it will look.

Truth, eternal Truth, is basically programmed in as we do anything that invites the Holy Ghost’s companionship.  The Holy Ghost can also plant beliefs straight into our minds as His Spirit communicates directly with our spirit. So now that we know this, can you see how vital going out of our way to instill Truth is? We can use this knowledge to purposely fill up our Belief Boxes with Truth. We can also use it to be more cautious and aware of what is coming into our minds.

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