As a Man Thinketh

How often have we wished things were different in our lives? If only this person would do such and such. Or if that situation were resolved in a certain way.

Then things would be better!

We are so conditioned to believe that the world and other people are the source of our joys and sorrows.

But the truth is that our perception of what’s going on around us (and within us) has nothing to do with what other people say or do. Nor does it have anything to do with what’s going on in our body or another body.

Our perception is based completely on a choice in the mind.

The writer of Proverb 23, Verse 7 understood that: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” And that is why we learn in non-dualistic thought systems like ACIM that “perception is a result and not a cause.”

Whenever we seek to try and change the world in the belief that it will make us happier, we deny the source of peace.

There is nothing wrong with trying to change the world, whether that’s in an attempt to improve a situation for a person or group of people. But when we confuse the nature of cause and effect, we’ll continue to seek for happiness where it will never be found.

Instead, let’s first try changing our mind about the world. “Here you are changing the cause. The effect will change automatically.”

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