Beliefs, Emotions, Thoughts

Beliefs, Emotions, Thoughts

The physical mind consists of 3 main ingredients: beliefs, emotions and thoughts. Other names for physical mind include personality or ego. This aspect of consciousness exists for the purpose of allowing one to focus in physical reality and in general, make sense of it. The physical organ that processes the activity of the mind is the brain.

Let’s look at each ingredient in detail.

Beliefs

Beliefs are definitions we hold in our minds about reality, ourselves and everything in between. A belief is something one perceives to be true. Many of the limiting beliefs we hold about ourselves and our surroundings result from the conditioning we have received from our parents and the environment we were brought into as children. In other words, many of the beliefs we hold in the mind are actually not ours - we have simply bought into them through reinforcement. Most of these beliefs are stored in the subconscious mind, which means we are seldom consciously aware of them. Here are some examples of common limiting beliefs:

I’m not good enough.

I don’t deserve to be loved.

Money is the root of all evil.

I’ll never amount to anything.

Success is difficult.

A mind that has not been conditioned by negative limiting beliefs, operates from a sense of self worth and self love. This is the mind that is aligned with one’s TRUE INNER SELF (Soul, Higher Self, Divine essence, etc.). Children, up to a certain age, function from this place which is reflected in their purity of being and ability to love and accept themselves for who they are. At the core of our being, we are all children. The only difference between a ‘child’ and an ‘adult child’ is the negative baggage an adult carries in the form of negative belief systems about themselves acquired from other people. This baggage veils human authenticity and prevents one from reaching their fullest potential.

In the brain, belief systems are reflected in the formation of neural connections & pathways. In other words, they are ‘wired’ in the brain and keep their structure through reinforcement. Beliefs give rise to emotions and emotions arise from beliefs: your most intense feelings reflect to you your most strongly held beliefs.

Emotions

Emotion is energy in motion. Emotions have either a negative or a positive energetic charge, that is, they either enhance or deplete your life force-the energy of the soul. Emotional energy runs through the energy centres (chakras) and energy channels (meridians) of the body. It comes through as a feeling sensation, which then extends into the biofield (the aura) of the physical self. Learn more about the Energy System.

As a result of hundreds of years of collective conditioning, many people function on auto-pilot to resist and block what we often refer to as ‘negative’ emotions like fear, anger, sadness, etc. When negative emotions are suppressed, they get stuck in the body’s energy pathways, blocking the flow of life force energy to various organs. The longer a negative emotion is suppressed, the deeper its negative charge settles into the cells of the body. Holding on to negative energy leads to the potential cellular break down of tissues and organs and the onset of what we refer to as dis-ease.

Our emotions serve as a remarkable guidance system that informs us when we are in and out of alignment with our true self, our soul-essence. All emotions arise from beliefs we hold in the mind about ourselves with regards to the situation we are emotionally reacting to. Negative emotions serve as wakeup calls to let you know that there is a belief you are holding on to that is out of alignment with your true self; in other words, a limiting belief about yourself that does not serve you and prevents you from acting on your most exciting dreams and greatest joy-the very guidance of your soul! It is up to you to let it go and replace it with one that serves you.

Thoughts

Every thought you think reinforces a belief, produces an electric charge in the brain, followed by a release of chemicals into the body. One of the most magnificent attributes of the brain is what’s called neuroplasticity-the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. When we change the way we think, when we change a belief or thought pattern from a self-sabotaging one to a self-empowering one, we change the wiring of the neural pathways of the brain, the chemistry of the body and finally, our emotional states. When the emotional state of being changes and moves from negative to positive, from one of hopelessness to one of hope, from one of fear to one of love, we begin to see reflections of the new state in our physical reality through the Universal Law of Attraction.

Changing limiting beliefs

To change limiting beliefs, you must first become aware of their existence. Awareness of limiting beliefs comes from:

1. Examining your emotions and emotional reactions (you cannot have an emotion without a belief to back it up)
2. Looking at your physical reality as a reflection of your beliefs.

Once awareness is established, it is essential to release any negative emotions associated with the negative belief. As the negative energy of the emotion is cleared from the body, it opens up the space for the replacement of the former belief with one that serves your highest good. This is achieved through reprogramming, conditioning and sensitizing of your mind and body to the new belief. In the brain, this happens with the breakdown of old neural pathways and the formation of new ones.

Energy System

‘What you are, indeed, is a grand embodiment of electromagnetic energy. That is, every facet of you, your physical body, your consciousness, your thoughts and beliefs and your emotional beingness are all entwined to create a body of energy which is likened unto a magnet. This energy has a resonance, a vibrational frequency, which draws to itself that which matches its own frequency.’-P’taah

ENERGY in THE BODY

The body has a profound energetic nature. Every cell and organ in the body carries an electrical charge and has an electromagnetic field. The nervous system transmits information through electrical pathways to the brain: for example, when you touch a hot stove, you feel pain because it is instantaneously transmitted electrically along the nerves to your brain. Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of brainwaves and can be measured with an electroencephalograph (EEG). An electrocardiograph (EKG) measures the electrical activity of the heart which transmits electromagnetic signals when you experience emotions.

SUBTLE ENERGY in THE BODY

CHAKRAS

A chakra is a centre of energetic activity which receives and transmits life force energy. Chakras are located within the subtle (etheric) body along the spinal column. There are 7 major chakras which correlate with different states of consciousness (areas of life) and connect to the body’s organs, systems, glands and nerve centres. The word ‘chakra’ comes from Sanskrit and literally means ‘a spinning wheel or disk.’ It produces and emits a different vibration of energy and therefore has a different colour. Energy emitted from the chakras makes up the body’s energy field, also known as the Aura. The strongest energy vibrations emitted from the body draw to it similar energy vibrations from the external environment. This is the fundamental law of the universe, known as the Law of Attraction.

1. BASE CHAKRA

Location: Base of the spine (coccyx area)

Colour: Red

Organs: adrenal glands, bladder, genitals and spine

Functions: survival, self-preservation

Central issues: roots the soul in the body and the body to the Earth (grounding), nourishment, appropriate boundaries, trust, family, prosperity.

Basic right: to be here

2. SACRAL CHAKRA

Location: Lower abdomen (just below the navel)

Colour: Orange

Organs: Reproductive organs, urogenital system, kidneys

Functions: self-gratification

Central issues: sexuality, emotions, desire, pleasure, need.

Basic right: to feel

3. SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA

Location: Solar Plexus (stomach area)

Colour: Yellow

Organs: stomach, gall bladder, liver, pancreas, solar plexus, nervous system, muscles

Functions: metabolism, authority, self-control, radiance, energy, self-discipline

Central issues: will, personal power, autonomy, self-esteem, activity

Basic right: to act

4. HEART CHAKRA

Location: Centre of the chest

Colour: Green (also pink)

Organs: Heart, thymus gland, circulatory system, lungs

Functions: anchors the life force of the Higher Self, forgiveness, compassion, group consciousness, peace, self-acceptance, harmony, contentment

Central issues: unconditional love, relationships, devotion, self-love, balance, intimacy

Basic right: to love and be loved

5. THROAT CHAKRA

Location: Base of the throat

Colour: Blue

Organs: thyroid, parathyroid, hypothalamus, throat, mouth, upper lungs

Functions: speech, self-expression, creativity, integration, truth, knowledge, gentleness

Central issues: communication and creativity

Basic right: to speak and be heard

6. BROW CHAKRA (third eye)

Location: Forehead (centre, just above the eyebrows)

Colour: Indigo

Organs: pituitary gland, eyes, nose, ears,

Functions: vision, psychic perception, visualization, telepathy, intuition, dreams

Central issues: clairvoyance and imagination

Basic right: to see

7. CROWN CHAKRA

Location: Top of the head

Colour: White and/or Violet

Organs: pineal gland, cerebral cortex, central nervous system

Functions: unification of the Higher Self with the personality, spirituality, inspiration, union, divine wisdom and understanding, idealism, selfless service, perception beyond time and space

Central issue: to know and to be one with Source, transcendence

Basic right: to know

The three higher chakras relate to the divine (higher) self

The three lower chakras relate to the human self

The heart chakra is the mediator between the human and higher selves.

Meridians (energy channels)

Energy meridians make up the internal energy transmission system within the body. These internal pathways carry life-force energy to the major organs as well as through the subsystems of the body (endocrine, circulatory, etc.). Meridians and the points across the meridians are used in healing modalities such as acupuncture, acupressure and the new field of energy psychology (Emotional Freedom Techniques or Meridian Tapping Techniques). Other names for life force energy include: prana in India, chi in China, Qi in Japan and barraka in Islamic cultures.

Blockages in the meridian pathways prevent the free flow of life force energy (much like water hose with a kink), causing a variety of disruptions on the physical, emotional and mental levels of one’s being. Some of the more prominent causes of blocks to life force energy include:

1. suppressed negative emotions
2. negative belief systems
3. negative thinking
4. lack of self love
5. trauma (physical or emotional)
6. lack of exercise
7. diet lacking in live, raw foods
8. constricted breathing