Joseph Lewis D’Silva
Some people believe that certain individuals have supernatural power of seeing supernatural images or using evil spirits to do harmful things like destroying enemy’s property or even human beings; they may even make claim: “You will get what you want: if, and only if, you harm or eliminate that person.”
Many firmly believe in such individual’s statement like every one of us believe in a family doctor. Others, blindly believe it, because that individual’s idea has been trusted and relied on for a long time. But, just because someone’s message has been going around for some time does not mean it is scientifically valid. Clinging to false belief in someone’s wrong ideas, causes wrong effect; when one keeps it in the mind for a long time it can trap a person mentally --- a mental prisoner; and shape one’s action in harmful ways --- as prisoner of destruction. As Shakespeare’s Othello strangled Desdemona because he believed he was right. Macbeth let dream blind him into committing murder. Our thought has the power to influence us. The stories we believe shape our actions.
Just as a mirror shows all that is before it, so also our recurring thoughts and feelings shape our life. In other words, the effect of what we become in this world outwardly depends how we mirror our ideas inwardly in our thinking. How we enslave ourselves to some individuals, by listening, obeying and executing other's ideas; thus putting ourselves in the cage of some individual’s thoughts; making ourselves to behave as what goes inside our head. So, just like the mirror shows all that is before it, so also our outward behaviour shows the world, what type of soul we have inside our body. It is rightly said, “As one thinks, so one becomes.”
Secondly, if a false information is repeated often enough in public; people believe it to be correct: for example, if someone is continuously, labelled a thief, everyone accepts it as fact –even if it is a lie. Eventually, the accused may think,- ‘If everyone sees me as a thief, why not become one.’ Here repetition turns falsehood into perceived reality.
Lastly, our strongest judgement about ourselves comes from our belief; e.g., if a student believes he has the ability to succeed he succeeds. But if he is tortured by self-doubt about his capacity, he fails; not due to lack of intelligence, but because of his belief in his own failure.
Here is a golden rule: “As you think, so you become. / A positive mind, sees opportunities. / A negative mind projects problems. / A small mind is focused on petty things. / A matured mind sees greatness.”
If you feel stuck don’t wait to change … change your thoughts; and the circumstances will follow. Even when faced with undeniable truth, people often resist to change. But do not take shelter in self-imposed limitations. Often, our mind-set, as a defence mechanism, resists transformation. In reality such resistance hinders personal growth.
In the end, our reality is shaped by the belief we hold. Whether we rise or fall, succeed or fail, love or hate --- it all starts in the mind. If we allow ourselves to be trapped by others’ false narratives, we become prisoners of illusion. But if we take control of our thoughts, we shape our destiny. The mind is our magic world --- we should use it wisely.