What I think is what I am

Proverbs 23:7 "For as he thinketh in his hearth, so is he" What we think defines our essence, we are in fact a totality of all the thoughts that pass through us, and to further this, we are the final cause of the thoughts we most closely align ourselves with. We become the thoughts that we engage with the most, the human race is an ongoing practical analysis of this theory, each individual caught in their own internal flux of positive and negative thoughts, a living experience of how those thoughts anchor entire perceptions of life. In the context of the Proverbs quote, a dinner host offers his guests food, but he does not do so through a love of sharing, a passion for brotherhood and the love of his human kin to welcome and nourish those around him. The host in the proverbs does so with a ‘evil eye’, he expects something in return, his thoughts are more fixated on the surmountable cost of the food being eaten, he is focused on the materiality of the situation. The bible gives us this example of a person who pretends to be friendly, yet internally he does not truly wish those around him well. His heart is hardened. He is spiritually asleep.

Jesus does not only teach us to do the opposite, he reaches this lesson one step further by giving us the final commandment: John 13:34

"A new commandment i give unto you, that Ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another"

This lesson echoes throughout scripture. It is among the core principles of the Christian faith. We are told to love one another, the status of final commandment defines its importance of our focus, for where our focus lies, our thoughts shall follow, thoughts that influence our behaviour, our behaviour becomes the driving principle of our our actions, and these actions ripple outwards into the world to effect those around us as we become the natural protagonist that takes our initial thoughts into shaping the world around us. If we think of love, if we act through love, we shape the world by love. Philippians 4:8

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things"

We find that there is a duality to these lessons, the things we think about are the causation of our actions, they are the defining variable that influences our outwards gestures, how we think ripples outwards, but we can also follow this backwards; our thoughts affect us.

A McCraty et al study in 2003 found that positive emotions like love, gratitude and compassion induced an ordered and coherent state of the heart. McCraty compared this to the pattern of the heart beat in states of anger, frustration and stress to find that it caused a chaotic, unbalanced and less synchronized beat. 

These lessons from Christ are spiritual as much as they are also profoundly important to our biological mechanics as living human beings. 

McCraty’s study shows us empirically that the heart produces the strongest magnetic field, and with this by inducing the feeling of love and gratitude this field becomes more stable. What we come to find in our modern world, is that these lessons from Christ, such as the final commandment, are directly linked to our biological outputs as much as they are deeply spiritual, these coherent heart beats and ordered electromagnetic fields have been directly linked to physiological harmony, stronger immune systems and improved cognitive performance. 

The thoughts that we have, the feelings that we experience, they do not only come forth into the macrocosm of the working universe around us through a flurry of words and actions, they also penetrate inwards, into the depth of our hearts to influence the microcosm of our inner workings. The thoughts we fill ourselves with, we become. 

Luke 6:45

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringest forth that which is good; and an evil man out of evil treasure of his heart bringest that which is evil"

It is not just how we act, it is not just about what we say, these are insights into how we think, lessons to construct how to feel. 

Proverbs 4:23

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from is flow the springs of life" Christ truly gives us the wisdom of the eternal mechanics of the universe, and through this reminds us, a core principle among all else, let us love. In the midst of the sufferings of the world, let us love. In the pains and tribulations of our evolving life let us put our focus towards God and heaven, the purity of the eternal light, the unmistakeable, unconditional, perfect love. 

Colossians 3:2

"Set your minds of things that are above, not on the things that are on earth."