Friends – Now And Forever (day85/365)

Norman Vincent Peale includes a chapter on “How to get people to like you” in his book “The Power Of Positive Thinking”.

Considering that people like to feel they are appreciated, regarded highly, or well thought of, here are some tips that will help us treat people with respect and appreciation.

1/ Learn to remember names.
2/ Be comfortable – fit with people like their old shoe.
3/ Be easy-going. Don’t get ruffled.
4/ Don’t be a “know-it-all”. Be humble.
5/ Be interesting.
6/ Get the “scratchy” elements out of your personality.
7/ Heal misunderstandings quickly.
8/ Practise liking people til you do so genuinely.
9/ Never miss an opportunity to say congratulations on achievements or to express sympathy in sorrow or disappointment.
10/ Give spiritual strength to people.

Another chapter in the same book explores the concept that time and eternity are inseparable; that there is no death, that all life is indivisible;that the the here and hereafter are one; that this is one unobstructed universe.

These thoughts are certainly comforting for those who have had relatives and friends pass away. Many people have reported the positive experience of “knowing” or “feeling” that their loved one is with them.

This chapter is very interesting. Can I suggest you secure a copy of the book for yourself to read.

Relax and Achieve (day84/365)

Have you got the message yet?

You can think your way to failure and unhappiness, but you can also think your way to success and happiness.

The world is not determined by outward conditions and circumstances, but by the thoughts that habitually occupy the mind.

A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.

A man is what he thinks about all day long.

There is a deep tendency in human nature to become precisely like that which you habitually imagine yourself to be.

Norman Vincent Peale in “The Power Of Positive Thinking” affirms that to change your circumstances, first start thinking differently. Believe and succeed, prosper, achieve.

Come up over your problems. Don’t look at them from below.

Take time each day to renew and refresh your thoughts and your mind. Those people who seems to do things easily with a minimum of effort actually release maximum power because they take time out.

To take time out physically relax. Be like a jelly fish or a bag that has just been emptied. Be loose.
Empty the mind. Let go of all resentment, disappointment, frustration, annoyance, etc.
Lift your eyes to God. Let him fill you with peace, harmony, joy, purpose, love.

Now you’re ready to go full steam again while being relaxed. Do the exercise three times a day.

Healing and Health (day83/365)

Over and over again we hear that physical sickness is in large part caused by sickness of thought and emotion. Resentment, guilt, fear, anxiety cause illness. Would you deny or defy that statement? Can you or others you know harbour ill will, grudges, resentment, guilt, fear, anxiety and live in good health?

Norman Vincent Peale in “The Power Of Positive Thinking” suggests we cast out the ill will. Get rid of the grudges without delay. They do no harm to the person you are holding the resentment against, but they eat at you day and night. Your poor health is being caused by whats eating you. Emotional ills sap your energy, reduce your efficiency, and cause a deterioration in your health.

Are you sick of pain in joints and muscles, getting colds, eczema, arthritis, back ache, chest pain, headaches, the list goes on. Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?

Then, here are five steps to healing.

1/ Have complete willingness to surrender to the hand of God.
2/ Completely let go of all error (sin in any form) and desire to be cleansed in the soul.
3/ Have faith and believe in the combined therapy of medical science in harmony with the healing power of God.
4/ Be willing to accept God’s answer, whatever it may be; have no irritation or bitterness against His will.
5/ Have substantial, unquestioning faith that God can heal.

Fill your mind with attitudes of good will, forgiveness, faith and love. Read your bible. Find some helpful verses. Memorise them. Live in freedom.

Overcome Worry and Other Problems (day82/365)

Worry has been described as an unhealthy and destructive habit, the most disintegrating enemy of human personality, the most subtle and destructive of all human diseases.

Norman Vincent Peale, author of “The Power of Positive Thinking”, reports one study made of 450 people who lived to be be older than 100 years found the following reasons for their longevity.

1/ They kept busy.
2/ The used moderation in all things.
3/ They ate lightly and simply.
4/ They got a great deal of fun out of life.
5/ They were early to bed and early up.
6/ They were free from worry and fear especially the fear of death.
7/ They had serene minds and faith in God.

A simple exercise to eliminate worry from our day is to say the following:- “With God’s help I am now emptying my mind of all anxiety, all fear, all sense of insecurity”. Repeat five times slowly then add “I believe that my mind is now emptied of all anxiety, all fear, all sense of insecurity.” Repeat five times.

Next step is to fill the mind with positive affirmations. Try something like “God is now filling my mind with courage, with peace and with calm assurance. God is now protecting me from all harm. God is now guiding me to right decisions. God will see me through every situation.”

Faith is the one power against which fear cannot stand. Master faith and you will master fear. Worry need exist no longer.

A few more tips to help solve problems:-

1/ Sit with two or more others in an attitude of fellowship and prayer. Share your problems with others and with God.

2/ Conceive of God as your partner. Be matter of fact with Him, listen to his advice before jumping into decisions.

3/ Enlist the “emergency powers of the brain”. Draw upon the inner powers that normally lay dormant except in dramatic situations.

4/ Practise faith attitudes. “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed….nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Expect The Best, Do Away With Defeat (day81/365)

Expect the best and get it! Changing our mental habits from disbelief to belief and learning to expect instead of doubting will bring everything we think into the realm of possibility.

Norman Vincent Peale in “The Power of Positive Thinking” continues to reinforce the understanding that expecting the best releases ATTRACTION forces that attract good to you and expecting the worst releases REPULSION forces that repulses any good from you.

Faith in a positive outcome, faith in yourself, faith in God are all essential. “Everything is possible for him who believes”. Mark 9:23.
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

Defeat has no place in a faith filled environment. If you choose to sabotage yourself and think defeat, you certainly will attract it. So how do we combat the defeat thoughts? Again scripture has power. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13.

Write these verses and others out. Put them around your house, in your car, in your wallet, anywhere you will see them often. Replace the old negative, defeatist thoughts with new, alive, hope filled ones. Read and say them aloud often.

The rough is only a mental picture. Forget it. Think victory and get victory.

One of the prayers shared in the book is as follows. Maybe it can be helpful for you. Again, write it out. Say it often.

I believe I am always divinely guided.
I believe I will always take the right turn of the road.
I believe God will always make a way where there is no way.

Happy Or Hard Done By (day80/365)

Only we ourselves can choose to be happy or unhappy says Norman Vincent Peale in “The Power of Positive Thinking”. We are all in the manufacturing business. We manufacture our happiness or we manufacture our unhappiness.

The solution is to make it a habit to be happy. A practical help to creating happiness is to practise love. The other is to accept love. Become one of the in crowd and accept that Jesus holds a lot of the answers in relation to happiness. Revitalising spiritual power emanates from those who tap into the vitality, power and joy God offers.

Maybe you feel hard done by and don’t wish to be happy. Consider the following:-

Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (Mark 14:27)

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Peace and rest are given freely. We can accept them or choose to continue feeling hard done by. It’s not hard to see which one makes sense is it?

Peace, Power, and Energy with Prayer (day79/365)

So many good things come from positive thinking. Today we’ll only look at peace, power, and energy. Norman Vincent Peale first published “The Power of Positive Thinking” in 1953 and by 1991 had sold two million copies. There just might be a thing or two in this book that we could take notice of.

Rather than being directed and defeated by the circumstances around us, we can take control and enjoy peace of mind, improved health, energy, joy and satisfaction. We need to clean out the fears, hates, insecurities, regrets and guilt feelings and replace them with creative and healthy thoughts.

When lacking confidence, the following is a great affirmation to say over and over. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Connecting with our higher power and praying has an unequaled effect on dealing with our problems. By releasing prayer power to doubts, fears and insecurities, they can be banished and replaced by peace and confidence. The bigger our problems, the bigger our prayers should be.

After praying, should come visualisation then the actualisation happens.
People praying and visualising are finding they feel better, sleep better, work better, do better, are better.

To help with developing a peaceful mind it is helpful to daily practice having a quiet time. The prescription is for 15 minutes of no noise, no thoughts, no reading, no writing. Just listening for the deep sounds of harmony, beauty and God.

This will help with energy levels too. Discharging any emotional upheaval can help to develop an uninterrupted flow of energy into the mind and body. Keep thoughts positive. How we think we feel definitely has an effect on how we actually feel physically.

Stay tuned. More good stuff to come.