The mind controls both your body and how you experience physical reality. If allowed to control itself, the mind can bring about an experience of reality so twisted that you’ll never experience life as it is intended. Whether you experience a world of endless bliss or one of pain, it all starts with your mind. I’ll be showing you the ways that your mind tricks you into bringing about such realities. I will also share some easy tips that allow you to realign your mind within yourself so that it will always work for you and never against you. The most important thing to remember through it all is that you are not your mind. I will say this again, you are not your mind. You control your mind. And since you control your mind, you are the maker of your current reality. Don’t allow yourself to be mind-controlled by any forces other than you.

1) Making your past your present.

Time is a construct of the mind. You can find evidence of this in its inconsistencies. Time flies when you’re having fun, but slows to a crawl when you’re in a situation you do not enjoy. A second is not a second and an hour is not an hour. Time changes only by the meaning you give it right now. Everything that has ever happened to you, happened to you now. Think about that for a second. Whenever your mind travels “back in time”, you travel nowhere and you give control of your mind over to nothing. You are telling this moment that it’s meaningless and that the past holds value. You become a slave to what has already happened and you define it as all that could ever happen. So the truth is regarded as false and the false becomes your truth. Example 1:

• When a child is learning to walk, she cares nothing of her past. Her focus is on walking. She does not dwell there thinking, “I never walked. Every time I’ve tried, I’ve failed (fell). So why try again? Besides, they don’t want me to walk. Parents want their kids to just crawl all the time. So why bother?” This is insane thinking, yet this is the equivalent to attempting to hold the past in the present.

Example 2:

• In light you can never see darkness. If you bring darkness to light, only the light remains because the darkness has no foundation to stand upon. But when your entire focus is on darkness, this is all you will see. Leave the past in the darkness and let your present be light.

The truth is that everyone enjoys being happy. The only way to be happy all the time is to be in the present all the time. Here are some things you can do to stay present:

• Ask yourself regularly, “Am I choosing happiness right now?”
• Do what you love.
• Meditate.
• Play!

Make the above a priority. Create habits around them. They will have a profound effect on your wellbeing.

2) Being down with OPP (Other People’s Perceptions).

As you’ve successfully been made aware, you notice that many people aren’t living in reality. They are living in the past overlooking the perfection that exists at this moment. To give weight to their perceptions is to attempt to make what is untrue true. When their entire life is built upon what could never be, they are never being. This goes against the very nature as a human being. They are going against themselves thus becoming their own enemy. Since even within yourself you can’t always trust your own thoughts, there is no sense in putting another’s thoughts over your own. And until you hold everything up to the light of truth, you will not see anything as it truly is.

So how can you let go of OPP?

Use compassion. Understand that whenever someone is communicating with you in a way that is not aligned with love (truth), they are speaking as a person trapped in their own illusion. But this should not stop you from showing love to them. Love is the light that will help them to see their way out.

• The more you teach love, the more you will learn about it.
• The more you learn to love, the more you will embody it.
• The more you embody love, the more you will become love.

Once you’ve become love, you will realize the reality of your being, which is being love itself. So in order to not be affected by OPP, practice love & compassion always. You may be thinking, “Well what if a person…” It doesn’t matter what a person does. They are giving you an opportunity to practice what you’ve taught. Teach them well and receive the lesson.

3) Having enemies & haters.

Defining, judging, and/or acknowledging someone as your enemy or hater actually weakens your ability. You are holding onto the belief that someone other than you can control your reality. You are giving away your control to another. As pointed out in the article Why You Keep Losing To The Enemy, enemies aren’t your enemies at all because they:

• inspire you to go beyond your previously perceived limits
• reveal the things you’ve allowed to have power over you
• unite you with others

Once you switch from perception to true sight, you will see others in a new light. You will no longer look for enemies, but more versions of yourself that are capable of all things. The way to not be affected by enemies/haters is to see them as they are. They are revealers of your true self and your unlimited potential. They are love made manifest, just as you are.

4) Seeking distraction instead of joy.

Movies, shows, concerts, games, etc are forms of entertainment, yet they don’t always bring you joy. If left unmonitored, they become some of the biggest distractions keeping you from your joy. Let’s take television for example. Some shows actually leave you angry and unsatisfied after watching. Other shows you may be watching only because you’ve already watched so much of it and you just want to finish the series. Does this sound like joy to you? According to a Nielsen report, the average adult in the United States watches 5 hours & 4 minutes of TV per day. That’s 35.5 hours per week, almost as much as another full-time job. I’m picking on television, but this could easily go for other entertainment forms like social media and playing video games. If these activities are bringing you true joy, then great. But for the majority, it isn’t. It’s bringing up feelings of loneliness or regret for watching another experience the life you want to experience. Now that you are aware of this, take a mental inventory while you’re performing one of these activities. Check-in with yourself to see how you feel. Ask yourself would you rather be doing anything else? If your answer is “yes”, it’s time for a switch-up. Switch your attention to joy. What you focus on will expand.

Make it easy for yourself.

While you’re energized from reading this article, delete those time-wasting apps. Cancel or downsize your cable subscription. And similarly, plan out a way to do at least one hour of a joyful thing per day. What can you add to your life daily that will bring you more joy? By focusing on and adding only what brings you joy, there will be little room for anything else. Those distractions that don’t fulfill you will fall away unnoticed.

5) Becoming addicted.

The sneaky thing about addiction is that you don’t always know what you are addicted to. Everything you do becomes easier and easier because you are designed to continuously become more efficient. The more you sit on the couch watching TV, the better you’ll become at sitting on the couch watching TV. Your body will adapt. This is similar to athletes. Most basketball players have growth spurts and end up being the tallest ones in their family. The same is true for gymnasts. The more centered and tighter the core, the better spins and tumbles that can be achieved. So they often grow stronger, but not taller. In all cases, your body adapts to help you do better that which you do often. Common addictions that aren’t always noticed are:

• sharing your opinion without being asked
• reacting negatively to bad news
• scrolling on social media
• listening to gossip
• eating addictions
• thinking

Yes, thinking is an addiction. Thinking is the opposite of knowledge because it’s the opposite of knowing. When you know something, you don’t think about it. Think about it. 🤔😁 None of the above addictions mentioned are necessarily bad. Just when done unconsciously, they won’t serve you as well as they could if done consciously. So how do you overcome addiction? All of the elements in this article work together to help free you from addiction. By staying in the moment, you increase your awareness. This way the object of your addiction becomes a conscious choice. You may still choose to indulge, but it’s not a mindless habit. Similarly, by adding more joy, you won’t have “time” for addictions. Many people don’t even think about eating when they are highly engaged in something they love. The true test to see if you’re addicted to something is to not do it for a while. If every fiber of your body is calling out for the thing, you are addicted. Remember, you are in control of your body. It isn’t in control of itself. It adapts to the beliefs you give it.

Regain Control of Your Mind

Your mind is your mind, nobody else’s. You are the one that controls it and you should be the only one that controls it. Train your mind to not be so reactive. Control your mind so that you can experience what you want to experience when you want to experience it. You are powerful. You are perfect. You are. Which one of these 5 are you currently overcoming? Let me know in the comments.