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INTRO
What I share with you today comes directly from nature.
It’s a lesson concerning the power of seeds.
Only these seeds exist in the mind.
Perhaps this feels odd? I know it once did to me,
but over the years I’ve found it very helpful to tend and cultivate my mind.
This is what I wish to share.
How I tend and cultivate my mind.
I imagine you already know much of it,
but maybe you’re like me and you forget.
We are the gardeners of our minds, the gardeners of our lives.
All we need to do is remember that seeds grow.
That’s it.
Seeds grow.
And not just in soil,
seeds grow in the mind.
They grow roots, and trunks,
branches, fruits, nuts, berries.
They grow into gardens!
So it’s important to consider which seeds we sow, tend, cultivate.
Now, what exactly is a seed in the mind?
My definition is this: a seed of the mind is any stimulus.
That means: sight, sound, speech, touch, taste, smell.
Pretty much everything.
Which is a TON of seeds.
But fortunately, they don’t all grow.
This is because seeds need tending in order to grow.
The field of science which studies this is called neuroplasticity.
How does neuroplasticity work?
Attention, emotion, repetition.
These are the primary actions which cause the brain to grow.
And this begins with tiny seeds called neurons.
When a neuron is given attention, emotion, and repetition, it grows.
This is how the brain wires, and rewires itself.
Attention, emotion, and repetition.
This is the natural process of creating neural connections within the brain.
Without attention, emotion, repetition, seeds die.
This is Nature’s gift to us.
We can grow the aspect of our brains we want, and allow others to die.
This is innate to the mind – it has the ability to adapt, change, grow, and die.
Let’s pause and review what I’ve just said.
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First, every impulse is a seed.
Second, seeds grow if you give them attention, emotion, repetition.
Third, the mind can adapt, change, grow, and die.
When I remember these three aspects of the mind:::
I’m careful about the impulses I expose myself to….
I’m thoughtful with my attention, emotion, and repetition of mental processes…
And I’m aware that my mind will adapt, change, grow and die, based on my choices.
There you have it. My simple and straightforward lesson from Nature.
This is all you need to know in order to cultivate a healthy mind.
First, every impulse is a seed.
Second, seeds grow if you give them attention, emotion, repetition.
Third, the mind can adapt, change, grow, and die.
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Let’s break each one down.
First, every impulse is a seed.
This one is simple in theory but a little tricky in application because it may mean we need to change our lifestyle. This first lesson asks us to be thoughtful of our environment.
Imagine… everything you see is a seed.
What visions are you planting?
Imagine… everything you hear is a seed.
What beliefs are you planting?
Imagine… everything you speak is a seed.
Do you plant beauty with your words?
What we expose ourselves to directly affects how our genes express themselves.
This is the science of epigenetics.
I’ll do my best to explain how.
DNA is ancient.
DNA is secure and stable, slow to change.
As it should be.
But nature needs to adapt…
So DNA has substructures, one of which is called an epigenome.
Epigenomes are adaptive, they are more youthful than DNA.
One scientist described epigenomes as sticky bundles because epigenomes stay as they are, sticky,
until the environment changes.
When the environment changes, epigenomes change.
And when epigenomes change, gene expression changes.
I’d like to repeat this.
When our environment changes, our epigenomes change.
When our epigenomes change, our gene expression changes.
This is NATURE bidding at her lowest cost.
It’s far easier – and faster– for NATURE to change epigenomes, and thereby alter the expression of a gene.
All of this is far beyond my expertise but I want to mention it because I’ve found it to be true through personal experience.
When I change my environment, I change.
And I use the term environment as an all-inclusive.
Environment is the outer physical environment,
the world I live in, the stimuli I expose myself to.
Environment is the inner energetic environment,
my beliefs, my thoughts, my emotional habits.
Environment is also the unseen spiritual environment,
my faith, my intuition, my dreams.
So you soo, each of us has the ability to alter gene expression through the choices we make.
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Second, seeds grow if you give them attention, emotion, repetition.
Have you heard the quote by Henley?
I am the master of my fate.
I am the captain of my soul.
I imagine Henley was very thoughtful about his attention, emotion, and repetitive mental processes.
I imagine he was thoughtful about what he cultivated in his mind.
This second lesson requires you to be aware. Be aware of what your mind is thinking…
Which doesn’t mean you should control your thoughts.
It’s enough to be aware of thoughts.
Do your best to allow thoughts, and they will move on through.
Especially the unhealthy ones. Let them be like water - flowing on by.
No need to react to them, believe them, or jump into them.
You can also choose new thoughts to give your attention, emotion and repetition to.
Thoughts which bring you joy, or help you feel content with where you are, who you are.
Thoughts don’t need to be complex. Simple tends to be quite powerful.
I’m doing my best.
Things are working out for me.
I care about myself.
Small steps of awareness make big changes so don’t underestimate every moment of attention.
You are the gardener of your life.
You simply need to tend to the life you want to live.
And.
You’re doing great.
Keep practicing the art of neuroplasticity.
Pay attention, give emotion and repetition, to the thoughts which grow the life you long for.
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This is Nature’s gift to us.
We can grow the aspect of our brains we want, and allow others to die.
Which is number three.
Third, the mind can adapt, change, grow, and die.
Number two and three are closely related. The difference lies in cultivating specific thoughts in number two, and considering what needs to die, change or adapt in number three.
SOmetimes we need to stop thinking, or believing, a thought.
Or we need to change an old belief.
Or adapt and grow new perspectives and attitudes.
Number three is more about the network of the mind.
It asks us to see how all things are interrelated.
How our belief in ourself affects our relationships.
How our faith in others affects our ability to love.
How our attitudes place limits on possibility.
The lesson in three asks us to challenge the nature of our being.
How we live in accord with Nature, or out of balance with Nature.
This often requires us to dig deeper than a thought.
It asks us to stop plucking fruits and look for the truth, which lies deep.
In the roots.
This problem isn’t the dangling fruit. If we pluck them they just grow back.
We need to dig along the root to find the belief or judgment which causes the fruit – the addiction, depression, anxiety, paranoia, pain, and unhealthy habits.
The root leads us to our deepest fears, pains, and traumas.
Sometimes my roots are ancient, they are no longer even wood, they are petrified.
And I’m petrified of them.
So, I dig slowly…I take my time to explore all the bits of wisdom the root offers.
I dig a little and then pause.
I tap the root,
I listen.
I hear echoes, whispers, sometimes wisdom, or guidance.
I dig a little.
I tap the root again.
I feel,
I feel the emotions I fear.
I breathe.
I dig a little.
I tap again.
I ask questions.
.
What can I learn from this root?
What emotion is associated with this root?
How can I transform, compost, or dissolve this ancient, rooted story?
And one question I love to ask,
which Byron Katie so cleverly states,
Who am I without this story, this root?
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Asking questions is how I navigate lesson number three because roots never lie.
They always lead me to the truth.
And that truth is often a lie, one I’ve been telling myself for years,
or a lie someone else told me to believe decades ago.
Roots are tricky.
Which is why I’m dedicating the whole next episode to them.
For now, I’d like you to practice number one and two.
Be aware of the environments you live in. How do they affect you?
Be aware of your thoughts. How do they affect you?
Visit new environments and think new thoughts.
See how they affect you.
Remember, you are the gardener of your life.
The master of your fate and captain of your soul.
You are the tender, the cultivator, the sower, the reaper.
And blessed to be.
Your life is precious.
You are precious.
So keep on keepin’ on
and I will too…
Until we share time and space again, know that I’m sending you the sweetness of springtime,
the sacredness of seeds,
and a songbird’s tune of farewell.
OUTRO
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