Hello, and welcome to Decide on Joy, a podcast coming to you from Harmony Spiritual Center in Fort Worth, Texas. My name is Jim Kovalt. And hello, my name is Rev. Dr. P. J. Stanley. Hi, and welcome. And this podcast is about some basic principles of new thought, or maybe things Beyond just basic principles of New Thought and how they apply in daily life. I guess we could have the brief intro to New Thought here at this point. Sure. Absolutely. Because you know, we don't know who's new and if anybody knows what New Thought is. And I don't like listening to something or somebody is using a term I don't understand. So, New Thought. Let's just talk about this for a fact. We know there's nothing new under the sun. So it's not about actually having a new thought in, in the world. It's about you as an individual deciding to change your mind and having a different thought. And so what we know about how life unfolds is that our life is made up and comes into focus, comes into manifestation by the thoughts that we think. So if we are having a life. That isn't quite what we want. We can look at that life and say, what are we calling in? What are we saying about life? Things like, I'm not smart enough, or I don't have enough money, or whatever those things are, then we're calling that in to our lives. So we can change our mind about that and say affirmations such as, I, the universe is abundant and all the money that is necessary for me to live the life I want flows to me. So, that's what new thought means. We're just talking about all the ways in which we go through life, and we're just, we're just thinking, thinking, thinking all the time, and not every thought we have is beneficial for us. So we get to be in control of that, or at least be aware of what goes on. And that's what new thought is, and that's what we do here at Harmony, is to talk to you about what your thinking is, and how to have a better life. And, and this Podcast topic relates pretty directly to that. It does. Indeed. It's called doing and being. Yes. And for a start, what's the difference in those things? So doing, I think we all, all get wrapped up in doing because that's what life is, right? We're active. We want success. We are goal oriented. And so in the doing of things is, is all about future planning. All thinking about. What's, what's next? What do I do about, how do I live a, well even have, even living a better life? Or how do I get the next promotion? Or be successful at this goal? Just constantly future thinking. That is doing. What, worrying about what's I'm going to make for dinner? What are we doing for Christmas? Who's coming over? Just all of these concerns about what is even here yet? That is doing. Being is being present in every moment of our lives, and that is no small task. I realize that. But being Being, just like right now, I'm here with you now, with you Jim with you all that are listening, let's, let's be here together so that we're not multitasking. As I'm talking and you're texting someone else and then you think, oh, what did she just say about that? You can rewind it. Ha ha ha. But that is the difference between doing and being. It's about future think as opposed to being present right now. Right. And the other thing that can be a problem with being present in the moment is not just future thinking, but thinking about the past. Absolutely. A thing you truly can't do anything about. It's just absolutely amazing how much time we spend on what happened, what could have happened, what should have happened. None of that changes the actual outcome. Nothing changes what did happen. And so all that energy that we spend, we're, and it actually ends up being worrying about those things. And we're thinking about those things and are repeatedly in our minds. And we're not, that causes us not to be present in what's going on right now, not with the person or the things that you're doing, you're not with them. So you're not actually fully enjoying them and being with them because your mind is elsewhere. So, yeah, exactly. Thinking about the past as well as the future. Thank you. So. Obviously, there's a balance there, because as you say, we have, to some extent, we kind of have to, you know, you know, oh, I have to set an alarm for this time because I have this appointment, or I have to, you know, pay the rent. Right, and I want to be healthy, and so I want to make a doctor's appointment, that's a future thought. Yeah but I guess the thing is just not to let those take over. Exactly. Not, not to be run by them. I think it's that, I think it's about not letting them take over and also being consciously aware of what you're thinking. So that you're consciously aware that I'm going to, I'm making this appointment to do whatever it is I need to do. I want to set, I'm setting this goal. So I have to think about what I want that to look like in the future. If I'm having a business I want to think about my customers, my clients, when they come through the door, so they're not in the door yet. When they come to the door, what would they like to see? What would enhance their, their visit? So there is future thinking in terms of your goals and things like that. But when you're always an ongoing. over future thinking and, and, and your mind is on the things that don't actually move you forward. One of the things we do here at Harmony Spiritual Center and in New Thought is to every year rather than goal setting, we take a look at our past and we think about what we value, what we said are our values. And that's what we do. Look at how we've lived over the over the year and think have we actually lived to that? Those values I claim are important to me. And if not, then are those actually my values? So we do look backwards to see How we want to adjust our path and our goals. So it's not about not looking backwards. It's not about not looking forward It's about constantly being out of the moment and being fully aware of what you're doing Future think, past think, and current think. Right, and you can, maybe, I mean this just occurred to me, but I think you can create a container for that, in a way. It's like, okay, This, I'm, I'm this, this bit of time I'm planning for this thing. Correct. And then you've done that. Yes. You've established it. You don't have to keep, keep worrying it, rerunning it and, and, and worrying at it and things. That is Exactly. It's the rerun. It's the rerun. That's the problem. Right. That's a very good point. Point. And like we were saying about thinking about the, the. Past year or whatever You're in a container there. This is what we're doing at the moment. We're thinking about exactly We're in the moment thinking about the past, but that's what we decided to do in this moment Yeah to benefit our future. So we're actually doing three things at once really, right? So that's not you know, it's not i'm not so we're not saying don't ever do that That's not we're saying at all. And of course, I don't like to say ever and never all of that the the the tale here is to be Always, as much, I don't like using always either, but I just used it but as much as possible to be aware and consciously making choices for what you are doing and what you are deciding upon. So that when you get to a place. And when I say a place, I don't mean a physical place, I mean just a place in your life you've next leveled, you've gone to wherever you think you want to go to. You can look back and go, yeah, this is where I wanted to be. Or we can say, not quite. Where, where was the fork in the road, where I didn't quite keep straight, and we revisit those ideas. But, again, just consciously, constantly, just worrying and thinking about things that haven't happened, things that have happened and you can't make a, a, a, a dent in it. I, I, I believe that that's, that takes you out of control of your life. And I, I truly believe that we are happiest, in fact, I think that's a, it's a universal principle, that we are happiest to the degree that we feel in control of our lives. And being you know, being, doing and being is part of that. Understanding when you are doing either one of them is a part of that. And the, the thing about obsessing about planning for the future and everything actually can, it feels like you're, you're creating that, that, that stable situation there for yourself, but in fact you're just creating anxiety. Yes. Yeah. Right. Correct. And we do have to set intention. I mean, that is part of it. We, we, when we look over our lives and we think, well, how did I get here? Because we didn't. And, and life will take you wherever you nilly willy go. It'll, it'll take you there. Cause your thoughts do that. But if you want to end up someplace that you desire to be, then it's setting an intention for that. So we do have to think about what is my intention for the future. My intention is to be a good person, to be a loving person. Those are my values. And I want to be a speaker or I want to do a podcast. This didn't just happen by us sitting here thinking podcast, podcast, come up. It didn't, but we certainly had to think about it. And think what direction do we want to go and what do we want to say? So yes, there's, there is definitely planning for the future, but not overthinking. Yeah, are there, are there practices that can help you? Maintain more of the being in the present moment? I believe there are. State? I do. And I, and I, and currently, there's a, people are, there's a movement, I don't know, everyone's talking about mindfulness. And to me, that's, that is the same thing as being, being present. Mindfulness is the same thing as being present. And so, you can just catch yourself. You can begin. To catch your thoughts. You can, you know, we're in the car, when you're driving, that is a great place for your mind to be wandering around. It's all over the place. You're in Europe somewhere, and, you know, you're wondering, Oh, how did this car get in front of me? Because your mind is elsewhere. So, practicing mindfulness in the car while you're driving is a great place to start. To think okay, I need to be here present right now with this car and these people all around me So that's a great place to get started The other thing is and the difference between mindfulness and meditation Mindfulness is being present and and and thoughtfully present Knowing that you are present in this moment and, and being here consciously. Meditation is actually, I don't want to say it's the opposite, but what it is, is actually letting go of thought and allowing your intuition to be heard. And So it's, it's, it's kind of like being with you. And the way the words we use are your higher self the presence of your, if you're a spiritual person, this presence of God or whatever you call that, which is greater than yourself. If you have a thinking of that, that there's something, some universal presence that is with you. And we certainly feel that way. Then meditation is a time, a place where you can hear and whatever I'm using, I'm putting here in quotations. Whatever hearing from that means to you. It could come to you as a vision, it could come to you as a voice, it can come to you as a sound. It comes to you in different ways, but meditation is a way in which to practice being calm and peaceful and hearing from your own inner voice to know the directions you want to go in and where you want to be. Right. Yeah. So those are great, two great practices. And I, I know that the being in the present moment is a central thing in like Eckhart Tolle's teachings and writings. It's been a while since I read it, so I can't guarantee that I got the right thing. But I think, I mean there's something here in your notes, that nothing bad is happening in this moment. We're alive, we're Breathing, we're seeing, we're enjoying. And I think that's parallel to what he says as well. And if something is, you'll know what to do about it. You'll know exactly what to do. If something bad happens, you don't have to think about it. It's happening, and so you'll just react to it. So, unless something actually is happening, then it's all good. And I think that is a wonderful quote. And Makes the point of what we're talking about here in being present, being fully in this now moment. And it just feels, I know, to a number of people who aren't traveling this path that it feels very, you know, airy fairy and all this sort of thing, but it really isn't. It's about, your mind is, and we've, we've, everybody's heard this thing about the monkey mind. Your mind will be all over the place. You have to tell it. You have to tell your mind what you want it to do, otherwise it just goes off like a, like a crazed child. on drugs, you know, just, just everywhere, thinking about all kinds of crazy stuff. And you got to say, no, no, baby, come back. We're not doing that. We're not doing that. Yes. And it can be a fairly strong willed child too. It is. It doesn't, when you tell it to not do that and come back here, it doesn't necessarily want to. Maybe for about a second. Yeah, then it's off. It's off and running. Yeah, and so, so, and so, that's another point. You make a very good point in terms of, of how you, you, you establish this, this settled mind from the monkey mind, is that it is a practice of Telling your mind to come back, catching, first of all, even catching that it's off somewhere, running that you don't want it to be, and saying, no, that's not what I want to do. And what will happen is, the more you do that, the more extended the time will be when you will be present. And that monkey mind will not be there. So, it's a, it's a, like every, so that's another practice of stopping the monkey mind. And saying, nope, we're not doing that, here's what I want to think about right now. Here, being here with you in the car, and you just look at, I'm on the road, whatever it is, and bring your mind to the present moment. And then ten seconds later it's off, that's okay, no need to worry about it, just catch it, bring it back. Catch it, bring it back. Those times will extend, the amount of time that you are back and in in the present moment. Right. Yeah. That's a great practice. Thanks for bringing that up. And, and you know, it strikes me, a lot of stuff. That, that we do, that we involves ourselves in, is, is meant to keep us out of the present moment. It is. It is. I, I agree. I know for myself, when I, I'm overworked, I'm tired, I can't think of another thing, I feel like I need to be, you know, working on something that, a goal that I've created and I want to sit down and do this, but it's not happening. And so I just. That's what the whole veg for me in front of the television is, is that I don't have to think. I could just let it, let it go off and just, you know, just laugh. And I, I don't know if that's, if that's, I don't think it's monkey mind. It's not that it's, it's actually a deliberate way of relaxing and just saying, I don't have to think. It's just a letting go of thinking and just being there, watching, Something in front of me. I don't know, people talk about that, about, you know, you're watching too much television. Too much of a good thing, of whatever you do is not good but I think, I think it has a place. For me it works. And it doesn't work for everybody, but it works for some people. It's reading a book. You know, it's whatever it is that just allows you to come back from that and be with yourself. Yeah. The things some of the, like, social media stuff where you're concerned about How you're presenting yourself, on the other hand, is not that. It's not that. It's not that. It's, and I don't, you know, social media has its place, it does a number of things, I mean you know, I find out about things that are going on that I want to get involved with through social media, through people letting us know. But there are several, several, People that I have that I have stopped following because, because what, what happens is instead of actually being, because what I'm looking for, and I think what many people are looking for is being genuine, is something that means that matters and being genuine. And when I find that I'm with something or watching something that is only about them making money or making, getting follows or whatever it may be I, That's not for me. And that's the choice everybody gets to make. Sometimes maybe that's the way you just, you veg by watching those things. And that's fine too. There's no, there's no judgment about it. I'm just saying, just be mindful about what you're doing. Just know that this is what you're doing. I'm doing this for this reason. That's all. That's how it is. And that has you back in control of your life. Yeah. Yeah. And we're sort of trained to think that if we're not planning for the future, if we're not constantly in the doing mode, then we're, we're wrong. We're not, you know we're not being productive people or whatever. There is no question that that is the case. That we are just in a society and that's just been raised to say that you have to be doing good, doing good things all the time or you are not good yourselves. And so we have that pressure in our school. You have to, if there's a performance it. Expectation there's this doing the planning the goal. What are you doing next? What's next in your life? What's good? What you got going on? That's always the question. That's what what's happened. What's what you got going on? What you doing new and then you feel like well, I'm not doing anything new. I'm loving what I was doing What I was doing I'm still doing that Acceptable answer no, so It has to be acceptable to you. That's back again. And we, I don't know if we've talked about this on our, you know, on a previous podcast. I'll talk about it if we haven't about knowing yourself, know thyself. It, so it doesn't matter what other people think about you. This is all about. The things we're talking about, you and I, Jim, talking to people about what we believe it takes to have the best life possible. This is about the best life possible as you define it. Not as your mother defines it, your father defines it, your wife or husband defines it, your friends define it. How you define it. And if you're living the life that you want to live, as you've defined it, then, then, then you're, then this is the life for you. This is your life. And I celebrate you, and you celebrate it. Celebrate. Because that's hard to do. It's hard to do because everybody has an opinion about what you are supposed to be doing. But the only opinion that matters is yours, not mine, not Jim's, not anyone else's, yours. So if you're living the life that you want to live, hallelujah, good for you. That's what it's about. And that's what we're here to try to help you do. Okay. All right. That sounds like a good place to stop for this episode. Thanks you all for being here, and we'll see you next time. We will.