I have always known that the human mind has an innate ability to create a story or paint a picture of the past, present or future simply by thinking the same thoughts over and over.

The tricky thing about this gift of the mind is the thoughts we each think do not have to be based on the truth. We humans can tend to tell ourselves scary stories that cause us to forget what we are truly made of and to even ignore facts so we can be fooled by the fears we feed ourselves. By the same token, we can also avoid taking responsibility for ourselves by telling stories that keep us from distinguishing truth from fiction.

Once I caught on to this phenomena I became very careful about choosing what conversations I would have with myself and where I would allow my mind to dwell.

My obvious ah-haaaa with this discovery was that I did not have to see myself as better than anyone else to feel good about and to trust myself. If I worked less to be like someone else and simply lived authentically, I not only felt better, I made fewer mistakes and it was a whole lot easier. As a result, I climbed out of the hole of self-condemnation to self-compassion and self-love and the results in my life in all areas were clearly more positive.

Learning and then repeatedly practicing this lesson of the power of perception by using my mind in a beneficial way set me up to deal with my cancer diagnosis with a whole lot less emotional trauma than what I may have otherwise experienced.

The examples of thoughts noted below that I have focused on throughout this cancer adventure can also be adapted to fit just about any challenge.

5 Pieces of My Mind:

1. I know my joy and love of life is far greater in strength than any cancer.
2. I know I can meet any challenge that comes into my life, including a cancer diagnosis.
3. I trust all will be well no matter what the outcomes may be.
4. I know I am more than a physical body. I am an invulnerable spirit.
5. I am not alone.

These thoughts have kept me out of fear and keep me aligned with what I want rather than with what I don’t want.

Since I prefer a simple guidebook for life, it clearly makes sense that I do my best to use my mind in a way that will serve me rather than harm me. I am also reminded that the messages I give myself influence my experience in every compartment of my life. In other words thoughts can be cross referenced, hitting on more than one area at a time. (Good news if you are a positive thinker)

I can easily test this powerful tool by noticing how I feel at any given moment. If I think thoughts aligned with love, joy, peace, gratitude and acceptance I feel happier and more powerful. If I think scary thoughts, I feel weak and scared.

Without a doubt, my years of practice using my mind for good rather than evil set me up to take this cancer adventure on in a way that will not cause any unnecessary suffering. Since I am not one to suffer needlessly, I will continue to do more of the same.

One more piece of my mind is that I get better with practice, so I guess I will read this post one more time.