The first words were, “Reason is a mental power,” so I was excited to keep reading. Then it shared several tips for using reason correctly, including getting all the facts, putting passion aside, and applying logic.
That’s where they lost me.
I wasn’t interested in reason the way that we were taught in school. I was interested in reason as a mental faculty.
See, when Bob and I talk about using reason, we’re talking about much more than making conclusions based on what’s logical. We’re talking about choosing what we want to accept and reject and originating new and exciting ideas. We’re talking about reason as the ability to think—to really Think.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
To understand where I’m going with this, let’s briefly review how your mind works.
Understanding Precedes Change
Your mind is composed of two parts—the conscious mind and the subconscious mind.
The conscious mind is the part of you that contains your free will. It’s the part of you that thinks and can accept or reject any idea.
Even though your conscious mind is the part that thinks, your subconscious mind is the most magnificent part of you. It functions in every cell of your body. Every thought your conscious mind chooses to accept, this part of your mind must accept; it cannot reject.
This is important because the thoughts that you consciously choose and impress upon the subconscious mind must move through your body into action. The actions you are involved in determine the results you get in life.
Where Reason Comes In
The faculty of reason works in the conscious mind. It is, essentially, our ability to think.
Reason is how we choose. Its job is to analyze, compare, and evaluate ideas. However, it also has one other really important capability – it can take all the information it has, stir it up, and come up with brand new ideas.
See, your real spiritual power in life is that you’re not limited by what’s gone before, you can choose something different and create something new.
Here’s another important point…
Reason puts you in control of your thoughts. No person or circumstance can cause you to think or have an idea that you do not choose. In any moment, whatever circumstances you’re facing in life, you can either react to it or respond to it.
Here’s an example of what I mean.
Let’s suppose you’re looking at the business section of the local newspaper and an economist has written, “The forecast for the next year is we’re going to sink into a recession. The market is going down. Unemployment is going up. Be careful. Watch everything you’re doing.”
If you’re using reason correctly, you will reject that idea and decide you’re not going to participate in the recession.
Using reason correctly is thinking instead of reacting. It’s choosing the ideas you want to build on in your life instead of allowing other people or circumstances to control your thoughts.
What Most People Do
When an idea comes in through their physical senses to their consciousness, most people ask themselves if it is good or bad.
Well, everything in the universe is both good and bad, right and wrong, positive and negative. And everything is either getting better or worse. It’s creating or disintegrating.
So, when you receive information, instead of asking if it’s good or bad, ask the following questions:
- Will this information move me in the direction that I want to go without violating the rights of others, or is it going to take me in another direction?
- Will this idea make me more effective, or will it make me less effective?
- Is this idea going to move me in the direction of my determined goal, or is it going to move me away from my goal?
Then, you will know whether you want to accept the idea or not.
Just as you can pick up valuable information from others, you can also pick up negative information. As the negative comes in, kick it out of your mind, realizing you can choose what you to think.
There’s a creative power that is always flowing to and through you. As it flows into your conscious mind, choose to build a magnificent image that moves you toward your goals, happiness, and abundance.
That’s using reason the correct way.
Why It’s Important
As I’ve mentioned, you can use reason (which is in your conscious mind) to originate ideas—big, bold, exciting ideas of what you want to be, do, and have in life.
Your subconscious mind, on the other hand, cannot do this. It can only take ideas passed to it from the conscious mind and then act on them to create results.
The subconscious mind knows no limits, except those you consciously choose. In other words, ANY idea—whether it’s real or imagined—that is impressed upon the subconscious mind, the subconscious mind willingly accepts.
If the conscious mind gives the subconscious mind the same ideas it has always given it, you’re going to continue to get the same results you’ve always gotten.
However, if you use reason correctly and you turn over a big new idea that disrupts the balance between your beliefs and life experience, your subconscious mind may object by making you uncomfortable. However, if you persist, it HAS to move into action with your new idea. And, eventually, you will get the new results.
Begin to Fantasize
To get the most from life, you must begin to fantasize about what you want. Just let your mind run wild. Forget the past. Forget what others say or think. Let your thoughts flow freely and build a beautiful fantasy. When we allow the creative essence within us to flow freely, magic starts to happen.
What you are really doing is permitting the essence of who you are out of the box, letting it flow into your consciousness and into whatever form you want. There are no limits, absolutely none. See yourself accomplishing whatever it is that your heart desires.
Now when you picture this fantasy of what you want very clearly, then you want to turn that fantasy into a theory. You build the fantasy with your imagination, and you turn it into a theory with your reasoning mind.
Let’s say your fantasy is turning your annual income into your monthly income. You build it into a theory by recognizing that you can keep your job while adding passive streams of income, such as starting an online business. That’s when you start to take it seriously because you’re giving the idea legs and you are starting to look at it from a very serious perspective.
Now, the only thing that is required for you to turn that fantasy into a theory is for you to answer two questions in the affirmative:
1) Am I able?
2) Am I willing?
So, let’s address each question.
The first is, are you able? Yes, of course, you are able. All science and theology indicate that you have infinite potential. This isn’t just a myth. You have a marvelous mind you can use to create anything you truly want.
The next question is, are you willing? Are you willing to put in the time? Are you willing to make the investment? Are you willing to invest in yourself to develop your consciousness to create the awareness that is required to do this?
When the answer to that question is yes, you set out on the beginning of a creative journey. Away you go. You are emotionally involved.
You do not have to know how you are going to get there. You do not have to know where the resources are going to come from. That is irrelevant at this point of the creative process. They will come from wherever they are now.
You have this magnificent idea inside of you; it is causing your mind and body to move on a very high frequency. Because of that, the image will begin to move into form. That is the perpetual transmutation of energy.
When your fantasy materializes and turns into a fact, then you can build bigger and better fantasies.
This is growth. It is conscious creation.
To more and better,
Sandy Gallagher
