The mistake routinely made is one of comparison. Somehow, the thought is born that we should be further along the path, that these thoughts are in someway an indication of lack of progress on our part. Nonsense. A cloudy day is just a cloudy day unless we decide the clouds are an indicator of impending doom.
A thought only has power if we choose to empower it.
Self-condemnation empowers the negative, invites into our consciousness needless suffering and restricts, stifles growth. Do not let impatience drive you to despair, to needless wear and tear in your psyche. Life isn’t a race. When a “curious” thought surfaces do not waste time trying to figure out where it came from or why it appeared, for to do so opens the door to morbid reflection, which should be avoided like the plague. Upon becoming aware of the discordant thought, gently give it over to God in directed prayer. Later in meditation, if it resurfaces, remember the cloudy day and ask God if there is anything additional He would have you see. Do not go to any lengths whatsoever to document or remember these random thoughts. Most of them will just come and go with little notice if we are diligent in applying spiritual principles as soon as they surface.
Remember the lesson of the campfire ember: when a burning ember from the fire lands on our shirtsleeve if we brush it off immediately no harm will be done. If however we stop to contemplate on it the shirt will have a hole in it and a welt on our arm to mark it. The only embers we remember, the ones that caused damage, are the ones we “thought” about. With God’s help brush off those curious embers reflexively; remembering the sun is always shining behind the clouds.
Zen, Wayne Dyer, The Secret, Source, ACIM, Alanon, Bible, Emmet Fox,
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