Living Intentionally: Nourishing your soul part 1: Mind

WOW! Where did the day go. It's 4:30 and I'm just now sitting down to hopefully write something. I wish I was one that writing just flowed in 5 minutes flat. I think I could be with some practice, but anyways, I say that to say, I'm not sure this post will get done before I have to leave for a soccer game at 6:30. Yes, it could take me that long. I also get easily distracted and then there's the towels to put in the dryer, dishwasher to unload and I should probably heat up some soup if my hubby gets home before we have to leave. Yah, so, we'll see. Well, it's now 6:00 and I have gotten no further. Maybe late tonight will be the magic hour.  Now it's the next morning and it just didn't happen last night. Sometimes life gets in the way and that is A-OK!

The reality is that often we don't think about caring for our souls. We just get so busy and bogged down that we go through our days with the same lack of enthusiasm and intentionality that we deserve to give ourselves, that our bodies and our soul and our spirits, cry out for. "Please love me, please take care of me, please make me a priority". How many times do you leave for work, grumbling about the early hour and totally miss the beautiful sunrise? The sunrise that will also be a sunset equally beautiful and given to you by a God that would love for you to enjoy it. How many times to you post negative status after negative status, or enter in to toxic conversations online, at work, at home? How often do you simply forget nurturing your own mind because you're busy "doing" for everyone else? 

I remember one day thinking "who am I anymore? What are my dreams, interests, etc? " It wasn't like I was unhappy, but I am very much a nurturer and give myself wholly to the people around me. Unfortunately often, to the unintentional neglect of myself. 

Let's get some definitions out there and then today we'll talk about being intentional with your mind.

Nourish = to cherish, foster, keep alive. Supply with what is necessary for life, health and growth. Keep alive. 

Soul = The emotional part of human nature, your total self, the moral and emotional state of a human, your mind, will, and emotion. The central or integral part. Your vital core. 

Mind = The part of a person that feels, perceives, thinks, remembers, desires and imagines. 

Will = The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action. Free discretion. Self control, self discipline. Wish or desire. 

Emotions = Any strong feeling such as joy, hate, love, fear, etc..A mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort in response to something else. A feeling. 

 Part of nourishing your mind and being intentional is staying active and engaged in life around us. Keeping our brain active and healthy plays a key role in the health of our mind. Sometimes I will look at someone in their 70's and 80's in comparison to someone else similar in age and I see so strongly the difference between those that keep their mind active and healthy and those who almost seem to have given up on life. I realize that much of the difference is how they think, feel, perceive themselves and life around them. How they keep their brain active and always learning, or they don't. Others perceive everything around them as negative. 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love and a SOUND MIND!

2 Timothy 1:7

But we have the MIND OF CHRIST

1 Corinthians 2:16

So what are ways to be intentional with your mind?

1. Keep your brain healthy and active. I love doing puzzles, games, things that challenge those capacities in my brain. 

2. Read. Read both for pleasure and for learning. 

3. Find a hobby. What is something you would enjoy doing or learning. Take classes teaching you how to do new things. One thing I want to learn is Zendoodling. 

4. Get out and see nature around you. Change your scenery. If you sit in an office all day, find somewhere other than the breakroom at lunch, even if it's sitting outside. The people and even scenery will change on a daily basis. Take a scenic route. Doing this engages our brain that there's something new we are seeing. 

5. Look through old pictures and spend time remembering what was happening during that time. Take time to do recall exercises. 

6. Talk to others. Engage in conversations that both challenge you and inspire you. 

7. Get physical activity...Really, this helps...I need to go say this in the mirror.

8. Don't be afraid to use your imagination whether in writing, creating something, taking pictures, let your imagination flow.

9. Surround yourself with positive people and messages. If you find that you are impacted in your perceptions and thoughts by negativity, then get rid of that toxic information that is coming in. How do you perceive yourself? If it's not positive, then start changing your thinking. 

10. Realize your origin. You were created by God, in His image and you carry His DNA. There's nothing wrong with you. Oh, maybe you need to change your mindset or perception, but you are His. I love reading books that solidify this for me. I don't want to live in a way of thinking that can't make up it's mind about who I am and how much I'm loved. 

Think for yourself of ways you can nourish your mind. Here's a link to 100 Ways to keep your mind healthy. There's some good stuff. Tomorrow we'll talk about our Will.  The following is one of my favorite verses. By taking time to reflect, meditate and stay connected to the source of my origin (The Trinity), my soul is reminded of my origin and who I am!

With Joy Unquenchable,