The Garden of the Mind

“The mind is everything; what you think is what you become. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” 

“A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.”  

“Men do not attract which they want, but that which they are.” James Allen (1864-1912).

You can see from these quotes why in the 1970’s I was impacted by the writings of British author, James Allen. In his little book entitled ‘As a Man Thinketh’ written in 1907, he also explains, “A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If cultivated it will grow a beautiful garden. But if neglected, it will grow weeds.  If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind. As a man thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.”

Why not begin your quest to become the master gardener of your soul, the director of your life? Become inspired to create a most beautiful garden in your mind. First of all, pay close attention to creating the kind of quality thoughts you want. 

In Jamaica, a National Values Program was created for all schools through the Ministry of Information focusing on selected values of respect, tolerance, honesty, truthfulness, peace, love, and forgiveness. As Living Values Education representatives we were invited to participate. 

Being more of an agrarian country, the students were introduced to the five prominent residents of the Garden of the Mind, that is, the major players of the Thought Family: Positive, Necessary, Waste, Ordinary and Negative. The students were asked to identify which plant best represented these five resident members and why. Here’s their agreed selection and discussion points we discussed and practiced:

A ROSE FLOWER: Positive thoughts create health, wealth and happiness; like a rose, they are beautiful, fragrant, symbols of love and are the secret for success. Learn to create positive, powerful thoughts; make a list of several positive affirmations you like, and then repeat these for at least five minutes daily, preferably immediately on waking up.  

Examples: I have planted the seeds of good wishes and every seed will grow and blossom at the ‘right’ time. I want nothing more than what I have right now; everything comes in its own time. I do not control. I allow things to unfold, as whatever is happening is beneficial. I show respect by saying, “You first!” See every day as a new day. I am beautiful like a rose flower, I am wonderful just as I am. Once I see and accept that, others will too. 

A TREE: Necessary Thoughts. They help to keep your day organized, as well as sustain, protect and provide calmness and coolness in the mind, clarity and shelter from stress.  Learn how to remain in the present moment. It is our protection of peace. If you are depressed you are living in the past; if anxious, you are living in the future; if peaceful you are in the present. 

Both Positive and Necessary Thought reside under blue cloudless skies with Godly rays of the Sun shining light, might, love, happiness and peace on them. 

A WEED: Waste thoughts. The largest percentages of thoughts are waste thoughts. Often we see our thoughts running wild, too fast, too many thoughts. Waste thoughts are the weeds in the inner garden of the mind; being distracted, worrying about the past or future, excess thinking of things that probably never happen. Worrying is a total waste of time. It doesn’t change anything. All it does is steal your joy and keeps you busy doing nothing! Waste thoughts are born from our own desires and attachments. When I stay in silence, I am able to merge everything wasteful or that causes me heaviness and headaches. Then, when my intellect is clean, I am able to be free from the static of worries. I can catch God’s signals for me and know what I have to do.  

ORDINARY thoughts are the subtle offspring of Waste; they are habitual, not wasteful, but we’re not actually transforming anything. Rather than say, “How are you, ” best to first think to the self, “I’m glad to see you are well, happy, and prosperous,” and then speak. Keep the aim of having high quality thoughts. Tell them how well they are looking!  

A CACTUS. Negative thoughts. When someone puts a damper on the meeting or a conversation, you can be sure there is some negative hidden inner baggage within which contains sorrow and darkness. Negative thoughts drain our energy, bringing a loss to oneself and others. Anger, lust, greed, attachment and ego are the thorny branches on the cactus that cause sorrow and disease. 
Both Waste and Negative Thought are under stormy skies with thunder and lightening bolts of guilt, revenge, stress, jealousy, doubt, etc., flashing all around.  

2021 promises to be a wonderful year ahead. How do I know? Because I decided it will be that way! You can decide how 2021 will be for you too.  You might like to repeat the above affirmations to yourself each day. Once I have convinced my mind that everything is good, it becomes so, in all ways!  

Life becomes like a beautiful garden, a joy, and a merry-go-round. Everything comes to me easily and naturally. I attract what I need in the moment. It’s almost as if life is simply waiting to serve me, at my beck and call. Wow! Life is my waiter and I am the guest, sitting calmly, and ready to order more of the good things in life from the lovingly planted and cultivated garden of my mind!  

(Sister Chirya has served at the Brahma Kumaris Peace Village Retreat Center in Hunter Mountain, N.Y. For 35 years she practiced and taught BK Raja Yoga meditation internationally and conducted Living Values Education in over 65 schools while based in the Caribbean for 15 years. Sister Chirya studied Education at Cornell University and brings her experience as an educator to various workshops and classes. You can contact her by email to bkchirya@gmail.com.)