This is something that I am actively working on these days.

My Seu-Seung Nim says, “The seeds that you plant today will be the flowers of tomorrow.”

When I really stop to think about this, I suddenly feel very alert.  What is it that I’m planting? Right now.  And this moment. And this one.

Each moment suddenly becomes so important.  Where is my mind?  Am I planting flowers or am I planting weeds?

I feel that my current reality is completely a creation and manifestation of all my past thought patterns. Not even just thoughts, but stories, unconscious and conscious beliefs, choices.  This is why choosing hope is so important for my tomorrow.

When I observe myself, I become even more hopeful because I feel that the power is completely in my hands.   If there is a change I want to make,  I just need to begin with making a healthier choice at this moment.  There is nothing and no one but myself who can stop me from doing that.  This is both empowering and liberating.

Ilchi Lee also says that one important component of making a healthy brain operating system is to create a lot of ‘good news’. He says “Good news makes a good brain.”

But quite frankly, I tell myself a lot of bad news in a day!  The behavior is so ingrained.  I feel like I have had an unhealthy thinking and talking habit since I was very young.

Which is another topic altogether ~ words! Words are so important.  But in my life, I have often been sloppy with words.  Not something I am proud of 🙂

Not only from my own habits rising up within me, but bad news is bombarding us from people and society all day long. Information is everywhere. But what is the quality of this information that we hear whether we want to or not – when we walk into a store, when we answer the phone, when we hop on the internet? Is it healthy food for our brains or is it junk food?

This is why it takes constant practice and awareness.  I have decided to practice more diligently these days! Another big inspiration for me is Louise Hay and her affirmation work.  If you’re not familiar with her, at the very least it will be worth it for you to check out her movie “You Can Heal Your Life”.   She drives this message home so beautifully.

So ~ let’s plant bright seeds in our minds that will blossom into a new world!  It’s up to us.  Just as my life will reflect my thoughts, so too this world will reflect our collective thoughts.  When we look at the current condition of things we can see how urgent it is for all of us to take more ownership of our minds. Although this realization can bring a deep twinge of pain to the heart, it also gives me hope.  We are the hope for this planet.  It all starts with simply minding our own mind’s garden 🙂

I talk often about choices and the power of choice.

Did you ever watch the Matrix trilogy?  My favorite part in the entire story is in the final movie when Smith has knocked Neo down and Neo keeps trying to get up, even though he has absolutely no chance to win the fight.  So, Smith goes into this lengthy monologue about what could possibly be Neo’s motivation to get up again?  Is it for peace?  For hope? Or maybe for love?  He explains to Neo that these are all illusions, constructs of  a feeble human mind trying to make sense in the world.  So he continues to ask Neo “Why? Why? Why?” And what does Neo say?  Simply, he says “Because I choose to.”

Just choose.  For choice’s sake.  Because who knows what can possibly happen when we keep trying?  In this universe of infinite possibilities, anything could happen.

That is what I like best about all those epic movies about revolution and saving the world….the heroes always keep choosing hope, to the very last moment.

Recently I realized that I have not been living my life this way.  I thought that I was practicing conscious choice all of the time, but suddenly I realized that there is this other me – a small version of myself who is deeply entrenched in her story – who subconsciously chooses negativity and despair whenever she fails A) Failure or B) Abandonment.  I found those to be 2 strong triggers for me that send me catapulting miles away from my center, and suddenly I’m controlled again by a habitual response.

But by doing this, I can never create a different future.  I realized that the key is in choosing hope, no matter how the reality may look.  Just choose hope in any situation.  Of course, we have to face our situations honestly and look at ourselves clearly and once we have done that work, then we can exercise our power to choose hope.  It requires a good deal of self-trust.  And as we keep doing so, we change our destiny.  We will have a new future that is not just the same old broken record of the past.

So, choose hope for what?  Hope for a new possibility.  Hope for the possibility I dream of.  We are, after all, creators of our lives.  So I took an honest look at where I have been creating misfortune.  I didn’t want to be doing that, but I was, because I was reacting to the moment negatively.  This just brings more negativity.  The universe is a loyal, diligent and fair servant to our requests.

This is akin to turning lemons into lemonade, or crisis into opportunity.  This is what we already know, but sometimes it’s just amazing to come face to face with yourself and realize the possibility you have been missing!  I felt great hope when I realized.  I have hope, because I can choose hope.  Ah ~ this really makes my heart smile 🙂