"What
do you think about yourself? I’m not asking you, ‘What do you
think about God’ or ‘what do you think about Jesus?’ or ‘what
do you think about Rev. Ike?’ My question to you is, “What do you
think about you?” The only value a person has is his
own self-esteem. What he thinks about himself, what he believes
about himself, what he feels about himself. That’s the only
value that you have." - Rev Ike
Throughout
the ages there have been people who understood that "thoughts are
things" and connected this realization with "cause and
effect" especially in regards to the physical and mental
conditions that they have reflected. We really cannot feel
without a thought and we cannot think without a corresponding feeling.
This is an inherent part of our nature. Most of us realize that
positive and negative thinking are just two ways of using the same
energy of mind by the ability of self-choice. We can choose our
thoughts and therefore our feelings about a thing or a person and
these thoughts and feelings are always changeable.
But, it is incumbent upon us to be conscious of what are
thoughts are and our thoughts about the feelings that we experience.
This is why Rev Ike tells us to ask ourselves what we think
about our self. Most
people don’t take the time to consciously consider what their
thoughts and feelings are about themselves and therefore old negative
thoughts and feelings are never displaced with a better thought and
feeling. Then, when
something happens to get our attention as to what we think of
ourselves we are not always prepared to meet the situation as well as
we are capable of doing.
Many people
have had the experience of thought energy affecting someone else.
This is the reason for the experience of "love at first
sight" or at least in some cases lust at first sight. It
happens when the thought energy of someone finds its correspondent in
another. It is as though it has an energy of its own but in
truth it only has the energy that thought has generated. One may
be in need of something, that is creating an attracting energy through
thought, that another person has, be it a personality trait or a
physical attribute and this energy of feeling/thinking brings them
together. This same thinking/feeling energy can also draw into
our awareness ideas and solutions that can provide us opportunities
for greater self-expression.
Rev
Ike reveals that thinking and feeling really cannot be separate
and apart from each other: "When you go for that job
interview, subconsciously the interviewer picks up how you feel about
yourself. He may not understand it intellectually, but he’ll
feel it and he won’t hire you. In this world people can put
you through a lot of unnecessary changes if they want to, but if you
feel right about yourself and you go through life feeling good and
believing good about yourself, people will treat you good. Think
good thoughts about yourself. The Bible says, “As a man thinks, so
is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) It really means as a man thinks of himself,
so is he. If you think that you’re no good, you’ll never be
any good. I’m reminded of my experience growing up as a little
boy in South Carolina, working in a greasy automobile repair shop,
without shoes, sometimes without a shirt. Every once in a while
the white head mechanic would look down at me and say to me, “Boy,
do you think you’ll ever amount to anything?” I’ve been
thinking about that. I used to think he was trying to put me
down; maybe he wasn’t trying to put me down. Maybe he saw something
good in me that he was trying to draw out of me. You know, in
life it’s not what’s done to you but how you perceive what is
done.
I could have taken that as an insult. But something deep down inside
of me responded to his question, “Boy, do you think you’ll ever
amount to anything?” because it touched something in me. I remember,
straightening up and immediately squaring my shoulders and looking him
in the face and saying, “Yes, sir.” And this is what you
have to say to life. You have to say YES to life. You have to say YES
to your greater possibilities. Say YES to health. Say YES to
happiness. YES to love. YES to success. YES to prosperity. YES to
money.
As a man thinks
of himself, so is he. Jesus said it another way, “According to your
faith so be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29). And your faith is not
what you believe about God so much, your faith is what you believe
about yourself. Every concept is in some way a self-concept.
“According to your faith so be it unto you.” According to your
self-image, so be it unto you. According to your self-esteem, so be it
unto you. The reason people don’t strive to be better, do better and
have better is because they don’t believe that they can. Everything
starts with a belief. How else shall you be good to yourself? Be
good to yourself by feeling good about yourself."
And
I hope we all share this ancient wisdom from Marcus Aurelius (AD
121-180), a Roman Emperor, best known for his meditations on stoic
philosophy, is quoted as saying "Very little is needed to make a
happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.
You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this
and you will find strength."
We can all use this spiritually potent affirmation to condition
our mind to be in tune with the Infinite and the infinite good in both
thought and feeling:
From The Light of G-d that I Am.
From The Love of G-d that I Am.
From The Power of G-d that I Am.
From The Heart of G-d that I Am.
I Decree-
I
dwell in the midst of Infinite Abundance. The Abundance of G-d is my
Infinite Source.
The
River of Life never stops flowing. It flows through me into lavish
expression. Good comes to me through unexpected avenues and G-d works
in a myriad of ways to bless me.
I
now open my mind to receive my good. Nothing is too good to be true.
Nothing is too wonderful to have happen. With G-d as my Source,
Nothing amazes me.
I am
not burdened by thoughts of past or future. One is gone. The other is
yet to come.
By
the power of my belief, coupled with my purposeful fearless actions
and my deep rapport with G-d, my future is created and my abundance
made manifest.
I
ask and accept that I am lifted in this and every moment into Higher
Truth. My mind is quiet.
From
this day forward I give freely and fearlessly into life and Life gives
back to me with magnificent increase. Blessings come in expected and
unexpected ways. G-d provides for me in wondrous ways.
I
AM indeed grateful. And I let it be so.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the
faith!
Rev.
Henry Bates
Please
share this message on Facebook or Twitter:
Share
QUESTIONS
... about this message?
contact Rev. Bates
