Have you heard of the saying, “free your mind”? It encourages us not to be taken captive by oppressive and depressive thoughts. It tells us to free our minds from the negativities since “we are what we think.” There's also this saying that an idle mind is the workshop of the devil. So are we going to free our minds or keep ourselves preoccupied?

The Bible has this say in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.” We are to empty ourselves with the clutters of this world and fill our minds instead with what's good. 

Garbage in, garbage out

When we're full of hate toward someone, it will soon be evident in our speech and actions. I notice some people who are full of hate towards politicians that they go overboard and lash out indiscriminately. Their words are so harsh and toxic! I wonder what these politicians did to them that merits such barbaric netiquette. Until it dawned on me that their social media algorithms are geared toward spreading baseless accusations and character assassination. When we're swimming in the sea of hate, we're not too far from being hateful ourselves. Another thing, perhaps they're paid to do such? I don't know. 

Take note that I did not mention any political color, for I see such behavior on all sides of the spectrum, as many as there are political biases. 

If I may say, our social media algorithm reveals much about ourselves and influences us heavily - from the way we think and the way we behave, and now from the way we see others. So we need to be careful of what we feed our minds from social media. Let's look at people's opinions through the lens of objectivity and not from the lens of our negative perceptions.

Let go of your baggage

Another thing we should free ourselves from is being enslaved by the debilitating memories of the past. Let go of the bitterness and hatred you have harbored for so long. You may not notice it but unforgiveness may have paralyzed you with fear or rage that whenever you're triggered, you can't control yourself. It's as if a part of you gets wounded again and again.

I'm not invalidating your feelings. Neither I am saying you should just dismiss a haunting memory like it never happened. What I'm saying is that there is a better option than wanting to get even - that is freedom! And the first step is forgiveness. Let go of your baggage and free your mind from all the unnecessary pain and losses. 

When we choose to forgive, we open our hearts to receive good things. Our minds get clear from all the clutter and we start to heal emotionally. Our victim mentality shifts to a victorious mindset. We are no longer prisoners of our past, instead, we can look forward to a hopeful future.

Final Thoughts

Free your mind! We may not notice it but what we allow to reign and rule in our minds will make its way into our actions, speech, and way of life. So choose wisely. Choose life! Don't settle for debilitating thoughts, destructing patterns, and unproductive thinking. We can always opt for better and life-changing thinking. Again, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. There's a reason why these things are encouraged by the Scriptures.