How To Die So That You Can Start Living

 By Melvin D Nix 

Are You tired Yet?

Have you desired to make changes in your life only to discover that you keep returning to your old habits? Do you have goals that seem unattainable and out of reach? I know how frustrating it is to feel like life is a never-ending version of Groundhog Day!

 

At the start of each year, we all get inspired to make positive changes in our lives. Goals like making more money, losing extra pounds, or going on a road trip are written out or put on a vision board. After the ball drops and the New Year's celebration ends, you start on your new journey. You wake up motivated and ready to go. Progress happens for a while and your passion for life is thriving. After a period of success, you notice that your momentum has stopped, and life seems to be fighting your progress. Eventually, you lose focus and find yourself back where you started.

 

After years of repeating unproductive cycles, it becomes incredibly exhausting. Life seems to be a rough journey and you may start to lose yourself in a spiraling tunnel of despair. You may find yourself losing interest in the things you once enjoyed, and boredom starts to set in. If you find yourself dealing with any of what's been mentioned, I've got great news for you. You can regain control of your life and get back on track! Frustration and a desire to change are the best catalysts you need but you must identify where you are before you can start over.

 

Where Have You Been Living?

What is your current state of mind? It's the most important thing to consider when desiring change on any level. Are you stuck living in memories or are you creating an exciting future? Do you experience emotions of joy, and hope or are you full of worry and anxiety? The state of mind you choose governs all your consistent actions. 

 

Past subconscious conditioning shapes how you perceive the circumstances of your life and directs how you will respond to them. The way you have learned to perceive events forms your personality, patterns of thought, and mental state. If you suffered neglect as a child, you may struggle with feelings of insecurities, a lack of self-confidence, and an inability to think independently. Because of past neglect, you have developed patterns of thinking, speaking, and doing which keep you trapped in a negative state.

 

Old mental states have been formed and fashioned from your past experiences. To create and maintain change, death must occur. I'm not talking about physically dying, but death and burial of your past conditioning. 

 

Baptism As a Metaphor For Rebirth And Transformation

A powerful symbol for change transformation is baptism. To baptize means to immerse completely in water. Its metaphor for death, burial, spiritual cleansing, and adopting a new way of life. I'm not suggesting that you run down to a place of worship and sign up to get baptized. Instead, think of the areas you need to cut out of your life and the new ways you desire to adopt. Start with an inventory of your consistent thought patterns.

 

 

Old Thoughts

Thoughts are internal experiences that use your imagination and interact with your nervous system. If you imagine an experience, your body will behave as if the events are occurring in the present moment. Imagine being hungry for example. When you are craving a delicious meal, you see that food as if you had it in front of you. Then your body will start to activate all the digestive processes. You will salivate, your stomach will growl, and it all started from thinking about food. 

 

Now, take this example to another level. Consider something you've worried about. First fearful thoughts of what you want to avoid will start to fill your mind. Images of an unsettling future captivate your attention constantly. Next, emotions of fear, anxiety, and anticipation of your demise set in. Your heart rate elevates, your body temperature increases, and you start to sweat. 

 

Out of your fear, you will start doing things that align with the reality of what you've been fearing. This process if not corrected will ultimately magnetically attract events and people to facilitate the manifestation of how you were thinking. To experience a new reality, you must terminate old thinking patterns which have kept you trapped. 

 

Old Talk

Words are powerful. They reflect the quality of your thinking and use your imagination to craft your mental state of being. A habit of negative speech reintroduces negative thoughts into your mind and sets you up to repeat past emotions and behavior. Listening to negative people allows their words to grow in your consciousness and corrupt your state of being. It's time to put negative speech to death and begin to speak words of life! 

 

 

Old Ways

All actions begin as a thought. Any behavior you haven't been able to change can be traced back to a particular pattern of thinking and speaking. You must be diligent to take notice of your daily habits and patterns to see where the old version of you continues to resurface. Change doesn't happen from taking a bunch of actions to produce different results. It begins when you operate from a renewed mind which thinks, speaks, and acts as the person you want to become.

 

Whatever You Starve Will Die

There is an old Cherokee proverb that I love about a fight between two wolves that reside on the inside of each of us. One is good and the other evil. The one that wins the battle is the one you feed. Put to death the old ways of thinking, speaking, and behaving and rise as a victorious new creation!

 

About The Author

Melvin D Nix is a spiritual teacher, author, and inspirational speaker. He currently hosts a broadcast called "Putting On The Pneu You," (pronounced New You) where he teaches how to apply universal spiritual concepts and principles in an easy-to-understand format so that anyone can apply them and see tangible results in their daily lives. Visit pneuyou.com  to find out more.

 

© 2002 Melvin D Nix