“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2
This is a bible scripture that I’m sure many of us know very well. Or better yet, let me say many of us have heard it but may not truly understand it. Currently we live in a very “logical” world and to be logical means to be analytical and to operate solely in your brain; the left side to be more precise. Renewing your mind goes well beyond the thoughts floating around in your brain.
Often, when we hear the word “mind” we automatically correlate it to the brain. However, your brain and your mind are not synonymous.
Your brain is the organ in your head that has a function just as all the other organs in your body. Your mind, however, reflects your current awareness level to all things. It also reflects your current Self-Awareness level to all things that make you…you. Again, awareness and self-awareness are also not synonymous. You can have awareness about what’s going on in the world, other people’s BS, your job duties and basically observing anything outside of Self. Self-Awareness involves being deeply aware of yourself.
Your mind isn’t just in your head, it’s in your body as well. Your mind is consciousness and all things are held within your consciousness, that includes your thoughts, memories, feelings, imagination and inner dialogue. And it is from the Mind of Consciousness that all things are birthed. This is where the confusion of this bible scripture comes from.
To clarify even more, take a look at the three different definitions of mind below:
- “(in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.:” Dictionary.com
- “broadly, all intellectual and psychological phenomena of an organism, encompassing motivational, affective, behavioral, perceptual, and cognitive systems; that is, the organized totality of an organism’s mental and psychic processes and the structural and functional cognitive components on which they depend.” American Psychological Association
- “the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons” Merriam-Webster
Your mind is quite literally the make-up of your entire being, how eye-opening! With this newfound clarification, we can gain better understanding of this bible scripture. Due to society and school leading us to believe that our mind was equivalent to our brain, we can see how easy it was to misinterpret this scripture.
Once this was clarified for me this scripture took on a whole new meaning. All before I would read this scripture and only think about changing what was going on in my brain, meaning the thoughts I was thinking. I never considered my feelings, which happens in our body by the way because the brain cannot feel, it has no sensory input it can only send and receive emotional signals. I never thought much about changing my perceptions, wills, how I reasoned, etc. It all made sense why my internal transformation was progressively slow! I was only focused on changing one aspect of myself instead of my entire being.
Hopefully with this new perspective, the lightbulb will come on for you too and you will go forth with the understanding that your mind isn’t just your brain but so much more and let the true transformation begin.
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