Renew the Mind

So this morning is MUCH BETTER than yesterday. Slept fantastic, woke up with a song in my heart and all around felt at peace. Thank God! The recurring thought I am having this morning is this "...but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." There is more to the verse in Romans 12:2, however, this portion specifically is what I continue to meditate on this morning. I believe it is due to

the information I have been learning in my recent studies, and drawing the connection between two worlds, the physical and the spiritual. I recently read the following in "Fitness: The Complete Guide":

"Strength is ultimately controlled by the mind. The strength of your muscle contraction is modified by both internal and external stimuli, which the CNS [Central Nervous System] interprets on the basis of both built-in defense mechanisms (e.g., your muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs) as well as past experience. Strength output then is a voluntary movement, the stimulus for which originates in your various receptors, interpreted by the brain and called into action by efferent motor neurons leading from the CNS to your muscles... Heavy training, explosiveness training and full amplitude movements appear to modify these elements to a measurable degree, thereby improving strength output. But the greatest source of modification lies in the mind, your brain. How you perceive the weight, how you approach your
training, how you view its importance in impacting the rest of your life and how strongly you cherish your goals all have a degree of influence on how much you can lift."

Amazing! The connection being drawn to the physical response in the brain, as well as the emotional response by the mind, affecting the physical response of the entire body and its various systems to perform or execute a certain move. As soon as I read this, I thought of the above Scripture. I thought, "well yeah, the Bible says that, this is a no brainer". But intellectually understanding these truths, do not necessarily mean I am LIVING and practicing what I know. This is challenging. So yesterday when I was having a "down" day, my thoughts around everything I was experiencing could directly impact what I did or did not choose to do.

The pattern, as I described  yesterday, is to be gung-ho, and then be derailed by resistance for a period of time. This information implies the pattern, the cyclical process, can be stopped and discontinued indefinitely. It first begins with awareness of my thoughts, the belief that my thoughts impact the way my body responds, and the willingness to allow a new thought to replace and ultimately change past behaviors, in an effort to create new, positive ones. WOAH! Seems a little deep. And it is! But I love how the two worlds are connected simplistically!

The  same is true in my spiritual life. Reading through Scripture, more clearly understanding the heart of God, allows His truths to become grafted into my mind, which ultimately impacts me physically - via my thoughts and reactions. Literally, the Word becomes flesh in my life! I could go on and on, but perhaps this will be continued to another post. I just wanted to get this out there. Any thoughts on this?

Have a great day!