What do you hear? (1)

Faith cometh by hearing

• The Holy Book

Gates to the mind

I learnt a long time ago that the mind is the most important thing a man is endowed with. There are two gates to the mind – the ‘Eye Gate’ and the ‘Ear Gate’ and so it follows that both must be protected.

Wealth, success, greatness, health, and such virtues reside first in the mind before they are made manifest. It is what is fed to the mind that the mind reproduces the likes of, albeit in multiples. It is therefore shocking to find people expose their minds to demeaning sights and sounds that cannot but drag them down. We must control both what we see and hear. It is part of the discipline on the path to the land of honour…to the ‘Promised Land’.

It is only in this manner that we can deliberately influence the subconscious to tread such paths that we channel for it, remembering profoundly that it is this subconscious that affects all our conscious thoughts, speech and actions, which eventually make us what we are.

Control what you hear!

It therefore cannot be overemphasized that just as it is important to control what we see, we must make deliberate effort to control (or regulate) what we hear, so as to guard the ear gate to our mind, our most important asset. Starting from now, do all that is humanly possible to stay in the midst of positive-minded ‘fire lighters’ who lift and inspire your spirit by their edifying conversations, wholesome suggestions and uplifting encouragements, and to do all possible to avoid the company of ‘fire killers’, who would discourage you from worthy paths, or waste your precious time with inconsequential gossip and mundane material. Such people have nothing but crass frivolity to discuss at most points of their waking hours. Do your very best to be around great minds.

And how do you know which minds are great? It is quite simple – they will discuss ideas and concepts; while the average to low minds will discuss events and other people! Stick around the former like white on rice, and avoid the latter like a plague!

Choose your friends

Since you cannot help but listen to the kind of friends whose company you keep, it behoves you to choose your friends carefully. If you find yourself making acquaintance with frivolous-minded individuals, simply nip the relationship in the bud, as it will not do you much good. Avoid such contacts. Life is too short to be mundane and frivolous with time.

In the case of family members, whom you admittedly cannot choose, the advice is to spend as little time with the frivolous-minded and petty talkers among them, as this is reflective of the way their minds work and you cannot gain much from such minds. Remember that only iron can sharpen iron, as the Holy Book rightly states.

Until next Friday, please keep being INSPIRED in His presence!