Key Truths To Wellness

Knowledge of the following truths are critical to understanding and enjoying good mental health. Please familiarize yourself with them, as they will be discussed throughout your journey to recovery.

Truth #1 - The Truth of 'Opposites'

All through life it is evident that there are opposites. For example: Right and wrong, hot and cold, love and hate, high and low, truth and lies, positive and negative, life and death, poverty and prosperity, forgiveness and vengeance, good and bad. If you were to carry this absolute into the spiritual realm, you would get this: If you believe there is an all good, all knowing, all powerful creative force which we will call God, you would have to agree that there must be an equally, ever-present, evil force trying to steal, kill and destroy life. If you base your spiritual opposite-absolute on the writings of the Bible, you would get this: You have a positive, loving, life-giving God who wants you to be alive, healthy, happy and prosperous, and you have a negative, hating, sinister force called Satan who wants to steal, injure and kill. A force that will do anything to steal anything you have, including your peace and emotional well-being, your finances, your physical health, everything you have is open game!

Many people believe there is an all powerful force that created this world, but they have difficulty believing that there is an opposite force trying to disrupt life. So what happens is, God gets blamed for all the wicked things in the world. Is that fair? God creates the world and people so He could have companionship with them, but in order that He didn't end up with a bunch of robots, He gives them a free will so they have to choose to love Him. He creates them with a soul (mind, will and emotions). Man has a choice to either pursue good with his life (and hopefully include God in his life), or he can choose to do wrong with his life, and live only to satisfy his own selfish desires. Choosing to live our own life without the intervention of God opens us up to evil possibilities, such as terrorist attacks and wars. It is sad, but man has the ability to carry out a lot of wickedness, and only the prayers of good people can change the way those plans get carried out.
Truth #1 - The Truth of Opposites.

Truth #2 - The Truth of 'Choices'

All through life you are given the freedom to choose. Choosing wisely gives you more freedom. Choosing unwisely reduces your freedom. Everything in life requires a choice. The situation you are in today, in most cases is a direct result of the choices you made in the past. Many things affect our choices, so it is best to be careful what you allow in your life that could have an adverse effect on your decision-making process. This can even be carried over into the realm of emotional well-being. It isn't what happens to us that makes us unhappy, it is how we respond to it, that determines our well-being. You can choose to see the bright side, or you can choose to see the negative side. Seeing the bright side sometimes takes more effort, but it is worth it. Everything in life requires a decision, and our choices affect those around us.
Truth #2 - The Truth of Choices.

Also see 'Why Do I Make Poor Choices?'

Truth #3 - The Truth of 'Sowing and Reaping'

There is a physical law that says, "What you sow is what you will reap." If you sow a bean seed, you will get a bean plant. If you plant an acorn, you'll get an oak tree. If you show kindness to people, you will usually be shown kindness in return. If you subject yourself to visual and audio stimuli that is negative you will more than likely be subjected to negative feelings. If something happens to you that is negative, and you brood over it for any length of time, you will more than likely be subjected to negative feelings. If you make an effort to allow positive stimuli affect your senses, ie. sight, sound, smelling, tasting and feeling you will more than likely, automatically, have positive feelings.
Truth #3 - The Truth of 'Sowing and Reaping'.

Truth #4 - The Truth Of Friends and Enemies

You Have Friends
It is a fact that we have both friends and enemies. When we are depressed, it feels like we don't have any friends, but that is not true. Our usual friends may be tired of us, but there are many friends around that we have never even met. God has His workers all over the earth, and if you are open to them, they will cross your path. If you are having trouble finding them, we can help you locate them in your area. Meeting your new friends is helpful in that sometimes they recognize things in your life that your usual friends just let you get by with. A real friend will bring things to your attention that need change. Often our family or older friends don't recognize our faults because we may have had them for a long time. A new friend can offer you a different perspective. If you ever find yourself in a position of offering valuable advice, please remember to offer it gently and compassionately.

One of the new friends you will meet on your journey to recovery, is somebody that up until now has been your worst enemy, that being you. The Bible gives us a crisp example of how we are to react when being overwhelmed by life's problems. There is a story in 1Samuel 30, where it describes a situation where King David returns after a battle, only to find that while they were at war, another army came to their camp and stole all the women and children, and all of their belongings. All of his men were deeply saddened of their loss, and in fact were going to stone David. Out of this situation came a very good piece of advice to all who find themselves in a difficult situation. The end of verse 6 says, "...but David encouraged himself in the Lord His God." Indeed, when you are in trouble, the last thing you need is for you, yourself, to heap guilt, self-pity and judgments on yourself. But what do most people do? They beat themselves up more. That has to stop. Yes, you may have caused the problem, but that is normal when you consider we are only human, prone to mistakes. That is no reason to start crucifying yourself. At that point, you need all the help you can get! The very first person you need on your side is yourself. So, it may have been a while since you've met the positive side of you, but don't be shy, give yourself a big hug :). Seriously though, you can show support to yourself in a really easy, but helpful, way. Latch onto the most important piece of weaponry you possess, your spoken words. Begin to use your mouth, and speak positive affirmations about yourself, out loud, so that you can hear yourself. When I was in the depth of my depression, I began speaking favorite Bible verses to myself, and within 2 weeks I was back in the work force, and even began dating my wife. That act of faith, builds inner stamina, and actually brings all of heaven at your disposal. The more you do it, the more you believe it, and the more you believe it, the more of heaven is at your beck and call. If you are interested in making use of your God-given weapon, we have faith-statements or prayers available that can help you change both yourself and your circumstances. So start speaking! By the way, King David ended up getting back all their armies loved ones, as well as of his stuff back. So, do what David did, 'encourage yourself in the Lord', and watch your feelings and your circumstances snap back in place!

You Have Enemies!
In addition to friends, we also have enemies. We've already talked about our oftentimes main enemy, ourselves, but there are others. While we can motivate our spirits and tongues to work 'for' us, we also have another part of us that must be conquered, our flesh. Many times our flesh will hinder us from doing what we know we should do, and so you need to develop self-control, so that when 'mutiny' is about to jeopardize your imminent recovery, you force your flesh to comply. For example, all those times when you know you should be getting physical exercise to stimulate the endorphins in your brain, and your body says, "How about we do it tomorrow?". Don't give in. Force yourself to get out and do what you know you have to do. All those times when you should be reading an uplifting book or listening to positive, faith-building teaching, and your body says, "How about we watch some TV?". Don't give in. Everything in balance, mind you. If you've already watched 20 hours of TV that week, turn off the TV, and do what you have to do. All those times when your friends want you to stop by and talk to you, and your body says, "Wouldn't it be much better if you stayed home?". Don't give in. Force yourself to get out. Hey, now that we are on a roll, the same goes for your diet. Get rid of the junk food. Cut down on all the processed sugar in your diet. Use honey instead of sugar. Eat fruit. Eat high fiber foods. Start being a friend to your body, not an enemy, and you'll feel better.

Another enemy is Satan. Up until now you thought it was God who was your enemy, but you've learned the truth. God is your best friend. Your most despised enemy is Satan. Develop an healthy respect for him, he is way more clever than you, way more patient than you, and way more passionate about his work than you. In all accounts you are outnumbered. But you can learn what his strategies are in taking down people, and yourself, in particular. Once you know, you can be prepared. Like the old saying that says, "To be forewarned, is to be forearmed." Don't be caught unawares. Do your homework. Find out what is happening in the spirit world. Find out what spiritual weapons are at your disposal. Study. Listen. Observe. Learn. You stay in the drivers seat in your life. Don't let the enemies in your life regain control. Build yourself up. You may only be 4'-9" on the outside, but you can be 10' tall on the inside! Work at it. Be diligent. Be determined to make up for lost time. Don't quit until you've got life by the tale, and it becomes easy.

So, know your enemies. Know who your friends are. Make use of all that's available to help you, until you get back on top. We'll be here, if you need any coaching along the way.
 

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