Thoughts on Thoughts

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

I was 15 when I first heard the adage, "an idle mind is the devils playground." a saying that would come to embody my adolescent experience. My brain acting as a spider web on a summers day, trapping thoughts like meandering insects from a field.  Once ensnared in my head the thoughts grow larger and more complex.  Take for instance the movie "the aviator."  Perhaps one of Leonardo DiCaprio most forgettable performance.  Yet I vividly remember being so enthralled by his representation of his characters obsessive compulsive disorder.  I was confounded by his transformation from   perfectly normal to manic.  For a whole week I was gripped by the idea that my mind much like the characters could break at any second.

Some thoughts enter our minds with an intense aggression, disrupting our lives, unsettling our sense of self, and disentangling our connections to reality. These crisis leave deep scars and become the soil for which our perspectives and worldview spring out of. It is of the utmost importance that the christian tend constantly to her mental loam, entering into the process assessing not only weed and flower, but the soil from whence they grow.  And through the spirit enriching the ground with new nutrients.


We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Our culture places a premium on thoughtfulness. Individuals with the ability to think deeply about systems, process, and mindsets are seen as essential for the thriving of most any institution. Professional development trends such as met-cognition and mindfulness all stem from the belief that the optimal employee and or human being is one who can take inventory of their thoughts.
While these practices are of great benefit and should be down frequently by every christian, Christ calls his children higher. Mindfulness at it's core ask it's practitioners to explore 


cultural interpretations: mindfulness reflection

take every thought captive

mindfulness =taking inventory-meta-cognition =observing 

all of reality is subject to the truth of Christ crucified.  Even thoughts that arise out of factual observation, must ultimately yield to the more pressing reality that Christ resurrected. 

This is not a process whereby current reality is denied, but where present circumstances are properly understood, as temporary in view of Christ entrance into reality.