80 % of Thoughts Are Negative…95 % are repetitive

In 1985, medical research conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine showedhow internal and external dialogue significantly affects our blood pressure, hearts, and alter the biochemistry of individual tissues at the farthest extremities of our bodies.

In 2005, the National Science Foundation published an article regarding research about human thoughts per day. The average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those, 80%  are negative and 95% are exactly the same repetitive thoughts as the day before and about 80% are negative.

These studies reveal that the quality of our existence rests on the quality of our internal and external communication. It also reveals how our bodies respond to the way we think, feel and act. This is often called the“mind-body-spirit connection.” When we feel guilt and shame or stress and anxiety our bodies cry out to tell us that something isn’t right. For example, high blood pressure or a stomach ulcer might develop after a particularly stressful event. 

If 80% of our thoughts are negative and 95% of them are repetitive, then we have a built in spiritual problem! We must realize that we are spiritual beings living in a human body. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French philosopher and jesuit priest, said it best, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” From this perspective, we must identify this spiritual problem as a pervasive problem that infects our mind, will, emotions, physical body. It’s like a negative default programming that is hard wired into our entire being. It is not just a tendency to be negative or do a bad thing once in a while, it is a sinful nature that we are born with, a nature that is totally at odds with God. And it is our sin that separates us from arelationship with God.

God has a solution! A new nature or a “new birth.” Jesus said “Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom” (John 3:3). This new birth is not a religion but a transformation from a sinful nature to a new nature with a new heart, newdesires, and a new mind, and a new direction.

How do we attain this new nature?  The Bible says “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites“ (Acts 2:38, Message).  

It does not end there! “God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating,going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the in side out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity inyou” (Rom 12:1,2, Message).

This Scripture gives us a holistic perspective with very practical advice! Going to God first renews our spirit. By fixing our attention on God and learning His Word we create new blueprints for our minds. If we do not captivate our thinking process, then the old blueprints become our default programming and we are back to the same old destructive patterns of the past. Our thoughts have a profound affect on our emotions, and by learning how to thinkin our own best interest, we improve our emotional condition.

How do I changemy thinking?

Dr. William Backus, Christian psychologist and ordained minister, states that science has amply demonstrated what Scripture well attests: that there is power in learning to influence behavior. In his book, Misbelief Therapy, he recommends a three step process:

1)Locate your misbeliefs

2) Remove them, and

3) Replace your misbeliefs with God’s thoughts about you.

For example: Jerry ended his marriage after 15 years because his wife no longer wanted to stay in the marriage. After his divorce, he experienced loneliness and self medicated using alcohol. He became depressed and decided to see a therapist. Once in therapy, he gradually began to see that this life didn’thave to be over. He started to see God again as the Giver of good, despite his unhappy circumstances. He explained it this way: One day while I sat groveling in my sorrows, I listened to the words I had been telling myself, things like Oh, what’s the use? I’m all alone. Nobody loves me or cares about me. Nobody wants to be with me. I’m rejected and useless… Suddenly I was shocked. I thought, what am I telling myself anyway?

Jerry’s Misbeliefs	Jerry’s Truths
Instead of saying, “I’m a failure and I’m no good,”	He said: “The marriage failed. But I am deeply loved by God. Therefore I am important.”
Instead of saying, “I’m so lonely and miserable,”	He said: “I’m alone but I am not lonely.”
Instead of saying, “I’m separated from my family and there’s no joy anymore for me,”	He said: “I’m separated from my family and that hurts. I can function even though I hurt.