If you want your dreams to come true, or want to give yourself the best opportunity to experience the reality of your desires, there are some things you can do, and some things you need to know. For starters, dreaming — and thinking, praying, meditating, etc. — are all skills that can be learned and practiced. The more you know about how your “dream machine” works, the better you will be able to use it — and the better your health, life, and experience will be, as a result. Most people simply don’t spend much time thinking about THINKING; but our thoughts are what our experience is created from — and it’s all assembled by our thinking processes.

Many people think of thoughts as the “signals” we receive with our brains — much like the signals picked up by your television antenna, and selected and processed by the receiver, or tuner. Some people, in fact, compare the images, sounds, and content of their thought-life to “watching television in their head.” Indeed, the reason television is so popular is because its format is so similar to the way we perceive information in “real-life” (sights, sounds, movement); but certain “problematic” aspects of reality can be easily manipulated and overcome on television - time, gravity, natural laws, etc. And, like a television, there are many “controls” you can use to make adjustments to your thoughts; and, the more you know about how those controls work, the more performance you will get out of your “set.” Most important, perhaps, is that we can choose which of those “thought-signals” in our mind we want to tune-in to and receive. Those programs we choose to “watch” are the programs we will experience.

The metaphors and analogies are almost endless when it comes to mental processes and the television. We can “tune-in,” or “tune-out,” TV programming, thoughts, or other internal and external stimuli. We can adjust our focus, or the character and quality of our thoughts, just as we can manipulate the signal the television is receiving. We can “turn-off the power” of the TV, just as we can go to sleep; and we can chose from an endless variety of programs to install and run. To truly tune-in to, and receive, your dreams and desires, you need to learn how to control your own “channel, or frequency,” your own mental focus and “contrast,” as well as the volume, or intensity of your thoughts.

Here are some important things about thinking you should know:

You are always thinking - either consciously, or unconsciously.
You are always thinking in either a “negative,” or a “positive,” tone or manner.
If you aren’t consciously choosing your thoughts, your unconscious is choosing them for you. Your unconscious chooses thoughts based on priorities; survival comes first, but oftentimes, images and information (programming) we receive from outside sources (television, radio, billboards, parents, teachers, preachers, etc…) is used by our unconscious to direct our behaviors - including, ironically enough, our thoughts and emotions.
There are many ways to think, and many mental activities we could call “thinking,” or “thought processes.” All of these activities are important - memory, concentration, focus, attentiveness, etc. - just as all of the controls on your television serve an important function.
You can only focus your thought on one-thing at a time. You can’t think a “negative” thought at the same time you are thinking a “positive” thought.
Thoughts are always creative. Thoughts always create something, or create or produce some response - even if only leading to another thought. Ultimately, all thoughts stimulate the production and release of electrical and chemical energy in the body - allowing us to act out the thought, or causing us pain or discomfort (emotions, etc…) if we suppress the energetic impulse created by our thought.
There are many things in this world to observe and think about — if it’s not “your” thing, it’s probably a distraction.
Mental activity precedes all electrical, chemical, and physical responses that we interpret as being our assessments, feelings, and behaviors.
Only you can control your thoughts. Free-will is limited to your choice of what to think about and how to think it.
In order to get the best picture of your own life, you need to learn how to “tune-in” your “mind-set” to the proper frequency. This simply means choosing what it is you want to experience and selecting thoughts that are in alignment with that ideal experience. If you aren’t getting the “reception” you want, you simply need to learn how to “turn-up the volume” of your faith, or “heart-energy,” in order to generate the results you need. If you get results other than those you were hoping for, experiment with the other controls. How were you visualizing your dream turning out? Were you afraid it wouldn’t go as planned?

If you are looking to create better and better experiences for yourself, you need to keep learning more and more about how you work, and how your life unfolds for you. The ancient ones tell us that it is done to us according to our thoughts and beliefs. How are you thinking? Are you producing the results you desire, or are you at peace knowing that your results are forthcoming? Or, are you filled with doubt and skepticism - and a scattered mind? If your mind is cluttered, you need to learn to stop “channel-surfing” with your thoughts and control your attention. Thoughts create your world and experience; and thoughts shape your health and body. It’s worth learning how to think more positively and effectively; because, after all, it’s the thought that counts.

by Pete Koerner of Explore * Expand * Evolve with Pete & Jennifer Koerner