Category: Depression & Negative Thoughts

How to Break Free From Negative Thoughts

A mind that is filled with negative thoughts is like a dark cave that limits positive and faith-filled thoughts from entering in. Having a chronically negative thought life is a mental mindset that focuses more on what is wrong, than all that is right in our life. Generally negative thinking isn’t something that just happens overnight. Most people have been thinking the same thoughts for years without even realizing it. If you were to take an inventory of your mind, you would see that your mind plays the same messages most of the time. So how can you break free from negative thinking?

Focus on the Positive

Although we all have many unpleasant experiences at one time or another, there are just as many positive experiences as well, we just forget to recognize them. Our positive experiences get lost under our negativity and despair, yet they are all around us. Begin by keeping a gratitude journal to record 3-5 positive events that happen everyday. It could be a simple as getting a great parking space or eating a great cookie. As you notice or focus on the positive, you will not only attract more positive situations but you’re eyes will be open to seeing them more prevalently as well.

Practice Meditation

Many people don’t understand the beauty of meditation. Although meditation creates fear in some people, it really is unfounded. Meditation simply is a way to quiet our minds and teach us how to get control over our thoughts. It is also effective in making us aware of what we think about on a daily basis so we can change our thoughts if they really aren’t promoting peace, joy, and love. The Bible tells us to renew our minds and to bring every thought under God’s control. You can find all types of meditations on a variety of topics. There are guided meditations, Christian meditations, and meditations that use nature to help us relax. By practicing daily meditation you will learn to free yourself from your compulsive thoughts, that record in your head that bombards you with constant negativity.

Have Faith In God

Another way to squash negative thoughts is to have faith in the presence greater than you. When you believe that God is in control and that all things are working together for your highest good, you can let go of negative thoughts that create fear and doubt. Reading the Bible or stories of people that have overcome through their faith will inspire you to trust God more and help to restore your own peace of mind. Also, knowing that you are not alone and that others have suffered the same experiences have overcome will give you a sense of empowerment and inner joy.

Spend Time in Nature

It’s hard to spend time surrounded by the beauty in nature and hold onto negative thinking. That is because nature is healing and soothing to the soul and spirit. Therefore, spend time regularly just sitting in a park, driving through the country, or watching a sunset. Somehow our problems just don’t seem as big and we can easily get a better perspective on our problems. In even nature the storms come, but once they pass, a blanket of peace returns. We must learn to anchor ourselves to God through the storms and then once they pass, allow our peace to prevail.

Learn about Guided Christian Meditation CDs and resources that will enhance your life and relationship with God. Are you ready to transform your life and live with more purpose and passion? Visit Detox Your Life Now and & Awaken Your Inner Spirit to learn about this 10-week Christian faith-based program.


Jun 26, 2011 | 1 comment View Post
Don’t Change Your Circumstances, Change Your Heart: Rooting Out Restlessness

Don’t Change Your Circumstances, Change Your Heart: Rooting Out Restlessness

What is restlessness? It’s that anxious feeling that we get that makes us unsatisfied some aspect of our lives. We can become restless in our jobs, our relationships, and in specific situations that are not working out the way we hoped or planned.  Restlessness can motivate us to make positive changes if we stop to observe the source of it and then use it to create a new action plan. It is usually our dissatisfied feelings that cause us to seek God or move out of our comfort zone.  God can use restlessness to push us toward our purpose and to guide us if we will seek Him. One of the best things we can do when restless feelings arise is turn to our creator and share our feelings with Him. We can offer our restless feelings up to God and ask Him to give us a clear vision and direction to take us from anxiety to peace. We can leave whatever is bothering us at the altar and allow God to take these feelings and transform them into something positive in our lives.

We can also respond to restlessness in ways that will hinder our growth and create fear. When anxious feelings arise, if we focus on the problem instead of the solution (Christ), the restlessness can become quite overwhelming. It can even cause us to react in ways that are detrimental to ourselves and others. For example, in Exodus 32, the Israelites responded to restlessness by creating an idol in the form of a golden calf. Shortly after God had delivered them from Egypt, Moses went up to Mount Zion to abide in the presence of God. It wasn’t too long afterward that the Israelites began to lose their faith and trust in God. They began to complain that Moses had abandoned them and God had forsaken them. Then in order to reduce the anxiety and restlessness that was swelling within them, they held a big party, collected massive amounts of gold, and created a golden calf and began to worship it. As you can imagine, God looked upon the Israelites with disappointment and anger.

Our restless feelings also act as a litmus test for our faith. We may say that we trust God and will wait upon Him, that is, until we are faced with a difficult situation. At that moment, our trust and faith may fly out the window as we attempt to quell our anxious and fearful feelings with worry, food, anger, depression, or other destructive behaviors.

I also struggle with cycles of restlessness. Though nothing apparent appears to be wrong, I just become dissatisfied with my present circumstances and want to change something. Often times I believe that I need to move to a new area or even change careers. If you have ever seen the movie Chocolat, every time the North Wind blew, the main character would pack up her belongs and she and her daughter would move to a new town and start life all over. They were never able to establish any long lasting roots or support. When my restlessness would come, that’s just how I would feel, like I needed to get away from my life as it was. The problem is that I was going to take myself and my restlessness to my new destination.

Recently, when I was going through one of my restlessness episodes and wanted to make a drastic change, the Lord spoke to my heart and gave me a different perspective.

As I wrote in my journal the Lord impressed the following words on my heart…

“You don’t need anything but Me. Come to Me all who are burdened and of a heavy heart and I will give you rest. Changing your circumstance won’t rid you of the restlessness in your heart; you’ll just take that with you. Instead, root out the restlessness and you can find peace in all situations. Root out fear and you can stand in faith. Root out negativity and worry and you shall find peace remaining. For I only give you enough grace for today. Tomorrow is not known, so why concern yourself any further. Are your needs met today? Then all is well and if they are not met, ask me to meet them and then trust me to do so. A little unease, a little hardship will not kill you, but will only make you stronger and more dependent upon me. Therefore rejoice, not in the hardship, but in your ability to endure it, knowing that I will never leave you or forsake you. I will never leave you empty handed for long if your trust is in Me and you turn to Me. I will cause you to see miracles that can only be performed when need meets opportunity. For without need you go about never feeling any discomfort, but when need arises, so does restlessness, but instead of giving into the fear, come to me, seek me, follow after me, and I will sustain you and met the need and you will know that there is a God in the universe who hears your cries, is closer than a brother, and loves you without end. How else will you learn this?”

If you want to live in peace, root out restlessness from your heart. When our hearts are pure and at peace we don’t need anything outside of us to make us feel complete and whole. When we are grounded in Christ, our circumstances don’t need to change in order to feel secure.

Whenever I go through periods of inner turmoil or anxiety, it’s not time to go outer but to go inner. Through being still, quiet contemplation, and Christian meditation, I take time to look inside my heart to see what’s pulling or motivating me away from my center in Christ. Once I discover what it is, I work on getting rid of that culprit instead of changing some external aspect of my life. If you are feeling anything other than God’s peace, joys, and prosperity, find out what’s stealing your serenity, root it out, and throw it away.


Jun 02, 2011 | 0 comments View Post

Is Your Mind Sabotaging Your Relationship with God?

Think about it! How often you just stop thinking? Try it for one minute. Even when we’re trying to spend time with God, we’re thinking about what we need to do next. These thoughts cause us to rush through our devotional time or scripture reading. Our mind has us convinced that we’re going to miss out on something if we don’t hurry it up. But just like we need to take time to relax our bodies, if we are to  have continued mental health and well-being we need to spend time relaxing (and renewing) our minds as  well.

According to many scriptures in the Bible, God speaks to his children with a still, small voice. God isn’t going to scream at you or cause lightening to strike to make you listen to Him. No, instead, he’s going to wait until you become still and quiet. Psalms 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know God.” It’s implying that it’s through our stillness that our relationship with God becomes more intimate. Isn’t Bible Study or Church Enough?

How many times have you heard an excellent sermon or message that inspired you to make some changes  in your life, but within a matter of weeks you were back to your old habits and routine? Kind of like those New Year’s Resolutions!

Do you remember the story of Mary and Martha? In Luke 10, Jesus was invited to Martha’s home for dinner. Martha had chosen to serve Jesus by busily preparing her home for his comfort, yet, her sister  Mary sat as Jesus feet to learn from him. The text goes on to say that Martha got upset because Mary  wasn’t helping her and she wanted Jesus to scold her. However, Jesus reprimand Martha and said  “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. Most of us tend to be more like Martha than Mary. Marthas spend most of their time doing for Jesus (having meetings, attending services, singing in the choir, heading committees, making a living, etc) and not enough time just abiding (dwelling)  in his presence, meditating, being still enough to listen, and being filled up by his words.

Jesus said it is only through abiding that we bear much fruit. Christian Meditation is a useful tool to assist believers in getting still before God so that they can build a relationship not based on doing, but on abiding.  Abiding promotes intimacy. Intimacy involves time. It involves not only listening but getting to know the person for whom we have affections. Saint John 15:4 declares, “abide in me and I will abide in you.”  Verse 7 says, “if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” That means we must integrate dwelling with Christ with embracing his word. The abiding builds  relationship and the Word of God brings transformation. It also brings blessings our way

Just imagine the effect on the world if Christians actually took the time to linger in God’s presence!

The Bible says, you can’t put new wine into old wine bottles or you’ll ruin the new wine! If you have corrupted thinking, you’ve got to get rid of it before you can embrace new truth.  Here is another example. Remember the parable of the sower? Your mind is like the soil in a garden.  Imagine a garden plot filled with weeds, worms, snails, and the like. You take a perfectly healthy plant and place it in the middle of that garden plot. What’s going to happen to it? Is it going to continue to grow  and thrive? Absolutely not! Before long the weeds and insects are going to devour it and suck out all it’s nutrients. That is the same thing that happens when we try and plant new truth, God’s truth, in a mind that is tainted with faulty mindsets, past conditioning, and falsehoods. Eventually the weeds are going to  take over again.

Therefore, before we can truly embrace God’s truth we need to identify and get rid of the weeds planted in our minds: the negative thoughts and debilitating mind sets that we’ve accepted as truth.  They are choking out the word of God and causing our Christian walk to be unfruitful.

If you don’t do anything about your mental garden, your mind and spirit will continue to war against each other. This is usually an unconscious pattern. For example, God’s word will tell you to give to receive, but your mind constantly tells you to hold on to everything you’ve got.  Your mind tells you to always get the last word, but God says to turn the other cheek and a soft answer calms the situation. Again, your mind tells you to work hard and strive for success, yet the Bible says, seek God’s kingdom first and everything you need will be added unto you.

If you don’t address the false thinking that contradicts God’s word, you’ll continue to be what the Bible calls “double-minded” and because we continue to waver in our desires and beliefs, we can’t receive anything from God.


How to Win the Battle Over Your Mind

It was practicing meditation integrated with the scriptures that helped me to overcome years of depression.  Christ-centered meditation helped me to become still enough so that I could observe what was really going on in my mind. Until then, my mind was controlling my thoughts and ultimately my behavior. It took me being still to even realize it. But once I recognized the thoughts I was thinking I was able to challenge, alter, or eliminate them altogether. Ongoing and consistent meditation taught me how to control my thoughts instead of allow them to control me. We can’t change what we don’t see or acknowledge. I call it unconscious living. It’s when we continue to live on autopilot, doing the same things, the same ways without really considering whether these behaviors are working for us anymore.Our greatest inspirations and truths come during times of quietness, stillness, openness, and reflection- all components of meditation.

Ten benefits of Biblical meditation:

Relax and Quiet your Mind
Turn off Compulsive Thinking
Understand the Scriptures More Fully
Live with More Balance in your Life Hear the Voice of God More Clearly
Live in the Present Moment
Abide in God’s Presence
Create a Greater Intimacy with God
Reduce or Eliminate Toxic Emotions like Stress, Anger, and Worry.
Observe the Thoughts You Think So You Can Challenge and Eliminate Them

Rhonda Jones, MA is the author of 23 Biblical meditation and affirmation Cds and the creator of the awarding winning website, http://www.thechristianmeditator.com.  Visit her website to learn more about Christian meditation and its benefits and subscribe to Free Daily Christian Meditations.


Apr 07, 2011 | 0 comments View Post
Stop Negative Thoughts By Creating Mental Gatekeeper

Stop Negative Thoughts By Creating Mental Gatekeeper

Do you battle with negative thoughts or just can’t turn off the dialogue in your head? Do you find yourself having conversations with people who aren’t even there? Many people suffer from compulsive thinking, but you can learn to stop these voices in your head by creating a mental gatekeeper. A mental gatekeeper is an imaginary guard created to stop unwanted, worrisome, or crippling thoughts from gaining entrance in your mind and planting an orchard of negativity, depression, or self-doubt. It can be in the form of a guard, a bouncer, a mighty angel, or a goalie, just pick something you identify with. I like to use a batter at a baseball game because I envision the way the pitcher throws the baseball as the way negative thoughts of doubt, discouragement, fear and every other destructive thought are thrown our way.

Worry Doesn’t Solve Problems

Acknowledge right now that worry will never change the outcome of a situation. Worry only makes you feel sick inside, takes away your joy, and makes you unpleasant to be around. If you could have fixed your problem or changed the behavior of a specific individual, you would have done so already. Worry won’t pay your bills, make your spouse or children act differently, change your boss, make you feel better about yourself, change your bad habits or find you a job. Worry is just a useless waste of your time and energy. Worry is the opposite of faith and an enemy to the believer. So beginning today, I want you to make a choice and commitment that you will not worry about anything any longer. If you have done everything you know to do and everything God has told you to do, you can’t do anymore and it’s time to turn that situation over to God once and for all. You need to let it go until God gives you clear direction on what to do next or He changes the circumstances. That means no direction, no action!

Bat Your Way to Peace of Mind

Now that you’ve made the decision not to worry, how do you stop the thoughts from taking over once again? Let’s go back to gatekeeper. When wanting to stop negative thoughts right in their track of my favorite terms is the word “Bam.” When I say BAM , I see the batter slamming a baseball, or in my case, a worrisome thought right out of the field (my mind). For example, when those fiery darts come like “you’ll never…BAM “your daughter… BAM, “that house”… BAM, “you should”…BAM, “no one will ever… BAM, “your bills… BAM. I try to BAM every negative thought the enemy throws at me before he can even get it into the net!

If your gatekeeper is an angel, see this mighty being intercepting every thought before it reaches your mind. The angel might say as it collects each thought, “NO ENTRANCE, NOT OF GOD! Your bouncer might say, REJECTED IN NAME OF JESUS! If you have a strong Christian Role Model in your life, you can envision them saying, TALK TO THE HAND, I’M NOT RECEIVING IT!

You can also back up each rejection with a scripture that not only stops the thought but extinguishes it. When Jesus was being tempted of the devil, he came against every suggestion of Satan by saying, “it is written…followed by scripture. So your dialogue might look something like this. “Your husband…BAM IN THE NAME OF JESUS…the scripture says, forgive as God as forgiven me. “I hate… REJECTED IN JESUS NAME…Jesus said, love your enemies and do good to those who wrongfully use you. “I can’t pay…TALK TO THE HAND…it is written, my God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory. I’m going to trust him. “I’m so”…ENTRANCE DENIED…for my God shall never leave me or forsake me and He knows what I need before I even ask. “My boss never…” ACCESS DENIED…the bible says do everything as unto the Lord.

Once you let the thought in, it’s much more difficult to get rid of it, but not impossible.

It’s usually the very first thoughts you have in the morning that set the tone for your entire day. If you can start your day denying entrance to worrisome thoughts, it’s a lot easier to maintain your peace of mind. But what about when your gatekeeper’s snoozing on the job or isn’t quite so alert, and before you realize it you’re starting to dwell upon a bothersome thought again. Once you realize you’re beginning to entertain the thought, you may say, STOP, I REJECT YOU IN JESUS NAME! Whatever you do, don’t reason with the thought or don’t have a mental conversation with it, instead, knock it right out of the court! It’s your ENEMY, not your friend, so kick that intruder right to the curb!

If you are a person who is plagued with troublesome thoughts as I once was, you may be slamming or rejecting thoughts almost constantly for the first several days, but as you proceed, the thoughts will diminish and your peace of mind will be restored.

Jesus said we can’t make one hair turn another color, so stop worrying about things you can’t control. Be obedient to God’s word and voice. After you have done all you can do, fight the good fight of faith. The rest is in God’s hands. He will make provision for you.

Incorporating Christian Meditation and Relaxation will help you to transform your mind and build your relationship God even further. Once you stop those fiery darts, you want to plant good seeds intoyour mind that will help you to live a more fruitful and genuine Christian walk. Please visit our website to learn more about Christian meditation at www.thechristianmeditator.com.

In the name of Jesus, I pray for you deliverance over negative thoughts from the enemy and that victory is yours today and forevermore. Now hire that gatekeeper!

Rhonda Jones, MA is the author of 23 Biblical meditation and affirmation Cds and the creator of the awarding winning website, http://www.thechristianmeditator.com  Visit her website to learn more about Christian meditation and its benefits and subscribe to Free Daily Christian Meditations.


Apr 04, 2011 | 0 comments View Post
Christian Meditation Helped Me Overcome Depression

Christian Meditation Helped Me Overcome Depression


Mar 10, 2011 | 0 comments View Post
Removing the Mountains From Your Life

Removing the Mountains From Your Life

by Rhonda Jones

If You Have Faith of a Mustard Seed…

Jesus said that if you the faith of a mustard seed that you can tell this mountain to be cast into the sea and it must obey you. Many believers are living with mountains in their life that God wants to tear down. Often we see mountains as external forces that keep us from meeting our goals; however, many of the mountains we face our internal. These are mountains of fear, self-doubt, un-forgiveness, unbelief, and more. A mountain can be anything that keeps you from accessing all that God has for you.


Dec 14, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
How to Stop Negative Thoughts

How to Stop Negative Thoughts

Negative thinking leads to negative behavior and negative behavior leads to negative habits. If you have negative habits that you wish to change, the best way to do this is to consider what you are thinking. By simply changing the way you think, these negative habits can be broken. While this seems easier said than done, it is actually a simple process. To reverse negative behavior and negative habits you first have to reverse the thought process.

Acknowledge It

To stop negative thinking, you have to actually acknowledge that negative thinking is an issue. When you think a negative thought, simply acknowledge the thought was negative and replace it with a positive one. This seems simple but again it is very powerful. How can you change the way you think if you do not acknowledge that it is a negative thought? After acknowledging the thought was negative. say,  “I choose not to think that way.”  Tell your conscious something positive immediately after thinking the negative thought or quote a scripture that negates your negative thoughts. The Bible tells us to cast down every thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. You need to stop your mind from planting negative thoughts that can keep you from excelling in life.


Oct 13, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

Your Tongue Can Be Your Worst Enemy!

I received this in a email today and thought I’d pass it on to you.

THE TONGUE CAN BE YOUR WORST ENEMY!

Your words, your dreams, and your thoughts have power to create conditions in your life.
What you speak about, you can bring about.
If you keep saying you can’t stand your job, you might lose your job.
If you keep saying you can’t stand your body, your body can become sick.
If you keep saying you can’t stand your car, your car could be stolen or just stop operating.
If you keep saying you’re broke, guess what? You’ll always be broke.
If you keep saying you can’t trust a man or trust a woman, you will always
find someone in your life To hurt and betray you.
If you keep saying you can’t find a job, you will remain unemployed.
If you keep saying you can’t find someone to love you or believe in you, yo very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs.
If you keep talking about a divorce or break up in a relationship, then you might end up with it.
Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be more positive and power
packed with faith, hope, love and action.
Don’t be afraid to believe that you can have what you want and deserve.


Jun 07, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Detox Your Life Takes a Holistic Approach Healing Body, Mind, & Spirit

Detox Your Life Takes a Holistic Approach Healing Body, Mind, & Spirit

Eliminate mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical toxins with the guidance of a brand new e-program titled Detox Your Life Now and Awaken Your Inner Spirit that has been released by Serenity Enterprises.

The aim of this Christian health, fitness, and wellness program is to help believers and other spiritual seekers cleanse themselves of toxins that interfere with their overall health and well-being and God’s best for their lives.

Detox Your Life Now and Awaken Your Inner Spirit takes a spiritual and holistic approach to health and healing. The program is unique in that most self-help programs address one or more specific areas like clearing clutter or overcoming emotional eating instead of uncovering the source of many problems, which most often begin with a renewing of the mind and purification of the spirit. Once we change our thoughts and cleanse our heart, the natural byproduct is a healthier body and outer world,” say the author and Health and Spiritual Coach Rhonda Jones.


May 05, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Are You Looking Only On the Surface of Things?

Are You Looking Only On the Surface of Things?

Are you looking only on the surface of things? – 2 Corin 10:7

We have all heard the saying, “all that glitters is not gold.” Yet people have a tendency to judge a thing based on outward appearances or a perceived positive outcome or feeling, when in fact, this could be the most detrimental course of all. Too often, we dwell upon that part of the road that happens to be the most tumultuous at the moment, not realizing there will be smooth pavement up ahead. We also believe that difficulty or unpleasant news or circumstances mean we have done something wrong, God is punishing us, or we are out of His will. We have learned to equate our perception of good with positivity and our perception of bad with negativity, but in many cases the complete opposite is true.

I remember when I was beginning my teacher education courses and was placed in a teacher mentorship program. In this program I was given a full one-year teaching position as I worked through the program. At the end of the year, the principal could decide, based upon my performance, whether she would hire me back. It was coming close to the end of the term and my evaluation.


Apr 28, 2010 | 2 comments View Post
Detox Your Life Now and Awaken Your Inner Spirit Eguide

Detox Your Life Now and Awaken Your Inner Spirit Eguide

For the past few months I have been working on a new program that incorporates my Christian meditation and affirmation recordings to help believers bring balance into all areas of their life as they deepen their relationship with God. My new 10-week program is called Detox Your Life Now and Awaken Your Inner Spirit and should be available the week of April 12, 2010.  To learn more and sign up for pre-launch discounts visit http://www.detoxyourlifenow.com.


Mar 29, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
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