For example, we perform many tasks by muscle memory without having to think much about it. Tying our shoes, brushing our teeth, driving a car or riding a bicycle are among those things. I’m a pianist and I have learned that if I begin thinking about playing a piece of music I have memorized, I run into trouble-I usually cannot "remember" with my brain or my mind what notes and chord progressions to play. But when I clear my mind and allow my muscle memory to take over then I can play the piece flawlessly.

In cases such as these we want our "muscle memory" to take over for us. But, what if we’ve allowed our "muscle memory" to automatically cause us to act or react in ways that are harmful to us and others? In these situations we need to learn to stop and take control and essentially teach and train our brain to act and react positively. It’s not easy, but we can take control of how we act and react. We can choose to be positive minded and give thanks in faith. If you are a born again Christian you are a child of the present and the future, but not of the past. We all must ask ourselves and honestly answer the question -"Do I believe my thoughts have something to do with my destiny?"

Oftentimes people have become addicted to their painful experiences. Some do not want to let go of a negative past because the experience involves someone they do not want to forgive. In holding onto the pain as a "victim" they feel that they have "incarcerated" the one who "caused" the pain, and if they choose to stop thinking about it the "bad person" would be released. Sadly, we can come to need "enemies" to reaffirm our addiction to bitterness and hatred.

But there is a terrible cost. The eternal cost is what we must consider more earnestly because Jesus said that only those who forgive others can receive forgiveness from God. (Matthew 6:15) But there is also a hefty price that it costs us in the here and now. This type of stress is known to harm the health of our bodies by releasing dangerous chemicals. When we dwell on painful memories our system is flooded with chemicals that causes a variety of illnesses.

Notice this from the famous Mayo Clinic: "Your body is hard-wired to react to stress in ways meant to protect you against threats from predators and other aggressors. Such threats are rare today, but that doesn’t mean that life is free of stress. On the contrary, you undoubtedly face multiple demands each day, such as shouldering a huge workload, making ends meet and taking care of your family. Your body treats these so-called minor hassles as threats. As a result you may feel as if you’re constantly under assault. But you can fight back. You don’t have to let stress control your life." If we do not have a positive vision of the future we are left only with the painful experiences of the past.

The brain is a record of the past, so we wake up everyday with thoughts of the past and sometimes anxiousness about the future. We tend to anticipate the future from a record of past failures, pain and fear. And each of our memories have emotions attached to them. When we dwell on a painful experience it puts us in a mood. We may feel sad or even anguish because the old emotions attached to the memory come flooding into our mind. It we continue to allow this to take root it becomes a temperament. It’s now no longer a momentary mood but a lingering temperament and affects how we view and treat others. If we allow this to continue unchecked it will ultimately become our personality trait. Now it’s no longer a momentary mood or lingering temperament, but who we have allowed ourselves to become.

With this temperament we become guarded, always expecting the worse case scenario and because it helps us feel justified we eventually embrace it. Some may ask, "Why are you this way? In which you may reply, "I am this way because of something that happened twenty years ago! Or ten years ago! Or five years ago! Or one year ago! Or last week!" How long ago really doesn’t matter as long as it’s something we had become so emotionally attached to we would rather say "You would be like this too if what happened to me had happened to you!", than to let it go.

But God has given us an example to follow. He not merely forgives us of our sins, not only pays our sin debt, but actually removes them from His memory. In the Christian Covenant of Grace through Faith, God remembers our sins no more. And that’s an example that we must follow if we really want to live in freedom.

Most people live as victims of past experiences and circumstances. In the truest sense we surrender our free will to the dictate of our unconscious emotional reactions. All of us need to sincerely ask ourselves the questions - "Does my thinking create my environment - Or does my environment create my thinking.?"

Because our brains do not know the difference between the emotions of a past experience and something presently happening, the emotions are the same. And sadly, too many of us relive the painful emotions of the past on a regular basis. Each time our brain will react as if it is a new negative experience, and will flood our system with harmful chemicals. Clearly, if our negative thoughts have the power to make us sick, then our positive thoughts have the power to help us heal and help keep us healthy.

We are creatures of habit. Our unconscious mind becomes a hardwired program operating from past experiences. And by practice we’ve taught it to routinely respond. What we must do is to take control of our thoughts and turn our hardwired unconscious mind into a software program for a hopeful future. We must have hope. The Bible says that hope is what anchors our soul.

To accomplish this seemingly impossible task will take a conscious effort each morning and throughout the day. When we rise from sleep let us go to prayer with positive thoughts. And when an old painful experience from the past comes to mind-cast it out. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)