Creative Thinking: Mind over matter

You have almost certainly heard the expression “mind over matter.” You might know its meaning or you might not. If you do, you may agree with it or you may not. Anyway, it is not a New Age affirmation. Although it was popularized in the ’60s and ’70s as mainly referred to paranormal phenomena such as psycho-kinesis (the supposed ability to move objects by mental effort alone), it was later applied to mind-centric spiritual and philosophic doctrines such as “responsibility assumption” as well.
Such doctrine affirms that human beings have total responsibility for the events and circumstances that materialize in their personal lives to a degree much higher than it is usually believed. We don’t deny this idea because we, too, often speak about how important it is to create a positive mental pattern in order to minimize the impact of a negative situation. As a matter of fact, this expression first appeared in a 1863 scientific book whose topic was the evolutionary growth of the minds of animals and men throughout history. Interestingly enough, almost two thousand years earlier the Latin poet Virgil had used a similar expression, “mind moves matter,” in his masterpiece “Aeneid.” Such expression is nowadays used as the motto of several renowned European universities.
All this said, let us come to our own time. We use the expression “mind over matter” to mean that through the mind we can have more positive results over unpleasant or painful experiences of the body. I am not referring to stuff such as Tony Robbins’ “fire walks,” where this motivational guru makes people walk on burning charcoal. I wouldn’t do it and you wouldn’t, either. “What for?” I have always wondered. (Scientists affirm that there is a physical explanation to this apparently miraculous phenomenon).
My experience is on a much simpler and more humble scale. I recently made an interesting observation about the impact of my own mind over matter, in this case my own body. As plain as it was, such experience was also quite exciting. Here it is. I am committed to doing a daily workout, and I like all the exercises it entails. All except one. This “one” is particularly long and tiring and I’m not too happy when its turn comes to be performed. One day I decided to try a little trick. For the whole duration of the stressful stretch I brought myself to focus on a specific thought and … stay there. One time it was the planning of a trip out of town, another time it was deciding the menu for a dinner party, a new topic to discuss with my students, even a shopping spree. Incredible but true! When the whole time had elapsed and the exercise was over, I realized that I had felt neither the passing of time nor the discomfort that I usually had to bear. Therefore I can now honestly say that “mind over matter” works — with personal knowledge of the facts!
What do you think? You might feel like trying this trick the next time you have to face an unpleasant situation. Just isolate your mind from the actual circumstance and start thinking of something else. You can do that while lifting a heavy box in your home, for instance, or while suffering from a headache. You don’t have to stress yourself to the point of exhaustion or avoid seeking medical help when needed. It’s up to your intelligence to discriminate between situations and decide accordingly. But one thing is certain: Your mind can perform actual “miracles” if you trust it enough and give it the chance to show its power. Just for once put your ego, your constant reasoning, your resisting, your judging aside for a while. Choose to just expect your willpower to help you achieve your goal. If you have trust, it may be able to do just that, over and over again. Will power walks along with determination. And, as you are the “master” of your mind, i.e. “you” decide what to think, it should not be an impossible enterprise.

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