Finding Comfort
Our postulate for today is a direct quote from C.S. Lewis-
“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end. If you look for comfort, you will not get comfort or truth.”
Which are you looking for? Truth and love, or comfort?
We have discussed the negative state of stress and how this can reinforce bad habits and addictions.
When we feel stressed or sad, we want to find comforting things that can bring us (even momentary) pleasure. More often than not, these ‘comforting’ behaviors are habits and addictions used to offset or escape negative feelings.
However, when the balance shifts outside of our control, we have a problem.
Seeking pleasure to avoid pain (seeking comfort) only leads us to more pain and less pleasure, despite our search for the exact opposite. This is because sin is the most painful thing of all.
The answer is to not actively search for comfort, but for truth and love instead.
Solomon said that everything outside of love and truth is meaningless- a soap bubble that can burst at any moment.
So, how do we prevent moving towards the meaningless and find our truth instead?
Turn 80 percent of self-talk to God-talk
Most of our self-talk is negative. That’s a lot of force pushing us down to the low road of life.
We need to turn that (either silently or out loud) to positive talk.
There is something hugely powerful about speaking your thoughts outwardly.
Once you have said your thoughts out loud, ask for help from the Lord.
Observe the 5-second rule
When you hit pain and temptation, resist immediate action and count backward from 5 to 1. Then act.
This is a brain hack that forces the brain to refocus and shift from over-analysis to the positive desired action instead.
What is the action? It can be a whole range of things, like taking out the trash or washing the dishes. If you’re standing up, sit down. If you’re sitting down, stand up.
It works. Just take some bodily action to distract yourself and then reaffirm your desired action.
For example, if I need to wash the dishes I can count from 5 to 1 and then get up and do them. If I am on a conference call and can’t, I might count back 5 to 1 and jump up or sit down (I have now acted), get on with my call, then do the dishes.
The very act of doing something within 5 seconds is powerful.
Wait 15 minutes
Make a deal with God to wait at least 15 minutes before acting on a bad habit or addiction.
Giving our brain time to pause can help to take us down from temptation.
We must also not argue during this time, but instead, obey God and ask him what he wants in this moment.
Go to another place
Remember, your internal state is causing a chemical reaction within your body.
You are not addicted to the ‘thing’, you’re addicted to a chemical reaction which creates a feeling of comfort.
Go somewhere internally positive rather than sitting in your negative space, such as Revelation 1.
Stay there for at least 15 minutes and give control over to God. Controlling any urge to act within this time can decrease the power that the habit or addiction holds over us.
Do something
Whether it’s The Healing Codes, Trilogy, or a series of breathing exercises, doing something good during this 15 minute period can help to take the body into a state of healing and shift away from negative temptation.
I can guarantee your inward state will have changed after this amount of time and you will be better equipped to make better choices.
Over time, I truly believe you will feel less compelled to act on these negative behaviors. Through constant and consistent reinforcement you may notice you need to go through the above processes less often.
Dr. Bruce Lipton said that illness and disease stem from the wrong belief around a certain situation. Our memories form a picture of what we believe that situation to be.
For us to change our belief system we must shift our inward state around certain beliefs or events.
I believe this process can help us do that.
So, how can we get out of our negative feedback loop? God’s way.
I’m not saying God gave us the above techniques, but I do believe they work.
When you go to Revelation 1 in your mind, your mind won’t distinguish between past, present, or future; if you approach it as real, your body will treat it as so.
If you sit and listen, be present, ask for help, and try to slow down before you act, I honestly believe you can take the power away from vicious, painful results and find real comfort.
Have a blessed, wonderful day!
Alex Loyd.