Our stomachs are, in a way, smarter than our brains. If we feed our stomach rotten food it will not digest it, but will send it back up the way it came, thereby not allowing it into our blood stream. Our brain, however is not quite as clever; it will accept and process every and any thought that enters it, regardless of whether it is good or bad for us.

That being the case, we need to employ some conscious techniques to help us differentiate between thoughts that are good and beneficial for our mental and spiritual health, and those that are poisonous and destructive.

One of the most common mistakes we make as human beings is that we assume that our thoughts and ourselves are one: that we are what we think. Every feeling we have is first created by our thoughts. In truth, however, our thoughts are only the "garments" of our mind, which we can don or discard at any given time.

Every feeling we have is first created by our thoughts. Some of those thoughts are well hidden in our subconscious. Some are there from our early childhood. We sometimes come to a certain place or meet a certain person and feelings of hate or love, happiness or sadness, are triggered from our subconscious thoughts without us being aware of the reasons for it. In some more complex situations, counselling may be needed to enable us to dig up that hidden thought, identify it and rid ourselves of it.

In most cases, however, a simple conscious exercise can help us to distinguish between thoughts that work for us and those that work against us.

When a thought enters your mind, before you "swallow" it and start to "digest" it, hold it right there and examine it for a moment. Ask yourself:

What is this thought trying to convey to me? Does it carry a positive message or a negative one? Is it an encouraging idea or a disheartening one?

What is this thought making me feel—happy or sad? Satisfied or envious? Loving or hateful? Compassionate or angry?

When a thought enters your mind, before you "swallow" it and start to "digest" it, hold it right there and examine it for a moment. Now it's time to make a conscious decision: Do I wish to further process and develop this message, or should I simply reject it and delete it?

Practice these steps regularly, and eventually your brain will get as smart as your stomach, automatically throwing out any damaging thought.

Try it—it works!