"Thoughts are made up of memories, perceptions, and beliefs."

A thought by H. Norman Wright from his book, When the Past Won't Let You Go (p. 39). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Our thoughts are so very important in making our life enjoyable and productive.

Norman says, "They’re glimpses of ideas. Whether you choose something to think about or you don’t, your brain is always on. If you don’t choose your thoughts and direct them somewhere, your thoughts will wander. Thoughts are simple. They’re basic, but it’s hard to measure them. They direct our lives. They impact our mind, our body, and our emotions. Long and involved or short and direct, they influence our lives."

He goes on, "What we think affects our bodies. In fact, in the next minute what I’m asking you to think about will create a response in your body. Take a couple of breaths and relax. Now, think of a lemon. Imagine cutting the lemon in two. Scrape out a couple of the seeds. Hold the lemon up to your nose and smell it. Squeeze it in your hand, and let some of the juice drip into your mouth. Now bite into it and chew the juicy pulp.

"Now, all you did was think about doing this. You didn’t really bite into this juicy lemon. But most of us who followed those instructions responded physically. Our mouth may have puckered, our nose may have twitched. The chewing wasn’t real, but the thought of doing this revved up our senses."

He later says, "Let’s talk about thoughts and emotions. Sometimes we may wonder where they came from. One emotion out of ten is the source of what we were thinking about. If our thoughts were negative, we give our emotions control as well as set up chemical reactions within ourselves that aren’t always reliable.

"Are you aware that we walk around with a network of electrical chemical switches constantly turning on and off? These electrical impulses are our thoughts. Every thought we have is translated into electrical impulses that direct the control center in our brain. It’s taking place right now as we think about what we’re reading. We have more power than we realize to control our thoughts. The more we think a thought, the more it becomes entrenched. For example, I can plant roses in my yard. If I feed and water them, I’ll have a garden worth looking at. But if I fail to feed them or give them wrong ingredients, my yard won’t be worth looking at. It’s the same way with thoughts. Our minds are like a bank—a memory bank. We go there constantly to make deposits. When the time comes to make a withdrawal, what will we take out? It’s going to be what we deposited. What we plant or file away will come back to either enhance our life or damage it. You and I can limit ourselves just based on our thoughts alone."

So this is a very important area for some focus time, isn't it?

Yes, yes!

Wright, H. Norman. When the Past Won't Let You Go: Find the Healing That Helps You Move On (p. 41). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.