Spirituality and Health Connect

by Beverly Goldsmith, Christian Science practitioner and teacher

Detox your mind. It’s good for your health

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Detox your mind. It’s good for your health
© Glow Images. Model used for illustrative purposes

Detoxing one’s body it seems, has become as popular as visiting a health spa to be massaged, mud-packed or steamed. Yet cleansing the body inside and out, is not all we can do to be healthier.  It can also be beneficial to detox your mind. Such action is good for your health – both mental and physical.

From time-to-time negative feelings, when unchecked, can build up to alarming levels of distress in thinking. Without a good clean out, unhealthy emotions such as hurt and anger can fester away, spoiling a person’s good nature, destroying their peace of mind, and damaging their wellbeing.

Flush out corrosive feelings 

There’s an ancient story about a woman who was forced to leave her home and country. Filled with resentment at this incident in her life, she was unable to mentally move forward and looked back in anger. In so doing, she turned herself into a “pillar of salt” – she became permanently embittered by what she perceived as the wrong done to her.

TIP:

●  Avoid the mistake of harbouring destructive feelings such as resentment and estrangement.

● When showering, don’t just think about keeping the body externally clean. Look within.

● Use a mental-loofah to scrub and exfoliate dead-end thinking.

● Gently wash away any build-up of disappointment or bitterness.

● Rinse off unhappy thoughts about the past.

● Allow calming, comforting, reassuring, and peace-encouraging ideas to flow into thinking. 

Cleanse wounded feelings.

Soaking one’s thinking in past insults or hurtful comments is not health-giving.  Imagine how freeing it would feel if the memory of unkind words or deeds were erased from thinking.

TIP:   

● If someone has personally said or done something mean, rather than rehearsing the unkindness, mentally pull the plug on it.  Let unpleasant memories flow down the drain – right out of thinking.

● Dwell on good things that have taken place – a spontaneous hug from a child,  a kindness received.

● Embrace this advice. “Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

● “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.” (Science and  Health, p. 261, Mary Baker Eddy)

Purify thinking

It’s long been considered that hatred is toxic. So too are harsh thoughts and acidic attitudes, holding a grudge, or seeking revenge. These eat away at the fabric of one’s thinking and good health. That’s why it’s helpful to detox the mind.

TIP:

● Hatred requires feeding to flourish so starve it of nourishment.

● Snuff out the desire for revenge – to verbally or physically retaliate. Refuse to give it oxygen, or breath.

● Filter out unwholesome emotions and attitudes.

● Pour into thinking the health-bringing, health-sustaining qualities of love, forgiveness, mercy, and kindness.

● Make time to meditate, purify and regenerate thinking.  It’s good for your health.

Comments

  1. Thank you Beverley, these ideas were very helpful as a follow on from having to detox my thought from an experience I had earlier today. I saw a driver about to vacate a parking spot outside my local shop. I pulled into a loading zone with the intention of reversing back into the space. As he pulled out another driver drove forward two spaces and took my space. This meant I had to back out and reverse some distance into one of the two spaces behind him. Immediately my reaction was to be very angry by this selfish action on his part. I was about to follow up and let him know what I thought, when I realized that I didn’t have to react or take offense, and was able to just let the feelings go. I also realized that he may have been totally unaware of what had happened.

    • Thank you Joan for sharing your experience. Well done on being able to “detox” your mind and get rid of the anger. Rather than fuelling bad feelings you mentally rose to the occasion and replaced them with love and grace. Good job.

  2. Thank you Beverly, for those very practical ideas. I’ll be remembering them each time I take a shower.

    • That’s the way Carol. Glad you liked the tips on washing away unhappiness, the past, and unhealthy thoughts. Thanks for your comment. Good to know that you’ll be “detoxing” thinking when you shower from now on.

  3. Beverly, this is excellent advice explained succinctly – thank you. If we each participate in this kind of mental detoxing we are each helping to make the world a better place.

    • Good point Deborah. Thanks for your comment. Like Joan, cleansing our thinking of negative feelings or attitudes, can harmonize our interactions with others. Glad you found the tips helpful.

  4. Thanks Beverly, a timely reminder that the one we sour and hurt most by resentful mulling is ourselves. What a wonderful relief to shed critical thinking and mentally wash away all impurities.

    • This is also a good point that you’ve made Kerri. Thanks for your comment. It is freeing to mentally cleanse away bitter, resentful thoughts. Sometimes it takes a scrub with our “mental- loofah”, but the end result is peace of mind and better health.

  5. Oh how revitalised I feel just by reading this helpful piece. Thanks for a new look at detoxing one’s self.

    • Isn’t it great to feel rejuvenated and revitalised Julie. Well done. To purify and detox corrosive feelings brings freedom from hurt, peace, and makes us happier and healthier. Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this piece.

  6. Thank you Beverly, I have also found, reversing this concept of “my” mind and it’s so called traits and instead knowing God as the only Mind and holding steadfastly to this, realizing that all of His children (ideas) are, and can only be pure is health-giving also.

    • Thank you for your comment Anne. Keeping watch over, and often examining what is being harboured in one’s thinking, provides the opportunity to “detox” and get rid of unhealthy character traits such as anger, resentment, and bitterness. Doing this, allows room for health-bringing qualities such as love, grace, forgiveness and patience, to be expressed. This is refreshing and uplifting.

      • Thank you so much Beverly. On examining character traits, it was revealed to me, that, indulging in criticism in my thinking and in conversation with others had been a major flaw that needed a good “detox”. On looking up “critical” and its synonyms, I realized how important it was to immediately and continually “detox”, ‘Stand porter at the door of thought’, as Mary Baker Eddy instructs us, thereby allowing the health bringing qualities to be seen, both in myself and others. Thank you for your prayers.

        • Thanks again Anne for your comment. Keep up the good work of washing away impurities from thinking such as being critical of others. It really does improve health and makes life so much more pleasant for everyone.

  7. Thank you Beverly for that excellent, healthy advice. It certainly is a good thing to think of in the shower! Religious reformer, Mary Baker Eddy wrote “hatred is a plague-spot that spreads its virus and kills at last.” No-one wants to welcome in a plague.

  8. Thank you Marion for sharing that quote by Mary Baker Eddy who also wrote extensively as a health reformer. I agree that no one wants to indulge unhealthy, hateful thoughts. It is much healthier to purify thinking and get rid of the hate that can plague a person and undermine their good nature and wellbeing. It is invigorating to wash animosity and dislike away in cleansing, pure thoughts and attitudes.

    • So glad Josh that you found these tips of benefit. Yes, you’re right. Simple ideas can be powerful. No need for complicated mental gymnastics, just straightforward, practical spirituality that benefits mind and body.

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