Don’t Let the Cats Out!

By Bethany Theulen

I recently had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with my sister, who lives in a different state than I do. Prior to moving out of state, my family and I had lived with this sister for over 5 years so I could pursue my college education while still playing the role of wife and mom. The number of people that lived in her small home made for very cramped living quarters, and in an effort try and create some additional space, we built a small room into the garage, which had its own exit door to the outside. While living there, our two cats spent the majority of time in that room with my husband and I.

This garage room is where I stayed while visiting and when I needed to unload my luggage from the car, the outside door built into the room was the best option. For ease, I went to prop the door open, but my first thought was “shut the door so you don’t let the cats out!” I paused and chuckled to myself, because my cats were safe at home, about 1,500 miles away. I thought about how repeated thoughts and actions create ‘programs’ within our subconscious, and those programs just run automatically, controlling our actions and behaviors. In this case, even though I consciously knew my cats were nowhere near the home I was staying in and had not been there for well over a year, all those prior years that we had constantly made sure to keep the door closed in order to keep the cats safe inside had created a subconscious program that took over my thoughts in that moment. It was my conscious thoughts that reminded myself there was no harm in keeping the door propped open—the cats were nowhere around.

I reflected on all the years I allowed self-deprecating thoughts to run my subconscious programs, and therefore creating outer circumstances that were perfectly aligned with those inner thoughts. For decades my thoughts centered around being stupid, unworthy, ugly, not enough, unloved, lazy, and worthless. According to the Law of Cause and Effect, there is nothing that happens by chance. Everything we are “affected” by in life has a specific cause. James Allen wrote “our outer circumstances will always be found to be in harmonious vibration with our inner circumstances.” By law, my negative thoughts had created the exact environment that I always believed I was worthy of: chaos, pain, lack, anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

While it was far from easy, the cure was simple—change my thoughts and my life and circumstances will follow behind. It’s been almost 2 years since I first began my journey into the freedom that an up-leveled mindset has brought me. Anxiety and depression, once the controlling factors of my entire being, no longer have control of me. Yes, some days I still must dig deeper to shift and move out of those old programs, but the peace-filled days FAR outshine the darker days. Chaos and pain have become clarity and perspective. Lack has become a life filled with an abundance of love, gratitude, and joy. And loneliness? That is a thing of the past. When the loneliness tries to creep back in, and it does, there is an army of those that love and support me, both here on earth and those on the other side—an army that simply won’t let me fail.

The best part? None of it “just happened”. I am the one in control. By causing a shift in my own thoughts and mindset, the effect has been nothing short of miraculous.

_____________

For more about the seven laws that govern prosperity, click here to read Hidden Treasures: Heaven’s Astonishing Help With Your Money Matters FREE.