Off ramp for ANTs

Don't have much time to write this down...but I'll just quickly jot this down before heading out to life conference cause I felt I needed to.

While in the shower today after waking up from a good night sleep because of the rain, I was thinking of something decent when suddenly out of nowhere the negative thought came, something I use to battle intensively...less now, but still battling occasionally.

All these while, I've been trying to tell my mind to shut it off, rebuking it. But I realised that even though to some extend this might work in the long term, something else needed to be done. That's when I remembered the tools I learned from valiant man.

I remembered that even though it's good to shut our minds off and say "I don't want that thought!" , it's always good to have an off ramp for the thoughts in our mind. These ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts), will be hard if we keep fighting it. In fact, for a person struggling with bad thoughts and images in the mind, trying to fight it off would be even more damaging at some times.

So for me, while in that shower, I have decided to re-train my mind in a way that each time these thoughts come, I will be prepare to rebuke it in His powerful name, and at the same time prepare an off ramp for the thought to go. For me, that off ramp will be her first vision that she saw in church camp, where she was surrounded by a group of kids, tenderly loving them. I'm going to ready that thought each time the ANT appears, and provide an off ramp for that thought instead of fighting hard not to think about it. I learned that the transfer of electrical pulses across the synapse in our neural cells are so fast to be controlled. By the time the thought has gone so far down, damage would have been done. Instead by gradual practise of retraining the mind with off ramp thoughts, I learned from a course that our minds can be slowly retrained, that these thoughts would not harm us in the long term.

I , We have to understand that fighting thoughts could be sometimes damaging, so preparing an off ramp thought where something negative can be turned positive could be helpful. I'm going to put it to the test.

PS: you won't believe this!! I missed out an article Shannon sent me on the same thing I was thinking today. "Defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better " by Rick Warren. Guess it re-inforces everything I typed above. Saw it just before I hit the "Publish Post" button one minute ago ... Thanks Ai.




Defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better
by Rick Warren

Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. Philippians 4:8 (TEV)

The more you think about something, the stronger it takes hold of you, which is why the Bible teaches that we should, "Run from anything that gives you the evil thoughts . . . but stay close to anything that makes you want to do right." (2 Timothy 2:22, LB)
Temptation begins by capturing your attention. What gets your attention arouses your emotions. Then your emotions activate your behavior, and you act on what you felt. The more you focus on "I don't want to do this," the stronger it draws you into its web.
Ignoring a temptation is far more effective than fighting it. Once your mind is on something else, the temptation loses its power. So when temptation calls you on the phone, don't argue with it, just hang up!
Sometimes this means physically leaving a tempting situation. This is one time it is okay to run away. Get up and turn off the television set. Walk away from a group that is gossiping. Leave the theater in the middle of the movie. To avoid being stung, stay away from the bees.
Do whatever is necessary to turn your attention to something else.
Spiritually, your mind is your most vulnerable organ. To reduce temptation, keep your mind occupied with God's Word and other good thoughts. You defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better. This is the principle of replacement. You overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).
Satan can't get your attention when your mind is preoccupied with something else. That's why the Bible repeatedly tells us to keep our minds focused: "Fix your thoughts on Jesus" (Hebrews 3:1 NIV).
"Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable" (Philippians 4:8 TEV).
If you're serious about defeating temptation you must manage your mind and monitor your media intake. The wisest man who ever lived warned, "Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts" (Proverbs 4:23 TEV).