Wrote May 17, 2018 in Druper UT Prison by Jacob Edmond Kerr
It’s crazy how profound one’s perception is. When I think of how an individual can be in the same exact position as another in almost every way but one can be at peace, content and happy while the other can be angry, discontent and miserable it speaks clearly to me that happiness and peace is a choice. Also, that perception has a direct effect over this. Since I have chosen consciously to focus on positive things, count my blessings and let go of anything that works against my acceptance, peace, faith, and happiness my perception has changed in a positive way. One thing that has helped me with this is my strong focus on “not hard timing” since I have been locked up. By making this one of my primary focuses and goals I have almost consciously and non-consciously stumbled into this change of perception. It has allowed me to be grateful and aware of many of the positive things in my life that I was unaware of or ignorant to in the past. It has also helped me to see the importance of and significance to being aware. Now when I hear or think of “perception determines reality” it holds more weight, means a lot more to me and I now understand it by experience instead of just sought after knowledge.
Faith
Also “Faith” which to me before was a religious keyword means much more to me now. I have experienced the power of faith or believing in positive things. Now when I think about faith I think about the powerful things faith is and has been capable of. For instance, the placebo effect is a good example of the power of faith or believing in something. The placebo effect is and has been a standard part of every medical study for a long time. The placebo effect is when they give a patient a placebo (sugar pill) with the patient believing the placebo is the real medication. The astounding thing is the placebo is just as or more effective than the real medication 30% or more of the time. This is a standard procedure for every medical study and has been common knowledge for over a century. The only explanation is that the belief or faith of the patient alone is generating these effects.
Let Go and Let God
Another thing that now holds more weight for me and I believe falls in-line with faith is “letting go”, to “let go and let God”. When I think about letting go I think of a story I read recently: Monkey hunters in India will drill a hole into a coconut just big enough for a monkey to stick it’s arm through and place candy inside. Then they will stake the coconut to the ground. A monkey will come along, reach inside and grab a handful of candy. At that point, the monkey will be trapped! Because the monkey will not let go of the candy they are captured by the monkey hunters every time. When I think about how monkey hunters in India capture monkeys, I think about how people tend to do the same type of thing as the monkey at times. I use to think thoughts were nothing but thoughts. Now I believe thoughts are much more than just thoughts. Everything we know is a reflection of our thoughts. I had no idea how destructive letting my thoughts run wild and unchecked was. Without knowing it I was manifesting all kinds of negative elements into my life.
The Power of the Mind
For over 16 years I have been fascinated by the power of the mind. I had read many books on the subject, soaking up the knowledge. Always craving more. It did not take long for fate to decide that computer programming would be my career for the last 14 years. Since computer programming is so similar to the mind I was equally fascinated with it. Because I truly love my career and have a strong passion for it I have become an advanced or successful part of the industry. No matter how much knowledge I had it was not enough to prepare me for the grips of drug addiction. For a long time addiction was the simplest and most complex thing I knew. I was the monkey who would not let go of the candy. I was trapped! The struggle I went through while I was in the grips of my addiction helped to take me from knowing these things to experiencing them. It helped me to see the difference between knowledge and wisdom and the significance of it. Now that I think of it, how funny is it that I wanted to know the mind and the universe gave me the greatest lesson on the mind: addiction.