The Ceiling Above Your Mind
Breaking Limiting Beliefs Through Reflective Introspection.
Introduction - An Introspective Lesson
One of my biggest struggles in life has been living with a limited mindset. However I can testify that the walls and ceilings that have been limiting my mind are being torn down everyday. If you are on the pursuit of true greatness then this letter is for you. We are about to embark on a truth seeking and self reflective journey to tear down every limiting belief system that has served as an obstacle to purpose throughout our lives. This letter, like with most of my letters, is very much a letter to myself just as much as it is a letter to you. As you read this letter, I challenge you to go back in time and reflect on where your limiting beliefs came from. If you can remember the seeds that were planted you must believe that uprooting those seeds are paramount towards tearing down the limiting ceilings that they grew into. With God, you can comprehensively take steps forward to tear down the ceiling above your mind.
One of the earliest memories I have of having a ceiling above my mind came in my early teens during my school years. I understood what I was good at and what I was not. I excelled in the arts but the sciences never saw me thrive. I couldn’t stand things that required me to think quickly, but if a subject required me to think deeply I truly excelled. In the educational system I grew up under; it was the quick thinkers that were merited, not the deep thinkers. Therefore the arts brought me to life but an examination hall left me hopeless simply because I was under the pressure of being required to think and execute quickly. In subjects like history, literature, and the social sciences I found myself believing that these things were not for me; even though I thoroughly enjoyed them. It frustrated me getting C’s and the occasional B’s in subjects that I enjoyed. But the academic results were simply the reality of semi completed essays and exams.
Therefore when God prompted me to start writing, my immediate response was: “I am not a writer and I have never been good at it”. So for years I truly believed that my abilities were defined by my life circumstances. This is the difference between human validation and Godly validation. I judged what I was able to do based upon a human reality and not a heavenly one.
My human reality was that I wasn’t made to express my thoughts through writing under the pressure of a ticking examination stop-clock.
My heavenly reality was that I was made to think, rationalise and reason in depth. Therefore writing became a tool to express these thoughts as designed by God.
The conclusion of my story was that I stifled the tools God wanted me to use for his glory just because of an earthly truth. I held onto an identity defined by academic merit which became my human reality. But what broke the ceiling above my mind in this area was realising that there is a difference between a human fact and a heavenly truth. Facts are true under the confinements of time, seasons and circumstances but facts can ultimately change. However truth is spiritual and it never changes. As a result, your reality becomes what you hold onto. My truth is that I haven’t always been a writer but God’s truth is that I have always been a thinker. Can you see the difference? Writing is simply an avenue of expression, not an identity. It can be nurtured and developed over time. It can also be stifled through the limiting beliefs that come from insignificant human experiences. However, my natural gifts go beyond methods of expression. This speaks to my design both physically and mentally. There are parts of me that have never changed and they never will!
Now this is just one example of how a limiting belief born out of a half truth can keep you chained. The two step process in bringing down the ceiling above your mind is:
Exposing seeds of dishonesty through honest reflection and introspection.
Drawing the line between truth and lie to choose what you believe in.
The Power of Reflection
In order to successfully bring a ceiling down you must first uproot the rotten foundations of a building. Thankfully, God has given you a powerful tool known as your brain in order to facilitate this. The brain has memory receptors that were designed for specific purposes. Your memory receptors give you the ability to examine your conscious thoughts and feelings by looking back on past experiences in order to observe your state of being. Your memories aren’t simply in existence for regret or applause; your memories exist for your growth. This is what makes reflection so powerful: you are being taken back in time in order to improve upon the regrets of misused time.
What makes reflection even more powerful is when it is understood within the context of prayer. Prayer is simply communication with God through praise, confession or the request of your needs according to his will. A common misconception about prayer is that it only brings about prophetic results (which is the foretelling insight of Biblical truth). However, prayer also brings about reflective results through revelation. As you reflect on your past in communion with God, he brings about divine understanding to the circumstances you once found yourself in. The sole purpose of this form of reflection is to flush out the toxic lies disguised as truth hiding behind the mask of worldly reasoning. The truth is that the depths of your heart can only be searched out by God (Psalm 139:23-24). I hated writing because I disassociated it from my identity due to believing the lies of my personal experiences. But God exposed what served as the rotten foundation that grew into false conclusions about what I believed I couldn’t do. This was through reflection.
Building Reflective Habits
There are many ways to build your reflective habits and there are various forms of prayer. However two habits in particular transformed the purpose behind my reflective thinking; stillness and journaling. In a noisy world; it is the intentional practice of stillness that will help you to hear the still small voice of God. Without stillness, your memory receptors will only be triggered by sources that won’t provide solutions to the limiting beliefs of your past. For example, a song or a movie might activate your memory receptors but they won’t bring about the divine revelation needed to tear down the lies that have limited you for so long. For the most part, reflection where noise is the trigger keeps you bound; but it is the still small voice of God that sets you free.
Journaling is a powerful reflective tool because it serves as an expression of thought. There are many things you think of that can’t be expressed through speech in the same way it can be expressed through writing. I believe this habit triggers an honesty that the heavens understand and respond to. As you reflect it also gives you the opportunity to reflect on what you reflected on at a future time. When I started writing and journaling, I realised that I was pouring out the record of lies planted into my heart and casting them upon the one who was fit to carry the burden. Furthermore I was refilled with truth through his word. The way I look at it now is that every time I write, I am exchanging my journal for God’s journal. The words you put down on paper are your journal. The words God put down on paper make up his journal. The difference is that God’s journal is eternal, your journal is mortal and extremely volatile. Therefore your heart doesn’t need to hold onto the volatility of carnal half-truths; what it needs the unchangeable eternal truth of God that brings security to your identity. This is how you ultimately draw the line between truth and lie and what you choose to believe in.
The Line Between Truth and Lie
The line between the truth and a lie is found in your perspective of the eternal realm of life. The cards of truth are held by the one who existed before the existence of mankind. The ceiling above your mind is encouraged and perpetuated by God’s adversary in order to limit what God desires to do through you. Therefore you are not limited by the Devil, you are limited by what you use your freewill to believe. Truth can only come from heaven. It is on this imperfect planet that we find truth to be marginalised and misused. If you believe a half-truth, a fact, or a lie, don’t be surprised if it limits you in the future. Furthermore, if you are being called to do something that seems impossible; I challenge you to inquire why you believe it is impossible through prayerful introspective reflection. This is what I have been doing over the last few weeks; and I am beginning to see how the faulty seeds of doubt and limiting beliefs have been planted into my heart over the years. Now, I see a greater importance in reflecting on what I have always believed through God’s eternal filter (the word of God). It is far more trustworthy than my thoughts or feelings.
Lastly, I pray that this letter motivates you to filter the limitations of your mind through an eternal standard.
Have a great day!
Thank you so much for this letter, there’s so many things we think we can’t do that we actually can. I’ve been encouraged
I really like this. It felt like an actual prayer. I’m challenged primarily to stop letting a part of my story define the whole of my life. Thank you for always writing and sending these letters.