From Experience to Advocacy MIND GARDENING

By Cassandra M. Villacorte

We all need to care for the garden, that is the mind. Deciding even when you do not take any action is still a choice. Bad ideas are like weeds; they spread by exploiting our deeply rooted anxieties as fertilizer. Many of us choose to accept our own challenges as inescapable facts rather than admitting to them. I can speak from experience since my soul has been at battle with this phenomenal state of thinking. A war that I have been fighting since I was young and will continue to fight for years to come. It may be difficult to understand advocacy, therefore I have found it useful to use some metaphors to direct our efforts. Simply put, mind gardening advocacy involves cultivating the mind to make it fertile and creating only the greatest ideas that ensure success, happiness, and the best of health. It sanitizes the mind and cleanses it of any negative thoughts and emotions, including anxiety, fear, uncertainty, annoyance, and disappointment. It also involves the same stages as any type of home gardening.

1The Preparation Step

when we genuinely embrace who we are - imperfections, failures, faults, and sins included - we become who we are. Let us fully accept all our flaws, such as the fact that our bodies and faces are not what most people would consider to be flawless. Another appropriate example is not having the extraordinary skill that makes us famous or being born into a poor family. Let us also be kind to ourselves and overlook our previous mistakes. In other words, let us start loving and believing in ourselves, no matter what our situations in life may be.

2The Cultivation Step

the purposeful application of good practices and the daily mindful fitting of the mind with wise words, such as thanking God each morning for another day to live and enjoy the wonderful things that life has to offer. Furthermore, it entails speaking and thinking positively. Life is an echo; we must always keep it in mind. We get what we say and do. Positive feedback always comes back to us when we compliment someone. It also entails leading a healthy lifestyle, which includes getting adequate rest and sleep, exercising, and eating a balanced diet.

we need to engage in meaningful reading or engage in meaningful conversation with those who have important positions in the government or in the community, such as lawyers, officials, priests, and teachers. Our intellectual and personal development depends on their ideas.

4The Sowing Step

the act of planting or feeding the mind with uplifting ideas and success stories.

5The Weeding Step

Getting Rid Of Any Unwholesome

and unfavorable emotions, including low self-esteem, anxiety, and emotional baggage. We must perform habit-forming activities with consistency at this step as well. First, read daily verses from the Bible that inspire you. Begin each day by giving thanks to God for the gift of life, which is denied to many, particularly during this pandemic. Thirdly, tell yourself every morning as you take a bath that you are a brand-new person, bursting with vigor and eagerness. Assume that the Creator of heavenly bodies, the Source of miracles, sees you as blameless, faultless, and adored. Focusing on the deficiencies and making them into strengths, it also entails being aware of our strengths and limitations. We apply hot water to the soil to destroy the germs in it, much as when we do our own gardening at home.

6The Harvesting Step

enjoying the sweet rewards of leading a happy life.