{"id":4310,"date":"2023-10-30T23:28:27","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T23:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/?p=4310"},"modified":"2025-11-13T23:29:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T23:29:26","slug":"change-your-mind-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/change-your-mind-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Change Your Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1763076496704{padding-top: 12px !important;padding-right: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 12px !important;padding-left: 15px !important;background-color: #F9FFC1 !important;}”]\n

By Carl Hilton VanOsdall, LCSW, MDiv<\/h4>\n

A friend recently shared with me their copy of Nikita Gill\u2019s book,\u00a0Where Hope Comes From.\u00a0<\/em>The first poem, entitled \u201cAnd a Message from the Universe,\u201d goes like this:<\/p>\n

\"\"In every moment of your existence,
\n<\/em>Several realities
\n<\/em>Are bursting across the cosmos.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Planets explode.
\n<\/em>Stars burst.
\n<\/em>Solar systems dissolve<\/em><\/p>\n

Or welcome a new planet
\n<\/em>Into the orbit of their own
\n<\/em>Sun-like star.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The universe gives them life
\n<\/em>And says,
\n<\/em>Now help me live.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Listen.
\n<\/em>I am saying that if you change your thoughts,
\n<\/em>You, too, can change your universe.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As I reflect on this, part of me is skeptical: Change your universe?\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 Another part of me nods along, \u201cWe CAN change our\/the universe If we allow our \u201csame-stuff-as-stars\u201d cerebrums to shift.\u00a0For there is a whole universe in there.<\/p>\n

And, somewhere in my same cerebral space are swirling around words from the August 27 lectionary passage, the starting words of Romans 12:<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not be conformed to this world, but be TRANSformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God\u2014what is good and acceptable and perfect.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Perfect\u2014<\/em>not meaning without blemish or error\u2014instead perfect<\/em> meaning whole and integrated. Such is God\u2019s good will for each of us,\u00a0that we might find wholeness and healing in our\u00a0holy lives.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the Apostle Paul and Nikita Gill are onto the same thing. That by God or by grace, these mysterious and wonder-filled minds\u00a0are key to our transformation, even the changing of our very universe.\u00a0 Which for us\u2014and for those we hold in our hearts\u2014begins right here\u2026 begins right now.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1763076496704{padding-top: 12px !important;padding-right: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 12px !important;padding-left: 15px !important;background-color: #F9FFC1 !important;}”] By Carl Hilton VanOsdall, LCSW, MDiv A friend recently shared with me their copy of Nikita Gill\u2019s book,\u00a0Where Hope Comes From.\u00a0The first poem, entitled \u201cAnd a Message from the Universe,\u201d goes like this: In every moment of your existence, Several realities Are bursting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,267],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spirituality","category-vanosdall"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4311,"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310\/revisions\/4311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samaritanps.org\/optima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}