Born to Fly

Epigenetics

The host opens with the question, “What is in my biological genes that I believe is stopping me?” He then speaks briefly on the topic of epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of how behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. It’s essentially a system of belief in the idea that certain traits and diseases are passed down through genes. Although there is much controversy over this particular study, Joe Dispenza says in his book, Becoming Supernatural, “Genes don’t create disease. Instead our external and internal environment programs our genes to create disease.” For example, one may believe that because their father or mother was an alcoholic, they too will become an alcoholic. Another person may believe they will be affected by Alzheimer’s or diabetes due to the history of the disease in their family. However, Stephen suggests there is a higher order playing a factor in whether or not you will become sick or diseased, the order of your belief system, previously discussed in Episode 6.

Type A vs. Type B

There are two types of people in the world. The type A person believes they will succeed no matter the odds stacked against them. They simply won’t take no for an answer in terms of gaining success. Contrarily, there is the type B person who believes they will fail in every circumstance regardless of how favorable or positive it may appear. Such a person has an ability to manifest crumbling failure at tasks they’ve barely begun. This concept ties into what was spoken previously in Episode 9 regarding worthiness. You are only worthy of whatever you can believe. You will prove to yourself to be type A or type B based on what you believe internally.

As a teen, I adopted a Benjamin Disraeli quote I had heard from my father, and I began applying it to my life. “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.” Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was programming my mind to correlate every event with a negative outcome. The statement in itself seems contradictory seeing as how faith and fear cannot operate at the same time. Therefore, in actuality, I was never hoping for the best when I had already fixed my mind to see the worst. I’ve since come to realize the difference between hope and faith. Hope is unsure, a belief in a possibility of an outcome, while faith is a certainty.

Because I had taken this statement and practiced it, I developed a negative outlook on life. I applied this concept to relationships and dating prior to my marriage, hoping to be treated respectfully by men while preparing myself to be mentally or physically abused. I later applied it to my substance abuse, hoping to one day stop using while preparing myself to be a “functioning addict.” I found myself becoming the type B person, accepting myself as unworthy of a successful sober lifestyle with good mental health and a flourishing, functional marriage. I started to give in to the idea that these were just the cards I was dealt and “it is what it is.” Up until December of 2020, my mind was constantly flooded with negativity.

ANT

ANT, automatic negative thoughts, are immediate and irrational. They’re so repetitive that long periods of time may pass before you realize you’ve been mentally sabotaging yourself. Transparently, I’ve been not only thinking, but speaking of myself negatively for as long as I can remember. In kindergarten, I was given a bad haircut, as all of us have experienced at some point. I was skating around the rink at Sparkles when the DJ announced an “all-girls skate.” I proceeded to continue to skate while another young girl reiterated to me that it was “girls only,” and boys had to leave the floor. Immediately, I began to cry and feel ashamed of how I looked. Within the following years, I was teased about my freckles, my weight, being shy, and many other things. I quickly developed a poor self-image and approached life insecurely.

Automatic negative thoughts are not only about self, but also about outward situations. The host uses the example of becoming anxious any time you receive a call from your mother. Your first thought may go immediately to tragedy rather than thinking she’s calling for a casual conversation, or just to say “hello.” You may even deal with negative thoughts about someone else just because they walked into the room. Our bodies have become the mind in this way, programmed to release dopamine associated with anxiety or depression. In order to change, we must learn to reprogram the mind.

Reprogramming

Although you may desire mental or physical change, you must realize your body is against you 100%. It has been programmed to do what it does, and to feel the way it feels. Eating healthy will prove to be an impossible task when the body is in control. Cravings will overtake you. This concept can be applied to exercise, reading, learning and many other tasks. The things you want to achieve will prove difficult until you have a change in thought process. Change must begin internally, within the mind.

Stephen uses the Israelites as an illustration. Although God delivered them from the hands of Egypt, nearly all of them died in the wilderness, never entering the Promise Land. This is due to the fact that they came out of Egypt, but Egypt never came out of them. They were so accustomed and comfortable with life in Egypt that they could not fathom another way of living. Had they begun to change their habits, their practices, maybe they would have stood a chance. To keep poor habits, knowing they’re toxic, is to comfortably choose a slow death.

Reprogramming your thoughts begins with repentance. Repentance is best explained in Matthew 4:17, the God’s Word version of the bible. It reads, “Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near!” To change the way you act, you need to change the neurological way in which you think. Your actions will not change until your thoughts do. Once you change your way of thinking, maintain it. If you find yourself reverting to old ways of thinking, you didn’t spend enough time practicing newness. What you’ve learned must be immediately and continuously practiced. After all, what you don’t use, you lose.

You vs. You

If you think change is impossible, you’ve become your own worst enemy. The reality is the only thing hindering you from achieving greatness is yourself. Everything you believe internally is manifesting in your life externally. For many years, I’ve believed myself to be overweight and unhealthy, even when I wasn’t. Body dysmorphia begins in the mind. I’ve come to realize recently how powerful my words have been when it comes to physical health. Reversing the damage done by my own words is proving to be difficult, but not impossible. I am learning to get out of my own way, realizing that obesity, diabetes, and cancer aren’t destined to me because of my genes. Today, I possess something more powerful than genetics, a fortified mind.

Be the Hero

Life will always have an opponent, whether it be a physical person, or the devil himself, you will be faced with something that challenges you. The biggest attack will be on your mind. Fortunately for us, as said in Episode 9, we’ve been crafted in the image of our Father, in His likeness, designed to be little gods. Believe it or not, you were born to fly, created to be the hero of your own life. Don’t get it twisted, Jesus is the Savior. Yet, He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world. Jesus said it Himself in Matthew 10:25 and Luke 6:40, it is good for the student to be as his Teacher, and the servant as his Master. Just as Jesus is a hero, we are to be heroes as well.

Something Has to Change

The “something” that has to change is fortification, the fortification of our minds. We need to tap into that deep place of meditation that literally creates new neural pathways in the brain as well as new genes within the body. Contrary to popular belief, meditation is in fact a Christian practice as seen in the Bible as early as Genesis and throughout Psalms. Meditation is simply a still place within the mind of reflection, examination, and familiarization with your thought processes, practices, and beliefs. Stephen encourages us to meditate on Jeremiah 29:11, Psalms 8:4-8, and Isaiah 40:15-16. As Stephen ends the topic with Revelation 3:21, he reminds us that we are overcomers and leaves us with three essential takeaways.

The Band Contemporary appropriately concludes the podcast with another unreleased song from their upcoming projects titled “25,000 Days.” The catchy tune prompts the audience to reflect on life and how we will spend the vapor we’ve been given. Will you choose today to create a beautiful past or take your time for granted? It’s up to you to do what you will with it.

Contemporary Speaks presents another live-audience episode of Something Has to Change with an electrifying performance by The Band Contemporary. The rising Atlanta artists opened the Saturday morning podcast with an unreleased, revolutionary new song titled “King of Nations.” With lyrics that proclaim “victory over the beast” as quoted in Revelation 15, the song appropriately prepared the audience to receive a positive exhortation of triumph from the host, Stephen. As in recent episodes, Stephen continues to take us deeper into the understanding of how the mind and body work, who we are as individuals, and how to cultivate change in an attainable way.

Three Takeaways:

1. You were born to be an overcomer.

2. The Creator gave you dominion over the earth.

3. God will never leave or forsake you.

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