TRANSFORMING YOUR BEAUTIFUL MIND by Joan Foo Mahony
Smitten By Faith Issue Nr. 000064 27th May 2023
The great Evangelist St. Paul assures us that when we transform our minds - extraordinary things can happen ! Take a look at this wonderful and inspiring letter of St. Paul the Evangelist to the Romans :
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God; what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2
So today, I will write about your beautiful mind. What does 'renewal’ of the mind mean? St. Paul who so clearly understood the divine parentage of humanity asks us to set our human minds on God; on God’s words. He asks us to transform; to change the way we think.
Let us now delve into the enigma of the human mind.
THE HUMAN MIND IS MORE THAN A BRAIN – WE HAVE A DIVINE PARENTAGE ( GENESIS 1: 26-27 )
In Genesis 1:26-27, it is written :
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over the cattle; over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Above : The Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo painted ‘The Creation of Adam’ on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel in the early 1500s. The fresco illustrates God giving life to Adam as part of the biblical creation stories. It references the verses from Genesis "And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness:" ( Gen. 1:26) and "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him" (Gen. 1:27). This fresco remains one of the most iconic, celebrated, and reproduced paintings in human history.
So, here it is ! We have a divine parentage and as a consequence, the human mind is more than just a brain.
The human mind should never be confused with the brain which is a mere organ which other animals also have. The more than 100 billion mass of neurons of the organ inside our heads is called the brain. But, by the way, do you know that the sperm whale weighs up to 9 kilograms and has the biggest brain of any animal species and that even dolphins have bigger brains than humans ? The dolphin brian weighs 1,600 grams while the human brain weighs only 1,300 grams ! However, what make us so different from animals is not the size of our brains nor the number of neurons in our brains; what make us human beings; what make us a people with full cognitive abilities as humans - are our human minds.
The human mind is the specific product of God’s intention and design. God created the mind and gave each one of us, our very own mind – with consciousness and abilities to communicate, discern and act. He gave us memory, intellect and will. Human beings are created ‘in the image of God’ because of the mind which God has given us; a very precious mind with God-like abilities; a likeness to God himself.
So, what does it mean to be made in the image of God?’
In Genesis, when God created Adam and Eve, he gave them the fruits of the earth to “enjoy and subdue”. He expected mankind to be His proper and worthy stewards; to enjoy and look after the earth and every living creature that moves in it. Therefore, human beings with our unique God-like minds owe a special duty of care to the earth. The 21st century seems now to be in a dark period when much of humanity are not acting with proper God-like stewardship over the Earth but instead we see a growing callous disregard for the environment and the well-being of others.
Left : The Creation of Eve ( Genesis 1:2-21) by Jan Brueghel the Younger; oil on copper
Right : The Expulsion from Paradise ( Genesis 3:24 ) by Jan Brueghel the Younger; oil on copper
Jan Brueghel the Younger was a Flemish Baroque painter who lived from 1608 to 1678. He was the son of Jan Brueghel the Elder, and grandson of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, both prominent painters who contributed respectively to the development of Renaissance and Baroque painting in the Netherlands.
In Genesis, Adam and Eve were the first human beings created by God and they were expelled from the Garden of Eden when tempted by Satan, they took the ‘forbidden fruit’ of the tree of knowledge and good and evil and indulged in their desires. Humanity moved from a state of innocence and bliss to the present human condition where we experience the knowledge of sin and misery; the difference between good and evil and finally, death.
LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED; SET YOUR BEAUTIFUL MIND ON GOD
The Apostle John quotes Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John 14:1 :
“Let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid.”
Psalm 34:18 says :
“The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
The messages conveyed are that as long as God is with us surely we won’t need to worry – about anything ! There is no need to be fearful or anxious. We can avoid allowing our hearts to be troubled because with God, we have control over how we respond to the problems and misfortunes of life.
See above the film clip ‘A Beautiful Mind’ about the famous Nobel prize winning mathematician, Alan Nash played by Russell Crowe and his devoted and loving wife, Alicia played by Jennifer Connelly
Jesus speaks about good thoughts and intentions of the mind. GOOD THOUGHTS facilitate faith and good thoughts bring about a beautiful mind and a beautiful heart. We are all drawn to beauty but real beauty is inner beauty. Many of you may have seen the movie, ‘A Beautiful Mind’ about Alan Nash, the famous nobel prize-winning mathematician who was also suffering from schizophrenia. Fortunately, this mathematical genius so beset by demons in his brain is able to manage his mental illness thanks to the total love and devotion of his wife Alicia. In the movie, there is a memorable line where Alan Nash says :
“Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart.”
“God must be a painter; why else would we have so many colours ?”
The mathematician Nash had good thoughts ! Schizophrenic or not, Nash had a human mind. In our modern world of AIs and ChatGPT, robots can never replace the human mind. God did not create us to be robots - he gave us the power to think, to discern and most of all – use our beautiful minds to nurture a compassionate heart so that we can perceive beauty, goodness, be kind and love one another.
FAITH
A beautiful mind believes in God and has absolute faith. It is this deep and undiminished faith which transforms our thinking. It is faith which makes our hearts tranquil and serene regardless of how stressful our lives may be; irrespective of what misfortunes befall us. In the transformed heart the quiet spirit permeates and spills over into every area of our lives and in our relationships with family and with others.
Above : Some of our outward adornments. A lot of glitter ! But we need to see what shines inside of each of us.
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornments, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.”
1 Peter 3:3-4
KNOW THAT GOD LOVES YOU
A beautiful mind knows that God loves you.
In times of adversity and great sorrow, when we put our hope and faith in God we know that HE loves us and we are strengthened and secured by this great love. Our lives are enriched and blessed beyond measure because how amazing it is to have God in our very lives; to know that we are loved by the Almighty – as much as He loved his own son, Jesus. A beautiful mind knows that God is closer than we may fathom and that His love will heal everything.
Right : The letters of St. John the Evangelist by Zampieri
Left : St. Paul the Apostle at St. Peter’s Basilica by Adamo Tadaolini 1838
About the love of God, the Apostle John wrote that not only is God’s love evident throughout biblical history, He sent his only son to die on the cross for mankind so that we may be saved and have life through him.
“We love because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so also you must love one another.”
John 13:34
After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, during the persecution of the early Christian church, St. Paul wrote to the disciple Timothy who was evangelizing to the Gentiles and who went through tremendous stress and fear. Encouraging him to remain steadfast because God who loves him will not abandon him, Paul wrote:
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”
St Paul, 2 Timothy 1:7
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
St. Paul to the Philippians 4:7
“The greatest story of all time is God’s overwhelming, unrelenting, astonishing love for His people. Understanding God’s love is staggering – when we begin to comprehend His love that surpasses knowledge, we begin to be filled with all the fullness of God.”
St. Paul to the Ephesians 3:19
CHANGE YOUR MIND; TRANSFORM IT
Right : ‘Sermon on the Mount’ by French artist James Tissot 1836-1902; opaque watercolour over graphite on grey wove paper; Brooklyn Museum of Art
Left : ‘Sermon on the Mount’ by Carl Bloch 1877
‘Changing your mind’ or ‘repenting and transforming your mind’ is one of the themes of Jesus' first Sermon on the Mount’ in the Gospel of Matthew in 4:17.
Jesus challenged people to change their thinking and transform.
“…From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.’”
Matthew 4:17
In the original Greek of the Gospel, the word used is ‘metanoia’ which is to stop thinking one way and begin thinking another way. In other words, ‘a change of mind.’ When a person repents, he too changes his mind about sin and that change of mind means that he turns away from sin. This is not simply a behavioural change; it is precisely that change of ( of the beautiful ) mind that brings about a positive change in behaviour. Repentance is what we DO after our mind perceives the truth. It’s the response after our minds perceive the truth.
The Apostle Saint Peter said:
“According to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace; spotless and blameless”
2 Peter 3:13,14.
St. Paul the Evangelist writes :
“Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
St. Paul to the Romans 12:2.
“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
St. Paul to the Romans 8:6
“Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”
St. Paul to the Ephesians 4:23.
I began this essay with the renewal of the mind. I end with the same encouragement for your beautiful mind. When you change and transform your mind – even though this inward renewal may come slowly; almost imperceptibly - extraordinary things can and do happen ! We are not alone; God is with us and he works with us. The extraordinary fruits of the renewal of your beautiful mind are immeasurable - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to name but a few.
How marvellous is that !
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