Before we can master ourselves, we need to know who we are. We consist of two parts—our physical body, and our spirit which lives within our bodies. There is a correspondence between the human soul and everything that exists in the World, and since a person contains all that is needful to one’s government within oneself, it must be that nothing can be given to an individual or take away, but always there is a compensation. We are embodied spirits and inspired bodies, (of, if you will, embodied minds and minded bodies). The mind has been variously defined as that which is responsible for one’s thoughts and feelings, the seat of the faculty of reason or the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. People ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain alone, arise our pleasures, joys, laughter and jests, as well as our sorrows, pains, griefs and tears. Through it, in particular, we think, see, hear and distinguish the dreadful from the beautiful, the bad from the good, the pleasant from the unpleasant. Therefore, the brain is the most powerful organ of the human body. Wherefore, the brain is the interpreter of consciousness. Bodies are modifications of God qua extended, and minds are modifications of God qua thinking. They are not distinct things; they are merely parallel aspects of the one true substance. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8

Mental Mastery empowers us with insight into the unconscious patterns that silently drive our behaviours and outcomes in life. The mind, without direction and vision, cannot support us to create a new experience beyond us to create a new experience beyond what we have already known. Free judgments depend on will, but natural ones do not; they are a kind of complex sensation in that they do not depend on us. They are made by God in us, in consequence of the laws of union between soul and body. As judgements they can be true or false, but as sensations they may occur against our will and are certainly not due to our will. Sentimentality is a sensation by which we can be affected, even against our will, by sympathy for others’ condition who, so to speak, can play at will on the organ of the sentimentalist. Sensitivity is meanly; for the man who wants to spare his family and friends difficulties or pain must possess such delicate feeling as is necessary in order to judge their sensations not by one’s own strength, but rather by the meekness, and delicacy of one’s sensation is necessary for generosity. On the other hand, the ineffectual sharing of one’s feelings in order to appear sympathetically in tune with the feelings of others, thus allowing oneself to be affected in a merely passive way, is silly and immature. When we become aware of our mental patterns and learn to direct our thoughts to places that serve us and our vision for the future, we begin to step out of the past and into new possibilities, which we create for ourselves. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8

For full truth an idea must be seen to be true, and this is possible only insofar as it is seen to follow from the nature of things. In Mental Mastery, we begin to define a vision for life, and understand how the inner workings of the mind determine our daily experience. The essence of consciousness is the state of becoming conscious and it is a special psychic act, different from and independent of the process of becoming fixed or represented, and consciousness appears to us as a sensory organ which perceives a content proceeding from another source. Knowledge must ultimately be reflexive. Anyone who really knows something is necessarily so, one must know that one knows this, since the truth of what one knows must be manifest. The doctrine of truth is also commonly referred to as the coherence theory of truth, and it is normally associated with the doctrine of degrees of truth, knowledge, and reality. The distinctions between grades of reality which exist between the one true substance and its various modifications are paralleled by distinction between two kinds of knowledge. True knowledge, the having of adequate ideas, entails seeing things as following from the essence of God. Knowledge can be more or less inadequate or confused to the extent that a thing is not seen as following necessarily from that essence. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8

Absolute truth consists in having adequate ideas, although every idea has some degree of truth since it must have a counterpart in the order of things. In other words, an idea, although necessarily true in some respect, has greater truth to the degree that it is adequate and to the degree that its object is seen as fitting in with the other of things. When we say that the human mind perceives this or that, we say nothing else than that God, not is so far as he is infinite, but in so far as he is explained through the nature of the human mind, has this or that idea. God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally. As we stand as a witness, obey the commandments, and press forward with a steadfastness in God, we will never be alone. Emotional serenity comes from letting our emotions run their course, flow naturally until they come to an end, because one they do and we respond to them mindfully, peace and clarity will naturally result. Nonetheless, sometimes in life it just seems like we cannot find what we are looking for, whether it be material information, new opportunities, or for God to answers our prayers. Life can seem like an endless day with people doing the same things over and over and us unable to escape from these patterns, no matter how hard we try. Other people may enjoy life as a repetitive drama, constantly talking about and bothering the same people, but others want to transcend the situation, elevate their status in life and move on. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8

The ability to manage our emotions and remain calm under pressure has a direct link to our performance. Out of more than one million people, 90 percent of top performers were skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control. However, as you know, stress can wreak havoc on one’s physical and mental health. However, our brains are wired such that it is difficult to take action until we feel at least some level of stress that is unbearable.  In fact, performance peaks under the heightened activation that comes with moderate levels of stress. As long as that stress is not prolonged, it is harmless. On set levels of stress actually entices the brain into growing new cells responsible for improved memory. However, this effect is only seen when stress is intermittent. As soon as the stress continues beyond a few moments into a prolonged state, it suppresses the brain’s ability to develop new cells. Intermittent stressful events are probably what keeps the brain more alert, and one performs better when one is alert. The opportunity to live on Earth, though a blessing, can be hard on the human spirit. Sometimes it may feel like we cannot sense the love of God. However, after we realize that we are not alone and witness the truth of that fact that God is omnipresent, the love of God will begin to filter into the dark places in our lives. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8

The important thing is not to harden our hears, and ask God in faith, believing that we shall receive, and with diligence, keep the commandments of God, and surely what we are seeking will be made known to us. Sometimes the environment around us can reflect darkness, wilderness, blindness, and hardened hearts. However, we must focus on the light, safety, peace, hope, strength, and permanence. Let God melt your heart like April’s snow. Allow the scriptures and your prayers to open your hearts and mind to the reality of peace. Sometimes in life, we deal with the same trials and they have the exact same outcome, but we must use these situations to grow in strength as we contend with the same trial over and over. Though we repeat some experiences in life, we learn that we can count upon the Lord to deliver us, even from the direst situations. Continually struggling with adversity will teach us that we can do anything the Lord commands us to do. We have to let our confidence shine as a bright lantern amid the darkness. Taking time to contemplate what we are grateful for is not mere the right thing to do. It also improves one’s mood, because it reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23 percent. People who work daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experience improved mood, energy, and physical well-being. It is likely that lower levels of cortisol plays a major role in this. Smile though your heart is aching, smile even through it is breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you will get by if you smile through your fear and sorrow. Smile and maybe tomorrow you will see the Sun shining through for you. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8

Aspects of life can go in a million different direction, and the more time we spend worrying about the possibilities, the less time we will spend focusing on taking action that will calm us down and keep our stress under control. Calm people know that thing about past possibilities will only take them to places they do not want to experience. By keeping optimistic thoughts, this allows stress to only be an intermittent focus of our brain’s attention because we are giving our attention to something that is completely stress-free. We have to give our brain a little help by consciously selecting something we love to think about. We are in full control of our choices and our reactions. Our destiny is not something we can sit by and let happen to us. We need to take action on the opportunities we are presented with. The only person we are destined to become is the person we decide to be.  Sense perception gives us complete knowledge of reality, and we have in addition notions of spirits, including God. Indeed, we could regard our ideas as a sort of divine language by means of which God speaks to us, so that our senses, if viewed correctly, continually reveal the glories of God. It is  great asset and advantage to be able to silence the mind. A person who can silence the inner chatter of the mind is free from worries, anxieties, and fears. Light up your face with gladness, hide every trace of sadness. Although a tear may be ever so near, that is the time you must keep on trying. Smile, what is the use of crying? You will find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8

Sometimes we may feel as helpless as a kitten up a tree and  feel like we are clinging to a cloud. However, we must feel the glow of God’s unspoken love and understand the treasure that we hold. We must want God with us all the time. Sunrise and Sunset. True control of the mind is not just the ability to concentrate on one thought and disregard other thoughts. It is the ability to cleanse the mind completely and make it silent. This silence brings peace, contentment, happiness, and bliss. This silence is not the silence of sleep. It is the silence of power, happiness, and enhanced awareness. This is the concept of spirit over body. That is self-mastery. The spirit and the body are the soul of humans. Our physical body is a magnificent creation of God. It is his temple as well as ours, and we must treat it with reverence. Our spirit acquired a body at birth and became a soul to live in mortality through periods of trial and testing. Part of each test is to determine if our body can become mastered by the spirit that dwells in it. Since thoughts precede deeds, we must first learn to control our thoughts. “As a person thinks in one’s hearts, so is that person,” reports Proverbs 23.7. Physical conditioning through regular exercise requires self-mastery, too. “Those faithful in magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the elect of God,” reports Doctrine and Covenants 84.33-34. Courageous accountability for our own actions becomes a cherished price. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8