You will never do great things in the external world until you think great things in the internal world.”

~ Wallace Wattles

You have probably heard the term, limiting belief, but maybe you haven’t realized how very important our thoughts are. This is a real story about a woman who almost died as a result of her limiting beliefs.

Mary went to high school in Beaverton, Oregon, and enjoyed the kind of school life that most girls only dream of. She was class Vice-President, she had the lead in the school play, and she was a Homecoming Princess.  In May of her Junior Year (1966), she learned that she was pregnant.

In the 1960’s it was a disaster to get pregnant “out of wedlock”. Girls just disappeared sometimes from school with no warning and no explanation. When Mary told her parents that she was pregnant, her mother wept, believing that her daughter’s life was ruined. Mary’s parents and her boyfriend’s parents put together a hasty 10-person wedding.

Mary had a favorite teacher in school that she trusted. She told the teacher that she was pregnant and had just gotten married. A couple of days later, the Principal called Mary into his office and asked her, “Is it true what I’ve been hearing? Are you pregnant and married?” Mary admitted that it was the truth. The Principal just shook his head and replied, “I hate to do this, but you will not be able to return to this school for your Senior year. It’s a shame, given your excellent academic achievements. There is an alternative school for people like you. It’s held at night in Southeast Portland. That’s where we send the pregnant girls and the delinquent boys.”

Mary was, of course, devastated. In the Fall she began going to the alternative school. This was her new student body — pregnant girls (or new mothers) and delinquent boys.

In December 1966, Mary gave birth to a little boy. In May of 1967, she graduated from the alternative high school, and by Mid-July she was diagnosed with fatal kidney disease. The doctors said that one of the kidneys was completely gone and the other one was probably at least 50% gone. Back in 1967, there was no such thing as kidney dialysis, and organ transplants weren’t available yet either.

The prognosis was that, if she had surgery to remove the one kidney that was destroyed, she would have maybe 6 months to live. It’s difficult to imagine how she must have felt. She’s 18 years old, has a 7-month-old son and only has six months to live. The God of her upbringing was an angry God if you screwed up, and Mary had screwed up big time!

The night before surgery, Mary was alone in the hospital room until the chaplain came by and asked if she wanted prayer for her surgery the next day.  Mary was really scared, so she agreed to pray with the chaplain. As the chaplain sat down on a chair, she said to Mary, “Before we pray together, would you be willing to tell me what has been going on in your life in the last year or two?”

Mary shared her story with the chaplain and once she finished, the chaplain said, “Mary, do you know that everything is created twice?  That first it’s a thought before it can become a thing? Look around this room. The bed you are lying on, the furniture, the equipment, even your nightgown was a thought before it became a thing. Knowing that, can you possibly believe that the toxicity in your body has been caused by your toxic thoughts?”

At that time, the mind-body connection was not spoken about, so Mary responded that she could not believe that. The chaplain went on to say, “I hear that you love your little boy, but I also hear that you hate yourself for becoming pregnant and shaming everyone, including yourself. Do you believe that you could actually experience a healing if you got rid of your toxic thinking?”

Again, Mary replied “no”. The chaplain said, “Are you willing to believe in MY belief that you could be healed by simply changing your thinking?” Mary was scared so she agreed that she could believe that the chaplain believed it was possible. The chaplain said, “That’s all we need. Just one corner of your mind open to the possibility.”

During surgery the next day, the destroyed kidney was removed and the doctors reported that the other kidney didn’t look quite as bad as they predicted. Mary went home from the hospital and began recovering. After a couple of months she felt better, and after six months her kidney was completely back to normal. The doctors had no explanation.

You see, from the time she got home from the hospital, she had been thinking about her little boy, about taking him to his first day of kindergarten, of being there for his graduation from high school and college, and there for his wedding. Her toxic thoughts had been replaced by positive thoughts about a future that she wanted very badly.

Even at 18 years old, Mary became very curious about the phenomenon she had experienced in her own body, and she began looking everywhere for more information on the mind-body connection. There wasn’t much out there yet, but what she found was indeed enlightening.  Her studies led to her 45+ years as a teacher of this information and as a life coach. Eventually, she started training other coaches, which is how I came to know her.

What can we learn from Mary’s experience? We can learn that:

1. Everything is created twice. It must first be a thought before it can be a thing.
2. We don’t have to limit ourselves. We can be liberated to consider the unlimited possibilities for our lives.
3. We can choose our thoughts to control what happens in our lives.
4. Our thoughts can be very destructive if we allow that.

It is a freedom that eludes us until we hear about it and apply it to our own lives. It’s not easy to let go of our limiting beliefs, but we can do it.  And the first step is to become aware of thoughts we have that are disempowering.

If you have any questions or comments about this blog, please let me know below.  And be sure to share this with social media and friends you think would benefit from the information.

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