Latest / ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide / Build Faith One Focused Day At A Time with Prayer, Meditation, and Vision!

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Build Faith One Focused Day At A Time with Prayer, Meditation, and Vision! · ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide

• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Losing faith rarely happens all at once.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: It happens the same way a pilot drifts off course, one degree at a time.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: One distracted thought, one unchecked fear, one day where intention is placed by reaction, then one day you look up and you are not where you meant to be.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: You see, faith isn't just something you have, it's something you build.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm going to discuss three things that unite to help boost your faith.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: They help when they are used daily and intentionally.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's when they help best.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: These things are meditation, prayer, and vision boarding.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Every battle, and your mind is always in the battle, begins in one place.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Your mind.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Scripture doesn't treat our thoughts neutrally.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: We are told to control our thoughts, or that to be carnally minded is death.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Did you know on average you have 50 to 70,000 thoughts a day?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Though there are some people that probably only have about 20,000 or less, maybe 5,000.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: But on average, 50 to 70 thoughts a day.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: They fly through your mind.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: These tools help us control and understand them.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And when used together, can help strengthen your faith.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation, prayer, vision boarding can absolutely reinforce each other, but only when they are aligned with the truths of the gospel and not just towards desire.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: When combined correctly, they don't just make you feel better, they train your brain, train you to attune to your intention.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, they train your attention, intentions, and actions in a unified direction.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's what builds real faith.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is Todd Talks, Spirit by Design, where I train you to listen to the Spirit, act on personal revelation, in order to be prepared for the chaos that will occur prior to the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Today, we are breaking down the intersection of meditation, prayer, and vision boarding from three different angles.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Modern revelation, personal development principles, and scripture.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Then I'll bring them together into a working system that you can use to increase your faith and improve your spiritual, personal, and family life.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Start off with modern revelation.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Modern Revelation teaches us about faith and focus.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Leaders in the Restored Gospel consistently teach that faith is not a passive belief.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: It is a concept that requires action to be strengthened.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: It is directed, repeated focus that leads us to action.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: President Russell M.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Nelson explained that the Lord loves effort.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's a key.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: You see, faith grows when your mind, heart, and behavior are aligned repeatedly over time.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: As I've shared in several episodes recently, Doctrine and Covenant 636 states, look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Fear and doubt come from the adversary.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: That is essentially a command to control your mental focus, which is exactly what meditation trains.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation is a way to train your mind.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation is often misunderstood in gospel circles.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about emptying your mind, it's about disciplining your intent your attention.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: I spent a lot of time in the last few years learning how to meditate.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: The ones that kept coming up, the thoughts that kept coming up often, are inspiration that we need at that moment.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: From a performance standpoint, meditation strengthens awareness, reduces mental noise, and helps you notice temptation, fear, or doubts before they take over.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: This aligns directly with scripture.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Psalm 46, 10 says, Be still and know that I am God.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: The Book of Mormon especially shows patterns of how this works.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Pondering leads to revelation throughout the book of Scripture.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation builds mental stillness, which creates space for the Spirit to provide you with personal revelation.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Pondering, in my opinion, is another word for meditation because you're pondering or meditating upon certain things.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation is an excellent method to quiet the noise and let the spirit speak to your soul.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Prayer is how we connect our intention to God.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Prayer is where focus becomes a relationship.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Joseph Smith taught that revelation comes when we ask, we listen, and we act.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Those three points are so clear and have been repeated since time immemorial.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Almost every prophet, and certainly Jesus Christ, tells us to ask, listen, then act.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Prayer does three things.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: It aligns your will with God's will, because we are actually taking time to listen.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: It invites divine power and it clarifies in your mind what actually matters, assuming that you are praying with real intent.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: James one five states, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Then, in verse six it states, But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation quiets the mind and prayer directs the heart.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: In episode 26 of Todd Talks with Amy Earle, I did a whole episode about how to vision board.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: You see, vision boarding clarifies and rehearses outcomes.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: This is where personal development principles principles come in.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Teachers like Joe Dispens and Napoleon Hill emphasize the brain responds strongly to clear, repeated mental imagery.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: What you rehearse mentally, you begin to believe and act toward.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: It aligns your spirit.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: A vision board is simply a visual representation of your righteous desires and goals, if it is done correctly.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Here's a critical distinction.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Vision boarding without God equals self-centered manifestation.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: It still works.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: But vision boarding with God equals faith in action aligned with His will, and that is where true power comes from.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Which of those do you think would be more powerful?
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 29, 18 states, where there is no vision, the people perish.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Individually, these are important tools to use to improve your life.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Used together, they become powerful tools.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Together we can call them the faith loop.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: When combined properly, these three create a powerful cycle.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation clears the battlefield, removes the noise, and helps you to become aware of your fears, doubts, and distractions.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Prayer helps you receive divine direction.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: You ask, what is thy will?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Or what should I do next?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Or what path should I take?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Vision boarding, when used properly, locks in your focus.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: You reinforce who you're becoming, who you want to become, and what God is guiding you towards.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: When these three things align, faith increases.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Your thoughts, meditation, your desires, vision boarding, and your actions, prayer and obedience, move you toward or move you forward into true alignment, guiding your spirit and life to places you never expected for yourself.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because his will for you is much more interesting than your will for yourself.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I know for a fact that following all the inspiration that I've gotten over the years, praying, vision boarding, doing all of it, has brought Tiffany and I to a place and to places that we never would have thought about or designed for ourselves 30 years ago.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: But here we are, and I love our life.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: God has a more interesting plan for you than you do.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: You see, faith is a seed that must be planted, nourished, and acted upon.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, here is a simple daily system you can use to apply these three powerful activities.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Step one, meditate.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't take a long time, just three to five minutes.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Sit in silence, focus on your breathing.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: When thoughts come, acknowledge them and let them flow through.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Always come back to your breathing.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: This helps you gain control of your attention.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you would like a good 10-minute meditation, in the last episode with Shane and Miles, that I did an interview with them, we do a complete 10-minute meditation to figure out your soul's purpose.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: I also have a complete episode doing a meditation where I lead a guided meditation from a couple years back.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: You just have to scroll back into the earlier episodes.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Step two, pray.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: You should pray at a minimum in the morning and night.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Ask for guidance, express real intent, and most important, pause and listen.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Don't immediately move on to your next step in life.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Listen.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: This helps you align with God and recognize when He is speaking to you.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: I found this very helpful in my own life.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: I have a chaotic life, but prayer helps to center my spirit and stay aligned with his desires for me.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: That is so true.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Step three, vision board review.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Three to five minutes.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Look at your goals, spiritual, family, your mission in life.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Visualize yourself living them with God's help.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: I would add that praying here can help you with visualization.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: The purpose is to strengthen belief and discipline.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: I've used vision boards in the past, and they are phenomenal for their ability to focus your will on your goals.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the bonus is that you find out the Lord's plan and path for you.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Those goals on the board can change.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: As you figure out God's will for you, the goals on the board can change, and that's okay.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Where most people get all this wrong is that these tools are used to chase comfort, success, or control.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, don't get me wrong, a vision board will help you acquire all these things, but used wrong, they can pull you away from God.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: If used correctly, they can help you submit to God, act with courage, and become something better.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Together, meditation, prayer, and vision boards can multiply your faith.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Meditation trains your mind.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Prayer aligns your soul.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Vision boards direct your future.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: When all three point towards God's will, faith stops being abstract or neglected.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: It becomes focused and something you live and strengthen every day.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this helps and you can use these tools to strengthen your faith.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you want a detailed lesson on vision boarding, again go to episode 26 from 2021 with Amy Earl.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is Todd Talk, Spirit by Design.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you continue to learn these lessons and apply them in your daily life.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: I personally love to use these tools, although it's been a while since I've had a vision board up.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's on my list of things to do.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: I need to get that back up.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Love that you all listen and learn.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: Keep learning with me.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: Together, we can help grow our spiritual selves.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And as always, have a blessed day.