The human mind requires a place to park. I know, because when I let mine “float” aimlessly it typically “lands” in whatever I’ve been thinking about the most lately, whether good or bad.

This morning I arose around daylight to go to the bathroom. Since it was a holiday and I knew my girls would all be making the most of the opportunity to sleep late, and since they also make the most of their opportunities to stay up late which really makes me tired, I returned to the bed catch a few more hours of sleep. It was there in that mental twilight, not quite asleep, but not quite awake that I found my mind repeating the lyrics of one of the last songs I’d played on my ipod as I drove home last night. The thought came to me crystal clear: the mind isn’t satisfied until it has a place to “dock.”

You’ve experienced it haven’t you? Awakening to a song that you’ve been playing a lot lately? Jolting awake from a nightmare with the same boogie man that was in the movie you watched right before you went to sleep? Muddling in your worries and fears only to awaken in the night and have your mind begin to race again with the same worries and fears? On many occasions I’ve awakened in fear and worry and had to pray “Lord I cast all my cares on you because I know you care for me. I’m here to sleep. You are here to handle my problems. So I’m going to do my job while you go do yours. ”

I suggest that our mind merely “digests” what we feed it. If we feed it positive, uplifting, encouragement, it “plays the tapes” back to us containing positive, uplifting, encouraging thoughts. Likewise, if we feed our mind fear, worry & doubt, if we feed it conflict, angst, and trouble we’re likely to find the “tapes” of fear, worry, doubt, conflict, angst, and trouble playing in our mind when we awaken in the middle of the night. I noticed that when I awoke with that particular song in my mind—and it was a song with a very positive message—I was happily able to roll over and go to sleep with that tape playing. But when I wake up and my mind kicks into the worry/fear gear it usually means the restful part of my night is over.

And ancient book of wisdom says “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is worthy of praise, think about those things.” That’s a great way to feed our mind. I think if we’d resolve to filter our thoughts through those Seven Thought Filters and only allow our minds to focus on things that can get through those seven filters we’d go along way toward feeding our selves thoughts that are delightful to wake up to; and ones you can roll over and go back to sleep with.

A tool I use to help me go to bed with right thoughts is a gratitude journal. On my nightstand is a notebook in which I attempt to daily (some days I don’t get it done) record what I am grateful for. It’s not fancy, and is most often one sentence. Each entry always starts with “I am grateful……” and finishes with the thing that first comes to mind. It can be something profound, but is usually something mundanely simple but important to me. This is a simple tool you might begin using to help you put your mind in a healthy space before you go to sleep.

The ancient writer said “take every thought captive to make it obedient.” Is your mind captivated by thoughts that are worthy? If not, why don’t you change it and start dwelling on things that can get through the Seven Thought Filters.