Quote:
Originally Posted by Cantando  LoA may have some value in daily life - you have a negative thought, so you replace it with a positive one and you feel a bit better for a while. That's all well and good. But, how lasting is that? Isn't the negative thought still there, lurking in the background, ready to spring into your attention again?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that all teachings about thoughts leading to the manifestation of things in reality are simply incorrect.
What if you have had a traumatic, childhood experience which you cannot remember? You go about your day generally feeling cr*p, but you don't know why. You manage to generate a good feeling thought, using your will power, but it soon fades and you are back to feeling cr*p. There is no specific negative thought, just a lousy, overall state.
I'm coming round to thinking that thoughts, whether poitive or negative, don't really matter
I don't believe they create anything... |
Thinking affects our mood. I don't believe in a LoA or that you can "create" by thinking. However, I do strongly believe in the power of positive thinking.
Unfortunately, throughout our life we take on board millions of messages from those around us, and most of us get more negative that positive – how many children get told to talk more?!! This sets up the habit for our mind to take on negative perspective as we get older. This negativity feeds our automatic thoughts, giving us negative self talk.
We can change what is ultimately a habit. We can challenge our negative thinking and self talk and find positive alternatives. Its not easy and using techniques like affirmations can help - as can using the support of others. I would be the first to suggest that if anyone has had real trauma they will need professional help to change their thinking.
Why bother? If your automatic thoughts are negative, your mood is going to be affected and you will find reasons to avoid stuff. If I can quote from a post I did on
thinking for my blog:-
“Would you like to … go for a walk” [”it might rain”]
“… go for a meal at a restaurant” [”everywhere will be busy”]
“… meet my friends” [”they won’t like me, I’ve nothing in common with them”]
“… apply for this job” [”I won’t get it, I’m too old/young/inexperienced/over experienced/unqualified/overqualified … there’s lots of people going to apply, there is no way they’ll chose me..]
I expect very few people think positively all the time, its certainly not a "permanent" state. But it is a habit you can change - with effort.