Positive thinking without thinking about it?

[Showtime]

Anyone have any good resources on this?

Positive Thinking is kind of a pain in the ass when you have to constantly think about it.

I know Tony Robbins promotes the idea of positive thinking without having to make a real conscious effort, but his style just doesn't resonate with me.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Showtime

Positive Thinking is kind of a pain in the ass when you have to constantly think about it.

That's very funny! Negative thinking about thinking about positive thinking.

What does positive thinking mean for you, exactly? What specific thoughts would you like to be thinking at a level of unconscious mastery, easily and effortlessly?

[Showtime]

Originally Posted by Angela

What specific thoughts would you like to be thinking at a level of unconscious mastery, easily and effortlessly?

To be honest, it would be kind of nice to think of everything positively ;D

I'm not saying I'm bad at it, but there are a bunch of moments where doubts creep in, lower level emotions, etc. It would be nice to be at the higher level emotions without having to consciously bring myself into them. To the point where it's just automatic.

[jeff3]

If you are calling positive thinking the thinking of only those thoughts that give birth to positive events (even if random) then yes, it would be desirable to do so habitually. If you are talking about willed events or IM then you would likely have to consciously guide your thoughts.

I've observed that people that everything always works out well for seem to be generally positive, optimistic, grateful, and more willing to share than those who experience a less friendly world.

[Showtime]

Originally Posted by jeff3

If you are calling positive thinking the thinking of only those thoughts that give birth to positive events (even if random) then yes, it would be desirable to do so habitually. If you are talking about willed events or IM then you would likely have to consciously guide your thoughts.

I've observed that people that everything always works out well for seem to be generally positive, optimistic, grateful, and more willing to share than those who experience a less friendly world.

Well I mean it for deliberate creation as well. It would be nice to have the deliberate creation thoughts on Autopilot. I typically do this by repetition which works out well, but often a negative thought will pop in and it seems to throw me off course, and I don't want the universe to have to deal with ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ from me.

[candis]

Give BrainSync Subliminals a try. I've been using them along with meditation and I've seen some improvements.

[Angela]

NLP. It's not about "positive thinking" in the old '70's sense of the term, but it is about deliberately using thoughts and mastering patterns of thinking that work really well in getting the results you want.

You can take an evening or weekend intro class and get a great idea of whether that class would be good for your or not -- and remember that every instructor will have a different style. Some are Tony Robbins wannabees, some are new agey, some are very practical sciencey, etc....

[SunnyDays]

Originally Posted by Angela

What specific thoughts would you like to be thinking at a level of unconscious mastery, easily and effortlessly?

In a nutshell I tell myself : Isn't it wonderful ? all the time and it does the trick

[VinceG]

Originally Posted by Showtime

Anyone have any good resources on this?

Positive Thinking is kind of a pain in the ass when you have to constantly think about it.

I know Tony Robbins promotes the idea of positive thinking without having to make a real conscious effort, but his style just doesn't resonate with me.

It's your subconscious that thinks constantly about negative things. If you change your subconscious to think mostly about positive things, then you're golden.

Constantly using your conscious mind to think positively is about the only way to get your subconscious to do it as well. Yes, it's a pain, but there's no shortcuts. It's also good for your concentration, which you'll need once you stop generating negative circumstances to deal with all the time.

[Marty McFly]

The answer is mindfulness and practice of meditation. There's lots of information on this and is the only proven method for bringing in this feeling. Along with physical exercise, sleep, and eating lots of healthy food.

[Showtime]

Originally Posted by candis

Give BrainSync Subliminals a try. I've been using them along with meditation and I've seen some improvements.

I actually have a few of their programs, they're very relaxing.

Originally Posted by Angela

NLP. It's not about "positive thinking" in the old '70's sense of the term, but it is about deliberately using thoughts and mastering patterns of thinking that work really well in getting the results you want.

You can take an evening or weekend intro class and get a great idea of whether that class would be good for your or not -- and remember that every instructor will have a different style. Some are Tony Robbins wannabees, some are new agey, some are very practical sciencey, etc....

I'm more video/audio program oriented, do you have any suggestions on good programs/instructors for this?

Originally Posted by VinceG

It's your subconscious that thinks constantly about negative things. If you change your subconscious to think mostly about positive things, then you're golden.

Constantly using your conscious mind to think positively is about the only way to get your subconscious to do it as well. Yes, it's a pain, but there's no shortcuts. It's also good for your concentration, which you'll need once you stop generating negative circumstances to deal with all the time.

Yea, I typically program my subconscious through repetition, but I was hoping there was a faster way.

[Bradshaw]

Well...

When I meditate I automatically start feeling positive.

And if I meditate further, I start feeling peaceful and floaty.

Our natural state is abundance, love, joy and peace. When you meditate and let go of the wrong beliefs you picked up in this life, even for just a moment, you have to feel good, because it is your natural state.

We're naturally positive thinkers.

[VinceG]

Originally Posted by Showtime

Yea, I typically program my subconscious through repetition, but I was hoping there was a faster way.

You're probably doing it wrong. Positive thinking should never be boring. If it is, then it isn't positive! You don't repeat the same positive thoughts all the time. That'll never work. You have to switch it up, find new ways to congratulate yourself on being awesome!

[tlaskcor]

No, I know of no resources, but when I am manifesting something new, I spend some time thinking about why I have had past resistance to the idea, work out what I thoughts I want, take what actions are necessary to make the thoughts valid, and then don't think about it much anymore. I have convinced myself the reality I am seeking is the only reasonable one. So, no more doubts or negativity or effort. IF a negative thought creeps in, I run through my reasoning again, and it's gone.

[jota]

"It's your subconscious that thinks constantly about negative things. If you change your subconscious to think mostly about positive things, then you're golden.

Constantly using your conscious mind to think positively is about the only way to get your subconscious to do it as well. Yes, it's a pain, but there's no shortcuts. It's also good for your concentration, which you'll need once you stop generating negative circumstances to deal with all the time. "

I like it, hey Vince, you have some good book about it or a link besides Joseph murphy?

I lke Joseph Murphy, but he's too much religious to my taste, but i dont know other author that talk about the subject!

[Showtime]

Originally Posted by jota

I like it, hey Vince, you have some good book about it or a link besides Joseph murphy?

I lke Joseph Murphy, but he's too much religious to my taste, but i dont know other author that talk about the subject!

Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz is your book. The message is similar to Joseph Murphy's except 100 times more scientific, and cuts out the religious stuff.

Bob Proctor deals a lot with the subconscious mind, subconscious conditioning, etc.

Here's one of his books, http://www.bobproctordownloads.com/BornRichBook.pdf

And if you want to go real in depth his Born Rich Seminars (Although they cost like $250) are absolutely priceless.

[inri]

Originally Posted by Bradshaw

Well...

When I meditate I automatically start feeling positive.

And if I meditate further, I start feeling peaceful and floaty.

Our natural state is abundance, love, joy and peace. When you meditate and let go of the wrong beliefs you picked up in this life, even for just a moment, you have to feel good, because it is your natural state.

We're naturally positive thinkers.

I love this...so true. I agree..we are naturally predisposed to positive thought. It is only through holding beliefs that run contrary to who and what we really are that we'll have difficulty thinking positively.

For as long as I can remember, I've been predisposed to painting a silver lining on any cloud that appears before me.
However, this tendency of mine was definitely cause for a certain amount of criticism from those around me. I was often accused of burying my head in the sand and/or being a 'polly-anna.' I often wonder if the fact that I was an extremely anxious child caused me to re-frame the negative into a positive as a coping mechanism. Whatever the cause, it's served me well.

No matter how horrific the scenario that appears before us, we can always find some way to re-frame it into a more positive light. My motto has always been; "There's an upside to ANYTHING and EVERYTHING."

I truly believe also that if you do not already reflexively gravitate towards the positive, with practice it really can become habit. It's simply of matter of training your mind to pay attention to thoughts and then to choose new ones accordingly. No doubt meditation can be a great tool in training the mind to do this.

[sean83]

Originally Posted by Showtime

Anyone have any good resources on this?

Positive Thinking is kind of a pain in the ass when you have to constantly think about it.

I know Tony Robbins promotes the idea of positive thinking without having to make a real conscious effort, but his style just doesn't resonate with me.

Hey Showtime, I was in the same boat as you, I use to have suicidal thoughts, constant negativity, due to a rough childhood, and death of my mother. Until I decided to do what I should of done along time ago and seen a therapist.

My counselor gave me ACT therapy, this basically teaches you to just accept your thoughts. You aren't going to have complete control over your thinking and feelings all the time. And instead of resisting negative thoughts you simply acknowledge them and let them pass through your consciousness.

Nothing wrong with getting upset, or angry from time to time, we're all only human after all. I feel so much more balanced as a result, I'm not resisting my thoughts and trying to paint them over with positive thinking constantly.

Think of your thoughts as like checking your mail, your always going to have some junk mail, but you don't need to open it up and read through the whole thing. You just simply acknowledge it and throw it in the bin. And go on to the relevant mail.

[inri]

Originally Posted by sean83

Hey Showtime, I was in the same boat as you, I use to have suicidal thoughts, constant negativity, due to a rough childhood, and death of my mother. Until I decided to do what I should of done along time ago and seen a therapist.

My counselor gave me ACT therapy, this basically teaches you to just accept your thoughts. You aren't going to have complete control over your thinking and feelings all the time. And instead of resisting negative thoughts you simply acknowledge them and let them pass through your consciousness.

Nothing wrong with getting upset, or angry from time to time, we're all only human after all. I feel so much more balanced as a result, I'm not resisting my thoughts and trying to paint them over with positive thinking constantly.

Think of your thoughts as like checking your mail, your always going to have some junk mail, but you don't need to open it up and read through the whole thing. You just simply acknowledge it and throw it in the bin. And go on to the relevant mail.

Great post...you've hit on a really important point here. Depression occurs when we deny or resist our feelings and thoughts. The idea that we can simply accept thoughts (and feelings) as they occur without getting swept away by them is a valuable one. I think many who have depression issues have deep fears involving their emotions...they really do fear that if they 'feel' things fully, they will get swept away or immersed within those emotions...therefore they resist 'feeling' or 'thinking' about their issues, which actually further entrenches them in them.

The opposite is actually true. By really allowing ourselves to 'feel'....we are then able to move beyond those thoughts and feelings...and even reach a point where we can acknowledge feeling and thoughts and simply move on as you describe in your mail analogy. (I'll remember that one!)

I think too that it's only when we are truly able to acknowledge the content of our mind that we can then make a choice to re-frame a thought into a more positive one...if we so choose.

You've definitely got me thinking. Although I really value my ability to re-frame a thought that feels negative to me into a more positive one, I suspect I could work more on really being okay with ALL thoughts and feelings....hmmm...it just struck me that this is likely what's behind some stubborn health issues I'm having.

Seems there's a fine line between re-framing thoughts to more positive ones and a general lack of acceptance of the full spectrum of thoughts and feelings. I think the trick is to fully feel and acknowledge ALL thoughts before we choose a new, more positive perspective.

Thanks for the insights!!!

[nowgirl]

I find that most of my negative thoughts are idle ones. More like "Hey, look at me, you're not using the thinking right now, so I'll come up with a complaint to get attention." So, what I try to do is literally not think without active direction. This doesn't mean I try to always remain active and positive, but that I try to separate myself from my thinking (thinking is just one of my tools, and I don't need to always be doing it---in this case, thinking means the "dialogue" part of thought; obviously, not every thing my brain does, like making me breathe and such). I am not my thoughts. I am much more.

That's why I think (how I logic it out) meditation, as Bradshaw says is positive. It is me dismissing my thoughts and trying to get away from thoughts and into a feeling and eventually into pure being, or as close as I can get on any given day. So, what works for me, is literally just to stop myself and say "No! Be!" the same way I'd dismiss thoughts in meditation. Of course, I don't dismiss all thoughts -- I have to think to do stuff, but all the thoughts I self-direct and need to use to do things are positive.

Now, reactions. I guess we still need those, and they're what we have to condition, maybe. I find that by conditioning my thinking to be quiet or stop, I eliminate most of the negative reactions to stimulus, except for the seemingly essential ones (pain that tells me to take action, akin to taking your hand away from a burning stove, not dating a jerk, not walking down dangerous alleys, not throwing my rent money out the window, etc). All of which probably aren't essential either, but in my belief-created 'world' they are.

[Showtime]

Originally Posted by sean83

Hey Showtime, I was in the same boat as you, I use to have suicidal thoughts, constant negativity, due to a rough childhood, and death of my mother. Until I decided to do what I should of done along time ago and seen a therapist.

My counselor gave me ACT therapy, this basically teaches you to just accept your thoughts. You aren't going to have complete control over your thinking and feelings all the time. And instead of resisting negative thoughts you simply acknowledge them and let them pass through your consciousness.

Nothing wrong with getting upset, or angry from time to time, we're all only human after all. I feel so much more balanced as a result, I'm not resisting my thoughts and trying to paint them over with positive thinking constantly.

Think of your thoughts as like checking your mail, your always going to have some junk mail, but you don't need to open it up and read through the whole thing. You just simply acknowledge it and throw it in the bin. And go on to the relevant mail.

Yea, I have a good acceptance of any negativity that pops into my brain. It's like a movie where the sad parts are just as good as the happy parts. I wouldn't want to cut the sad parts out of a classic movie just so everyone is cheery watching it. But I feel like the negativity is slowing down manifestations.

In general I'm a relatively positive person, but I'd like to get a little more positive so speed up manifestations.

As Abraham calls it: "The Vortex"

[VinceG]

Originally Posted by jota

I like it, hey Vince, you have some good book about it or a link besides Joseph murphy?

I lke Joseph Murphy, but he's too much religious to my taste, but i dont know other author that talk about the subject!

Everybody's brain works differently, and so anyone's advice will take some adapting before it can work for you. I didn't arrive at my own insights after reading anything in particular. I've outlined a method of my own that can help, it's here.

I would advice against reading books specifically for the purpose of changing your consciousness. At the very best, you'll be reading about a method that worked for one person who lived at one time at a particular phase in his life, most of which probably won't intersect with yours. At worst, you'll be reading complete garbage written by somebody trying to take financial advantage of new age gullibility.

The magic book with clear, effective, repeatable instructions that works for everyone, regardless of generation, country, culture, social circumstances, and age, hasn't been written yet.

[jota]

Thanks for answers Showtime and Vince!

Vince i agree with you, what i do is read and i put in practice wht i like during a time, the subconscious its a thing that i believe, so i work my subconscious with affirmations, visualization and other tools, but i really like read about the subject.

In the beggning i become full anger when things dont work till i start understand something better, like letting go,yet working it trhough) what lack to me is polish my behavior (worring too much, complaining ect)

I'm saying it because i could gave give up my practice, but even with low faith and ups and downs i continue , and i see many things working , and i think that i'm in the right direction.

I dont read yet you post, but i see some parts look like cool, i will say my opinion after reading .

Thanks