Positive Thinking versus Negative Thinking

The conclusion I have come to so far, after everything that I have learned up to this moment, is that what shapes the course of a person’s life in relation to how happy and confident they are and what they experience – all comes down to their thinking (positive or negative).

It is our beliefs, and therefore our thinking, which determines how rich or poor we will be, how effective we will be in relationships and how good we will be at making decisions. If you think positively – life will tend to go well for you; if you think negatively – life will tend to be one big drama. There has been a lot of self-help books published on the subject of positive thinking. There has also been a great deal of emphasis in charismatic Christian circles on positive thinking from a Biblical perspective.

It was around 1994 when I first read the book The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr Joseph Murphy. It was this book which started my spiritual journey and it changed my perspective on how we influence the way in which we relate to, and experience, life.

I have struggled to implement the positive thinking and affirmation techniques that were presented by self-help and Christian teaching. A lot of the time I was just trying to avoid negative circumstances, influence other people and make things happen just the way I wanted them to. This just led to stress and a great deal of naivety and arrogance on my part, as I tried to live life on my own terms – as if I knew what was best for me. I came to understand the futility of positive thinking and affirmations, as I realised that I had no tenacity to keep going with them and my efforts felt coaxed and unnatural.

I have found that the most fundamental need in the life of a person, regardless of their beliefs, is the need to be free from his own negative thinking. I have found through releasing and inquiry that it is a person’s contraction around a thought, a belief, which causes the stress, confusion and suffering in their life. Without that contraction around a thought – they would be free to experience life to the full; they would be more confident, happy and spontaneous without those thoughts that seem to weight them down. Also, without contraction around beliefs, there is a sense of inner peace, clarity of mind which is conducive to drawing upon wisdom and making good decisions.

I have found that to a great extent, life just does itself, when we are no longer holding onto beliefs and trying to control our lives with our minds. Without the stress created by our own thoughts, we can be free to live life with peace and happiness. This does not mean that we will no longer experience “bad” circumstances. But I do believe that freedom from contraction around beliefs is by far the best way to attract positive circumstances into our lives. Therefore, there is a need, especially for anxiety sufferers, to be free of the contraction around beliefs.

I have found that inquiry through The Work of Byron Katie has been the simplest and most effective means of becoming free of the tyranny of our own beliefs.