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POSITIVE THINKING, NEGATIVE THINKING, AND MINDFULNESS

Thursday, May 8, 2014 18:18

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In the course of living I have changed my views about a lot of things. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for the ideas of the late Dr Norman Vincent Peale [pictured left, and below], pastor, professional speaker and author, and a great deal of love for the man himself whom I heard speak in Sydney, Australia on two separate occasions. If I had to choose between the two, I would say—and indeed do say—that positive thinking is much better than negative thinking … any day of the week.

You know, although Dr Peale has been dead for over 20 years he continues to be attacked by, among others, fundamentalist and evangelical Christians and some in the psychology business. The attacks are vicious and unrelenting. Of course, he was attacked during his own lifetime as well, but he out-loved all his critics and carried on regardless. That’s one of the reasons I still love him, and I have derived much benefit and inspiration from his books, sermons, and addresses over many decades.

Another reason I loved him—and still do—is that he saw an inner greatness in human beings, and sought to draw that out. He said this: ‘I would like to be remembered as loving people … and believing in people’s potential. They are greater than they think they are.’ I also love this saying of his: ‘There is a spiritual giant within you, which is always struggling to burst its way out of the prison you have made for it.’ Sadly, it’s those sorts of statements, which showed that Peale took a ‘high’ view of man, that result in the spewing of so much venom against him and his ideas from Christian evangelicals. Actually, Peale was a conservative evangelical for the most part, but he tended not to use, that is, write and speak in, the language and the conservative evangelical. There is much more than the conservative Christians dislike about Peale, including the fact that he was a Freemason. There is no end to it. Even his Wikipedia profile has been sabotaged so as to accentuate the negative and eliminate, or at least downplay almost to the point of nothingness, the positive. Damn the lot of them, who do this, I say.

Now, here’s where I have come to differ from Dr Peale and his ‘doctrine of positive thinking.’ Dr Peale always said that whenever a negative thought enters into your consciousness, you should immediately replace that thought with a positive one. Sounds good advice, doesn’t it? However, I have come to the view that, ordinarily, the ‘best’ thing to do is this. Observe your thoughts and feelings with passive detachment. That is part of mindfulness, you know. Do not feel any pressure or compulsion to change your thoughts or feelings. Simply observe them dispassionately. In and of themselves they have no power to hurt you, so don’t give them any power they don’t deserve by even seeking to change them. When a negative thought or emotion enters into your consciousness, don’t deny its existence or seek to override or counteract the thought or feeling with a positive one. Again, that is giving the thought or feeling more attention, recognition, and power than it rightly deserves. Observe and briefly note its existence, but spend no time—not even a nanosecond—evaluating, labelling, judging, or condemning that thought. Simply let the thought or feeling go.

In saying all of the above, I wish to stress that I am not advocating negative thinking. As I said above, other things being equal, positive thinking is ‘better’ than negative thinking, but at the end of the day, both types of thinking are just that—thinking—and thoughts and feelings (a feeling is nothing other than a felt thought) have no power—I repeat, no power—in and of themselves to hurt you. End of story.

Some psychologists have attacked Peale’s doctrine of positive thinking on the ground that what is needed is ‘realistic thinking,’ and not positive thinking. Well, these people have read little, or at least most selectively, of Peale, for he often stressed the point that that true positive thinking is realistic thinking. Peale wrote, ‘Positive thinking is realistic thinking … The positive thinker does not refuse to recognize the negative; he or she refuses to dwell on it. Positive thinking is a form of thought which habitually looks for the best results from the worst conditions.’

Now, there is definitely a place for a positive mental attitude. For example, when you are seeking to solve a problem, and are considering all the options, and evaluating your strengths and weaknesses as well as and the challenges, threats, and opportunities before you, I strongly recommend that you think positively—that is, optimistically but also realistically—about yourself and all the issues involved. However, when it comes to living out your moment-to-moment existence, and responding (as opposed to reacting) to the external and internal stimuli that constitute our ever-changing consciousness and experience of life, the ‘best’ advice I can give you is simply to look and observe with choicless awareness and passive detachment.

Negative thoughts and feelings. Bah! Humbug!

Note. For those who are interested, here is a link to an address I delivered some years ago at the Sydney Unitarian Church, and here is another link to a book of quotations of Dr Peale which I compiled and then presented to Dr Peale’s widow, the late Ruth Stafford Peale.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blogspot is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blogspot. For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org

Source: http://ianellis-jones.blogspot.com/2014/05/positive-thinking-negative-thinking-and.html

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