Can Positive Emotions Keep You Well?

There’s no doubt that negative emotions can create and sustain illness. It’s been known intuitively and written about for thousands of years and increasingly recognised medically and scientifically over the last century. For example, Dr Sigmund Freud wrote: ‘Often repressed emotions will manifest either as behavioural problems or physical problems’. Although widely derided at the time and since, the evidence is now overwhelming.

Cellular biologist Bruce Lipton[1] and others have shown that every cell in the body has intelligence and responds to our ‘instructions’ (thoughts, mental images, attitudes and beliefs). As cells reproduce, they respond to the patterns we give them. This way, over time every emotion is locked into our physical makeup. New cells reflect the predominant emotions currently experiences, thus negative emotions – especially anger and fear – can create illness.

Can positive emotions keep you well?

The question arises, if ‘negative’ thoughts and emotions can make you ill, can ‘positive’ thoughts and emotions make – and keep – you well? Can positive emotions improve your chances of good mental and physical health? The answer is a qualified ‘yes’.

Dr Norman Cousins became an internationally known speaker and author after restoring himself to health using ‘laughter therapy’ – watching funny movies to help him maintain a sunny disposition. Others (but not everyone) who tried it had similar results.

Research by the Institute of Noetic Sciences shows that taking personal responsibility, learning to express our emotions constructively and reappraising old beliefs that are unhelpful or inappropriate certainly helps. Seeking spiritual awareness through a practice such as prayer, mindfulness or meditation also help.

Happy, enthusiastic, optimistic, go-ahead people do have more energy and get ill less often. In addition, many studies have concluded that people who are well adjusted emotionally and socially are healthier and live longer.

For example:

  • A research team at the University of Michigan studied 2,700 people for fourteen years, and found that regular social contact significantly increased life expectancy, particularly among men. The death rate among people who did not have close relationships was 250% higher during the study period.
  • A random sample of 7,000 adults in California revealed that adults with strong family bonds, good social relationships and a happy, outgoing attitude had half the mortality rate of those without such ties, irrespective of their smoking, drinking, exercise and eating habits.
  • In another experiment, records were kept of a hundred factory workers in the UK. Those reporting a supportive home, work and social life stayed healthier than who were dissatisfied with their domestic and working lives. The incidence of arthritis in the least contented group was ten times higher than in the most contented.

How, then, can we use these insights to heal out bodies and stay healed? By cultivating:

  • Self-awareness.
  • Positive intentions.
  • Positive thoughts and beliefs.
  • Health imagination.
  • Constructive actions.

This is the I-T-I-A Formula©. These four letters hold the key to health, happiness and prosperity, provided they are consistently applied. I’ve written widely on them elsewhere. Take a look!

[1] Bruce Lipton, The Biology of Belief, Hay House, 2008, ISBN 978-1401923112

 

©David L Preston, 24.3.2017

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Happiness

We all want to be happy, but what is happiness? And what makes us happy?

How happy are you? Give yourself a mark out of ten, where ten means blissfully happy in every way, and zero means totally miserable all the time.

Most people exist somewhere between 5-8, not totally happy but not miserable enough to do anything about it. Why? The problem is, many of us have adopted beliefs that make it hard to be happy.

What chance have you got if you believe you have to earn happiness or that it’s selfish or irresponsible to seek it?

Can happiness be learned or taught?

Some believe that some people are just born ‘the happy type’, but recent studies suggest that this is not entirely true. It seems that happiness can be taught.

We know, for example, that happy people tend to be hopeful about the future. They assume things will work out alright and don’t indulge in blame and self-pity if things go wrong. They don’t rely on money and ‘stuff’ to make them happy, but they know how to get the most out of it. They have a wide circle of friends and don’t take themselves too seriously. They’re able to laugh at life – and themselves.

All of the above traits can be learned, although there are opposing views on how we should go about it. Some believe that you can set happiness as a goal, just as you would work on your next career move, and work towards it. The argument goes something like this:

‘If you were totally in control of your life, healthy, free from worry, prosperous, had good family relationships and lots of friends, an enjoyable and fulfilling career, rewarding hobbies, social activities and fun, and were loved and respected by others, would you be happy? The obvious answer is yes. And since all these can be set as goals, planned and worked for systematically, it follows that happiness, too, can be tackled in this way.’

Try it. You’ll find it works – to some extent, depending on where you’re starting from, but you’ll find that you eventually hit an invisible barrier. Why?

  1. People who set impossible goals become frustrated by the gap between their aspirations and their attainments. Keep your sense of direction (aimlessness is a serious threat to contentment), but don’t be obsessed by it. Research has repeatedly shown that happiness is unrelated to wealth (once you have enough to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra £, $ or € makes little difference), intelligence, educational attainment or age.
  2. Happiness can only exist in the here and now. It’s a fallacy to think that happiness will arrive when some future event takes place. ‘When…. then I’ll be happy,’ simply doesn’t work. Fill in the gap any way you like – ‘when I achieve all my goals,’ ‘when I make a million,’ ‘when I meet the man or woman of my dreams,’ and so on. Unless you already have the foundations of happiness in place, they are unlikely to make much difference.
  3. Goals anticipate and look to the future, but happiness can only exist in the here and now. Entertainer David Baddiel put it like this: ‘My idea of perfect happiness is not having to believe that happiness resides elsewhere.’

You will never be happy if your happiness depends on your achievements. Have a sense of purpose and goals to aim for, and enjoy the process. If you succeed – great! If you don’t, at least you’ve had fun trying.

To return to the question, ‘Can happiness be taught as a skill?’ – Yes it can. Happiness is a combination of attitude and emotion, and the key to changing attitudes and emotions is the I-T-I-A Formula (see below).

Happiness is an inner state.

You can’t buy happiness, nor sell, drink, drive or wear it. You can’t see, hear, smell, taste or touch it. You can’t go on holiday to it, or give it or receive it as a gift. In other words, it cannot be determined by factors external to yourself. Some live in poverty, yet are happy. Others (including many famous and successful people) are worth millions, but are not.

Applying the I-T-I-A Formula to happiness

I-T-I-A stands for Intention, Thinking, Imagination and Action.

Intention

Are you willing to be happy?  This may seem a trite question, but it’s not. Some would have to give up certain things if they became happy, such as sympathy from others and attention.

You are responsible for your happiness. How can it be any other way? If your happiness depended on the feelings, actions and words of others, how could you ever be truly happy, since you cannot control any of these things?

Thinking

  • What absolutely must happen in order for me to feel happy?
  • What would I prefer to happen for me to feel happy?
  • What would be nice, but not absolutely essential?

Your answers define your rules for happiness. Over zealous rules can destroy your chances of being happy.

  • Realise that happiness is not an absence of problems. Life is a school. Every event, every obstacle has something to teach you so look for the lesson. See problems as challenges that can be turned into opportunities and learning experiences.
  • Let go of the need to be right. Would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy? It’s hard to be both.
  • Look on the bright side. Focus on  pleasant, happy things and count your blessings.
  • Happiness demands complete self-acceptance. If you’re not happy, this is the place to start. No amount of accomplishments and possessions can make up for a lack of self-acceptance.
  • Understand that happiness does not equal fun. Happy people certainly have fun, but happiness and fun are not the same. Fun activities help us temporarily forget our problems – but they do not bring permanent happiness, because the effect fades once the fun ends. Fun is what you feel during the activity; happiness is an on-going state of being experienced before and after. If you rely on fun to bring happiness, you’ll have an empty feeling once the party is over because you’re not addressing the real issues that bring the genuine thing.
  • Embrace change. Change is a natural and inevitable part of life. There’s a saying attributed to Helen Keller:

‘When the door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we don’t see the one which has been opened for us.’

Imagination

Imagine yourself surrounded with happiness, feeling happy, enjoying life, cheerful and contented no matter what is going on around you. Your unconscious will take this as an instruction to create happy feelings for you. Try it – it works!

Action

  • Mix with happy people. Happiness rubs off. So does unhappiness. It’s hard to be happy when surrounded by unhappy people, so mix with people who know how to enjoy themselves. Life is meant to be fun! Comedian Victor Borge described laughter as, ‘The shortest distance between two people.
  • Laugh loud and laugh often. The ability to laugh is a good indicator of mental health. It also alters your body chemistry – endorphins (the ‘happy hormones’) are released into the bloodstream bringing a feeling of well-being. When you’re happy, your body is relaxed, your facial expression changes and you laugh often. It also works in reverse. If you laugh often, it makes you feel better.
  • Smile often. Every time you pass a mirror or see yourself in a shop window, smile. Also, practise the ‘inner smile’ – the more you smile inwardly to yourself, the more you will experience a feeling of happiness. If nothing else, other people will wonder what you’re up to.
  • Do unto others… The happiest people enjoy helping others. Give – not just material things, but yourself. Make time to listen. Be cheerful (even if you’re having a bad day). Not only will you feel better, you’ll find others return your kindness.
  • Be here now.Living in the ‘here and now’ is one of the biggest steps you can take to happiness and peace of mind. How can you be happy if you continually wallow in the past, agonise over old mistakes, wishing you could relive parts of your life, and blaming yourself for wasted opportunities? Stop beating yourself up. Now is the only moment over which you have any control, so make the most of it. If your mind wanders to what might happen tomorrow, bring it back. And finally, remember the last line of ‘Gone With The Wind’ – ‘Tomorrow is another day.’

©David Lawrence Preston, 28.4.2016

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Faith is not just for the religious

Faith is trust in an idea even when there’s no logical proof. It is often believed to be misguided because it does not depend on sensory evidence.

However, faith has accomplished wonders and continues to do so. Without it, no-one would ever take a risk or try anything original. To have faith that we can do something, even if there is no physical proof, empowers us to do it.

Faith is not just for esoteric types; Max Planck was one of many scientists who understand the value of faith. ‘Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind,’ he wrote, ‘realises that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: Ye must have faith. It is a quality which the scientist cannot dispense with.’

Faith lies at the heart not only of science but also of spirituality. With faith, we allow ourselves to be guided by our intuition, do our best to lay down positive ‘causes’ each moment, and trust that the right effects will follow according to Universal Law.

‘There is no such thing as lack of faith. We all have plenty of faith, it’s just that we have faith in the wrong things. We have faith in what can’t be done rather than what can be done. We have faith in lack rather than abundance, but there is no lack of faith.’

 Eric Butterworth

©David Lawrence Preston, 19.1.2017

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Transform yourself by the renewal of your mind

Your self-esteem is a set of thoughts which manifest in attitudes, emotions and behaviours. If it needs a makeover, apply the I-T-I-A Formula. Remember: all four parts are necessary to effect permanent change.

Intention: Decide right now that you’ll treat yourself with love and respect, and accept only what is right for you.

Thinking: Monitor your self-talk, examine your beliefs, and use affirmations to re-align your thinking. Self-deprecating thoughts have nothing to sustain them other than our own habits.

Imagination: Create the person you want to be in your imagination, knowing that he/she will eventually become the reality.

Action: Let your intentions, thinking and imagination show in your behaviour.  If this feels uncomfortable at first, take it in small steps, ignore any discomfort, and above all persist. Consistent action based on right thinking always brings results.

Persistence and determination are key. Let nothing get in the way of your quest for confidence,  high self-esteem and inner peace. Stretch yourself a little every day. Each success, however small, brings encouragement..

©David Lawrence Preston, 16.1.2017

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Affirmations and Denials

Denials and affirmations are powerful techniques for changing your thought patterns and creating a productive, positive mind.

Denials

To deny means ‘to declare untrue’. Denial is letting go of unwanted thoughts and mistaken beliefs. The process is then completed by affirming what is true.

Denials begin the process of change. When we want to grow something in the garden, first we dig up the weeds, clear the ground and prepare the soil, then we plant seeds, add water and fertilise. Denials are akin to preparing the ground.

In prayer, meet each unwanted thought with a denial, then affirm the good. Use the words ‘release’ or ‘let go’ in your denial statement. For example:

  • I now release all fear, all worry, anxiety and mistrust.
  • I am now letting go of all hatred, anger and all bitterness.

Speak your denials with conviction, feel the release happening and let the energy you have been giving to erroneous thoughts flow away.

Follow denials with affirmations

To affirm anything is to assert that it is so. Affirming anything begins the process of asserting that what you are asking for is already coming into form. Use a form of words such as, ‘I now accept…..’ or ‘I now establish…..’ The word ‘now’ adds to their immediacy. For example:

  • All wisdom and power flow through me now.
  • I automatically and joyfully focus on the positive.
  • Perfect harmony is now established in me. I am at peace.
  • It is right for me to have happiness (or love, prosperity etc.). I claim it. I give thanks for it.
  • I live with love and happiness and with reverence and compassion for all.
  • I have time enough, faith enough, strength enough and enthusiasm enough to do the things that need to be done by me.

Create some affirmations for yourself

Create some affirmations that will help you. Write them in a small notebook or on a card and carry them around with you. Read them often and speak them aloud.

In time, disempowering, negative thoughts will fade to be replaced with empowering, positive thoughts. Then your life will change for the better. Isn’t this what you want?

 

©David Lawrence Preston, 9.12.2016

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Prosperity is a state of consciousness

Prosperity is a way of living, being and thinking. It comes from aligning ourselves with Universal Law and turning inner supply into outer riches. To bring what you need from the quantum world of invisible waves and particles into the material world of the five senses, first build the consciousness for what you desire, and second, put in the effort to make it happen.

The feel-good factor in prosperity then comes from being of service, having a clear conscience and having the right attitude towards the results.

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Prosperity consciousness

Have you noticed how some people always have enough, no matter what’s going on around them? They open their minds to prosperity. They know at some level that they have the ability to attract. They have a prosperity consciousness, and so can you. Plant the seeds of prosperity in your mind and allow them to take root. Water them daily with positive affirmations and creative imagery.

Prosperity expands or shrinks to match your thoughts: thoughts of plenty create plenty; thoughts of shortage create shortage. Every time you find your mind wandering to ‘Why don’t I have enough?’ or ‘I’ll never be able to afford that,’ stop the thoughts and repeat to yourself, ‘I refuse to give energy and attention to poverty. Instead I give energy to prosperity. I think abundance, not lack.’

Poverty consciousness

The opposite of prosperity consciousness is poverty consciousness. If you believe that prosperity is out of your reach and ‘just getting by’ is the most you can hope for, you will always find life a struggle. You take a small container to the well of prosperity and half fill it. To go through life with poverty consciousness is like having a huge inheritance without realising it.

Poverty thoughts must be eliminated quickly. As soon as you allow yourself to think, ‘I could never have…,’ you’ve created resistance to the flow of prosperity and inadvertently created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The raw material from which all wealth comes (i.e. the quantum world) is never depleted. There is no lack of substance, but there is thought of lack, and the thought of lack produces the appearance of lack. Scarcity consciousness is accepting the appearance of lack as real. Something in our minds is creating a block which can only be overcome by changing our attitudes and beliefs about prosperity.

Economists estimate that if we were to total the monetary value of all the wealth in the world – including publicly owned assets like roads, health facilities, buildings and open spaces etc. – it would amount to at least £10 million for every man, woman and child alive today. If there is all this wealth in the world, then why are some people poor? Obviously it’s unequally distributed, but if we all raised our consciousness, prosperity would be shared and poverty would cease to exist.

If all the wealth in the world were gathered up and distributed equally, without a change in consciousness it would soon be back in the same hands. Frankly, poverty will only be eradicated when everyone learns to think and behave like a prosperous person.

Do not worry

Worry is a characteristic of poverty consciousness. It numbs the mind, extinguishes creativity and clear thinking and keeps you focussed on what you don’t have. Unless you stop worrying, you’ll continue to attract more of the same.

If you are a worrier, set aside a fixed time each day to reflect on what you worry about. When you find your mind distracted by worry, tell yourself to wait until your special time and let the worry thoughts go. Research has shown that people who regularly allocate ‘worry time’ worry less.

Worry is another form of resistance to the flow of prosperity. Relax! Let it go! Everything you need is here and available to you. Get in tune with your Source, and it is yours.

What are you thinking and doing to be prosperous?

Is prosperity a problem area for you? Are you struggling financially? Do you lack the resources to do and have everything you wish? Then ask yourself, ‘What am I thinking and doing to create this, and what do I need to change?’

If you need practical help, my book, ‘365 Ways to be Your Own Life Coach’ is full of ideas for finding your purpose, making an action plan and putting it into practice.

 

©David Lawrence Preston, 2.12.2016

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In-ITIA-te Prosperity

Eric Fromm wrote that many people spend their lives never achieving what they want because they have it the wrong way round. They try to:

 Have money and things so they can

Do what they want, so they can

Be happy.

Instead, Fromm wrote, first you need to:

Be, then you can

Do, so you can

Have what you want.

Fromm correctly identified the root cause of prosperity – start by going within, finding your purpose, knowing your strengths and using the gift of mind to the full. Here’s the recipe. It has five ingredients:

  • Self-awareness

Plus I-T-I-A:

  • Intention
  • Thinking
  • Imagination
  • Action

The I-T-I-A Formula applies to every area of life. To create anything, tangible or intangible, you must commit yourself to it, practise right thinking and beliefs, have a clear vision or imagination of the desired outcome and take persistent action to make it so. It works because it establishes the chief causes that shape your character and your life.

Self-awareness

Do you want to be prosperous? Are you sure? What does this mean to you? How hard are you willing to work? How can you contribute to the greater good? Can you handle it?

Intention

Make prosperity a firm goal and commit yourself to the necessary mental and physical discipline it involves. Remember also that we become prosperous by helping others become prosperous too so Include others in your prosperity thinking.

Thinking

Your beliefs about prosperity are like the thermostat that regulates your central heating. Set the thermostat high, and the system maintains that temperature. Set it low, and it switches itself off as soon as that point has been reached. If you don’t feel you deserve to be prosperous you are like a magnet that repels rather than attracts.

Imagination

Your imagination helps shape your world. Using your imagination intelligently gives your mind the ammkunition to accept that you are prosperous. Once inner prosperity is established, outer conditions can be brought into line. Imagine what you desire as already yours. Picture yourself surrounded by the conditions you wish to create. The more you imagine, sense and feel something, the more likely you are to get it.

Action

Make it happen! Your mental work kick-starts the prosperity process, but you must do what needs to be done. Act as if your aspirations are already there in non-physical form, on the way to being actualized. And never, never give up. Every challenge, every difficulty is simply a stepping stone on the way to success.

What are you thinking and doing to be prosperous?

Is prosperity a problem area for you? Are you struggling financially? Do you lack the resources to do and have everything you wish? Then ask yourself, ‘What am I thinking and doing to create this, and what do I need to change?’

If you need more help, my book ‘365 Ways to be your own Life Coach’ has lots of tips to help make your vision a reality.

 

©David Lawrence Preston, 2.12.2016

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The Creative Power of Thought

Thoughts are powerful things. They have impact. They lead to actions, which bring results. They are the building blocks of our lives. We literally create our experiences by the activity of thinking.

We can take control of ourselves in any situation because we, and we alone, control our thoughts. They determine what we become, what we achieve and the way we see others. When our thoughts change, so do our lives.

Thoughts come and go, but do you always make wise decisions about your thinking? Do you act only on your highest thoughts? When you understand the importance of right thinking you become a creative force and potentially a force for good.

The Law of Vibration

There are vibrations in space related to the underlying energy and intelligence that holds the universe together. Everything is in vibration. Sound, light, energy, matter and thought are all forms of vibration.

Imagine tossing a pebble into a pond and watching the ripples spread out. What happens when two pebbles are tossed into a pond? Two sets of ripples spread out. Where they intersect, they create a variety of patterns.

Similarly, you continually send out thought vibrations. The mind is constantly radiating energy – and so does the universe itself. It emits a constant wave of thought energy. Where the two sets of thought waves intersect, a pattern is created. This is how your world is formed.

Imagine your thoughts intersecting with the universe. What kind of pattern do they create? Align your personal vibrations with the vibration of the universe, then you align with the best life has to offer.

Thoughts have substance

Thoughts have substance. Thinking produces energy. The longer, more intensely and more often you think something, the stronger the energy waves sent out. When your thoughts centre on higher things, your entire being rises to a higher rate of vibration.

Higher thoughts attract good into your life. You can think yourself into health, happiness, friendship and prosperity; similarly, you can think yourself into ill-health, depression, loneliness and poverty. If you repeatedly think, ‘I can’t do it,’ your thought becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. (The antidote for this disempowering state is to affirm, ‘I can’, loudly and often).

Negative thoughts are nothing to fear as long as you know them for what they are – not the truth, just thoughts, and swiftly replace them with higher thoughts. There is no reason to think that any negative thought reflects reality.

Thought stopping

Get into the habit of observing your thoughts. Isolate unwanted thoughts and let them go. Say, ‘No!’ ‘Go away!’ ‘Stop!’ or similar. Alternatively, tell yourself, ‘That’s an old thought. I no longer choose to think that way.’ This technique is called ‘thought stopping.’ Persistent application of the thought stopping technique soon stems the tide of negative thoughts and weakens their power.

Drop unwanted thoughts quickly – the longer you cling to them, the harder they are to get rid of. Most of us never take control of our thinking – which is why most of us don’t achieve as much as we would like.

Words

Thoughts are expressed in words. The Buddhist text, the Dhammapada, emphasises this. ‘Just a single word that brings peace is better than a thousand useless words. Just a single verse that brings peace is better than a thousand useless verses.’

Become aware of the words you use. Use words and phrases which make you feel good, inspire others and align with your vision and purpose, and avoid any which are self-deprecating or disempowering.

Mental resistance

When you first become aware of the power of your thoughts and decide to change, you may notice a persistent voice in your head resisting your new way of thinking. This comes from the conditioned mind, the centre of your old habits, which hates change and feels threatened by it.

Give it short shrift. Talk to it. Tell it you recognise where it is coming from, and refuse to take any notice. Tell it to be quiet and go away. Negative thoughts create resistance to the universal flow of life and goodness. You don’t want to think those old thoughts any more.

If you want to transform any aspect of your life, start by changing your thoughts about it. Decide the kind of world you want to inhabit and think the kind of thoughts that will draw it towards you. Fact: when you change the way you think about something, what you think about changes. Not just your perceptions of things, but the things themselves.

 

©David Lawrence Preston, 10.11.2016

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Health is Wholeness

What does health mean? It means wholeness in every aspect of our being. The terms ‘health’, ‘heal’ and ‘holy’ all come from ancient words meaning ‘whole’.

Good health has its origins in the invisible energy field from which the atoms of the body are formed. It is a by-product of good habits, physical and mental, and a healthy energy environment. We should all strive for health and wholeness.

Good health comes from within

The body is self-regulating. Every cell possesses energy and intelligence to enable it to perform its function. Cells know what the body needs – high-quality nutritional material (food, fluids, oxygen etc.) for constructing cells, and effective elimination of waste materials. Give it the care it needs. Eat and drink well, exercise, rest and cleanse yourself regularly – these are essential for good health. So are earth-based PEMF (pulsed eletromagneticfields), which improve the delivery of oxygen, nutrients and water to the cells and remove waste.

Most illness is due to the accumulation of waste materials which saturate the tissues. Removing waste depend on the flow of vital energy in the system. If this is interrupted, the body becomes ill. Illness is in effect the body is protesting about mistreatment and striving to free itself.

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Good habits are not like medicine, though, to be taken only when you are ill. If you don’t follow them all the time, you won’t enjoy continuous good health.

The Mind-Body Connection

Mind and body are one. Thoughts travel along the nerves to the muscles, organs and tissues, influencing the process by which cells are renewed. Meanwhile, cells continually send messages to the brain. A peaceful emotional state creates healthy cells; anxious states do the opposite.

Negative thoughts can give rise to headaches, an upset stomach, constipation and in more extreme cases, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer and all manner of conditions. So be careful what you think and say about your body. Your thoughts send powerful messages to the nervous system. There’s a constant dialogue taking place, so if you hear yourself saying, ‘You’re a pain in the neck’ or ‘this is a real headache’ don’t be surprised if you get one!

What we can learn from placebos

Placebos are pills and potions with no active ingredients. They are often used in clinical trials as ‘controls’. One group takes the test drug, the other a placebo, and the outcomes are compared. It is not unusual for the improvement to be similar in both groups. Some patients even get the same side effects from placebos as if they had taken the actual medication.

Placebos tell us something important about the strength of the mind-body connection. They are rarely used these days because doctors consider it unethical to tell patients a pill has an active ingredient when it hasn’t. Pity. How much potential for safe, effective healing is being lost?

Pain

Pain is ‘an unpleasant and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage.’

Pain is not a fixed thing but a perception.  Our experience of pain is subjective. In other words, identical physical stimuli are perceived differently by two or more individuals. Moreover, pain is a learned phenomenon. Levels of pain vary according to the sufferer’s family and social background, perceived (not actual) stress levels and beliefs about pain.

Hospitals around the world employ psychologists to run pain reduction programmes for individuals in chronic and severe pain where there is no medical explanation. These programmes often feature mind-body techniques such as Neuro-Linguitic Programming and have proved highly successful – more evidence that the mind and body are not just closely connected, but inseparable.

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Mind and body are one

Doctors used to believe that they were separate, but enlightened practitioners have always known this was wrong. The body is energy in vibration, and energy is disrupted by wrong thinking. Our thoughts can make us ill, and they can make us well. When we give our bodies what they need, including plenty of loving attention, we increase the flow of life-giving energy.

It is no accident that happy, positive, emotionally balanced people tend to be healthier and live longer!

©David Lawrence Preston, 1.11.2016

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How to Become A Positive Thinker

How you think matters.

There is a direct connection between what you think and what you say and do, and what you get out of life. As long as you keep thinking as you’ve been thinking, you’ll keep feeling as you’ve been feeling, doing as you’ve been doing, and getting what you’ve been getting. So if you want something different, do something different; and if you want to do things differently, change your way of thinking. Your behaviour will follow suit. It’s the way we’re made.

Fortunately becoming a habitual positive thinker is no more difficult than learning to ride a bicycle!

The Cycle of Thoughts

You have approx. 50,000 thoughts a day, but where do they come from?  There are four main sources:

a)      Your unconscious. All the experiences you have ever had, whether real or imagined, are recorded in your unconscious mind. When any of this material floats to the surface, you register a thought. This is where the majority of your thoughts come from.

b)      Sometimes a thought is triggered by a feeling. A feeling of hunger, for instance, can trigger the thought I’m hungry, I want food.

c)      Your intuitive self, including your imagination.

d)      You can consciously, purposely and deliberately create them.

The Cycle of Thought goes as follows:

 

1. You have a thought

You cannot prevent a thought arising from the unconscious, but you do have the power to act on or ignore it, accept or reject it. You don’t have to be attached to any thought if you don’t want to.

2. You decide

Thoughts do not inevitably lead to action, although some people act and react without a great deal of conscious thought.

3. You act – or you don’t

You act. Or you don’t. You speak. Or you don’t. If you like what you get, you do it again. If not, eventually you try something different.

4. If repeated, a habit forms

Whenever you repeatedly place your attention on a thought pattern, you create a new habit or strengthen an existing one. And if you withdraw your attention from an unwanted habit, it will fade and die.

5. Habits direct your thoughts

Habits direct your thoughts – if you let them. But you can challenge them and change them if you want to and it you’re determined enough.

Becoming a positive thinker

How do you take charge of your thoughts?  Simple. By changing what you say to yourself. Remember, conscious thinking is really just talking to yourself.

Do this using the Four Step Method:

1.      Be mindful

2.      Interrupt self-defeating thoughts

3.      Feed in the positives

4.      Keep at it

Step One: Mindfulness

Mindfulness is paying attention to your thoughts – listening to your ‘internal dialogue’ or ‘self-talk’.

Try this: Every so often, pause. Break off from whatever you’re doing and be still. Withdraw your attention from everything around you and go inside. What are you thinking?  Is it  positive or negative? Where is it coming from? Why are you thinking that thought? Where is it taking you?

The more you do this, the better. It is the first step in initiating change – and it’s powerful.

Step Two: Thought stopping

You can only hold one conscious thought at a time, so if you become aware of a thought that serves no useful purpose interrupt it. Say something like ‘Stop!’, ‘Cancel!’, ‘Go away!’, or ‘Next!’. This breaks the pattern.

In addition, do something physical like clapping your hands, stamping a foot or banging a table.  You can also imagine closing a book, a symbolic gesture that that’s the end of it.

If you catch yourself thinking negatively, don’t be annoyed with yourself. This will only make you more likely to slip up again. Just let it go.

In time thought stopping becomes unnecessary. Negative thoughts don’t bother entering your head once they realise that they are going to be firmly dealt with!

Step Three: Feed in the positives

Having stopped the unwanted thought, immediately replace it. The simplest replacement for an unwanted thought is its direct opposite, e.g. replace ‘I can’t’ with ‘I can.’ Say it as if you really mean it.

Another option is to use an affirmation. Either make one up on the spur of the moment or use a favourite one such as ‘I like myself’, ‘I am strong and worthy’ or ‘I am cool, calm, and in control’.

If at first you feel you’re lying to yourself, don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if your new thought isn’t literally true (yet). This method is just a tool to help you change your way of thinking.

Make it your motto never to say or think anything that you don’t want to be true! You will be directing your unconscious mind to create the situations and behaviours you want.

Step Four: Keep at it!

Persistence is the key to success. It takes about a month to change an old thinking pattern.

Don’t let others put you off. Most people are unaware of how powerful their negative thinking is. Nor do they realise they have it within their power to change.

You can’t change others’ thoughts – only they can do that. But you can enlist their support by explaining what you’re doing. If all else fails, you may have to minimise your contact with negative people until your new thinking habits are firmly established.

These Four Steps are very powerful: in fact, properly used they can even help overcome debilitating fears and phobias.

Can you think of any reason why you can’t start applying these Four Steps right away?

And remember – merely reading through these materials without putting them into practice is like reading the label on the bottle without taking the medicine!

 

©David Lawrence Preston, 5.3.2016

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