Negative Thinking

There are certain types of meditations where you simply sit and notice that you are "here" and your mind is out "there." There is a clear distance between you and the mind.

"Think positively" and "the power of positive thinking" have become trademark slogans in our society. From self-help magazine articles to motivational speakers, it has become folklore wisdom -- fill your mind with positivity and you shall reap the mental health benefits.

If we are totally honest with ourselves, we will admit that it is often far easier to live with our discomforts and challenges than it is to initiate the mindfulness to become the conscious observer of our beliefs, thoughts and actions that may be supporting them.

For the most part, we're so used to our negative thinking that we aren't even aware when we're doing it. Consequently, we need to listen closely to the content of our thoughts, and we need to hear our words as we speak them.

Affirmations changed my life, in the good kind of way, the kind of way that made my thoughts about myself and the world around me go from mostly negative to, well, way more positive than before.

There is clearly something to be said for a more mindful state while one is eating. Choking is almost always caused by a wandering mind during an internal dialogue.

A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels. The good news is that the human brain is more flexible than we assume.

Taking in the good is a brain-science savvy and psychologically skillful way to improve how you feel, get things done, and treat others. Three simple steps on taking in the good.

Conscious forgetting means letting go of the event, to not insist it stay in the foreground, but rather allow it to be relegated to the background or move off stage.

We all have negative thoughts and doubts that come up for us every waking second of every day. They bombard us all the time.

Don't you often know what commentators will say, almost down to the phrase, even before they say it? The shouting and emotion can hide the deeper truth: It's all so boring and lifeless.

Positive Thinking could be considered the high fructose corn syrup of the thinking world--when forced. It's not necessary, and research has found that it's not good for us when we have to sell ourselves on it.

Some years ago, I went on a "positivity" course. My sister had died, my father had died, and I'd had cancer, and a broken heart, and I wasn't, quite frankly, feeling that cheerful.

In the past 50 years, people with mental problems have spent untold millions of hours in therapists' offices, and millions more reading self-help book...