Post by Reefs on Jan 17, 2013 8:16:55 GMT -8
Taken from the article "The Myth of Positive Thinking"
A pessimistic person with positive thoughts is probably a word-lawyer.
Where do you see these unconscious thoughts? The iceberg concept seems to imply that they are stored somewhere. I'm not buying that theory. One is not dragging that kind of burden around. The unconscious mind as some kind of iceberg is a myth.
Yes, shifting attention. And I'd say it depends on the way how attention is shifted if it is successful or not in the end.
It depends on how the shift of focus is done. If the jump is too big and the gap to bridge too wide, e.g. from "I am broke" to "I am a millionaire", then the shift is some kind of denial. Because one will encounter all day long signs of that not being true. If I tell myself "I'm a millionaire" and don't even have enough money for a taxi, then there's a credibility gap.
But if the shift is from "I am broke" to "I am on my way to financial abundance", then the shift is much softer and not really denial, only ignoring. Then the signs we encounter all day long will be noticed but aren't a big deal because they are seen as temporary only. So if I tell myself "I'm on my way to financial abundance" and don't even have enough money for a taxi, then there's no credibility gap.
I'd say the 'art of positive thinking' can work if it is done in the same way how our beliefs change naturally throughout our life. We don't have the same beliefs anymore we had when we were 5. There has been some successful modifications in the meantime. Usually it depends on what the person has been observing, what kind of input came from the environment. What those who teach 'the art of positive thinking' discovered is that not only input from the natural environment can change beliefs, basically any kind of input has the potential of changing beliefs. So why not try taking control of that input and change our beliefs into the direction we really want to go? That's the basic premise behind the positive thinking practice.
Of course, it's just moving from a pretty miserable personal vantage point to a pretty content personal vantage point. It's all on the personal vantage point level so the peace and happiness gained will always be conditional.
That's momentum and feedback loop. It's like boom and bust cycles. I think positive thoughts, I notice positive things, I think more positive thoughts, I notice more positive things. I think negative thoughts, I notice negative things, I think more negative thoughts, I notice more negative things.
I'd say it's successful because it becomes a habit and then there's a lot of momentum behind it which means it's not just word-lawyering with thoughts anymore. So there is also a change of awareness.
Consciously changing thoughts would probably only be necessary in the beginning when the momentum isn't there yet.
Positive thinking is really just like any other practice, like yoga for example. If it is done in the right way, it will give immediate results. Which means there have to be lots of tiny little baby steps along the way. If I've never practiced yoga and want to start with an advanced posture, then chances are high that I will overstretch a few muscles and dislocate some joints. But if it is done correctly then over time I will be able to do these advanced postures. Same with positive thinking.
The implication is that having positive thoughts causes one to be optimistic, while actually positive thoughts is a very natural and expected result of a positive attitude. It's not so that thinking positive thoughts causes one to be a positive person, though it may well cause one to be a pessimistic person who is having positive thoughts.
A pessimistic person with positive thoughts is probably a word-lawyer.
Conscious thought is the portion of the ice burg that is visible on the surface, which is a very minor portion of the dynamics occurring in the 'submerged' portion of the mind, which actually leads to the conscious thoughts. Another way of looking at it is that the thoughts we are consciously aware of are merely the end result of the functioning of the totality of the psyche. By definition, we are not conscious of that unconscious material out of which conscious thought forms. This is why negative thoughts so often seem rather unruly and out of out control, because they are.
Where do you see these unconscious thoughts? The iceberg concept seems to imply that they are stored somewhere. I'm not buying that theory. One is not dragging that kind of burden around. The unconscious mind as some kind of iceberg is a myth.
So what we attempt to do in positive thinking is consciously remove attention from the end result of the processing of the totality of our subconscious mind and consciously attend to a positive thought because we don't like what the mind actually believes and feels. This new thought doesn't change what is actually believed or felt, it just suppresses the conscious awareness of what is believed and felt, and herein lies the danger.
Yes, shifting attention. And I'd say it depends on the way how attention is shifted if it is successful or not in the end.
Positive thinking claims that it is not suppression and yet the process reveals that it is. The positive affirmations that follow serve to reinforce this suppression, as the now ignored negativity builds energy in the subconscious, and may take the form of an un-grounded anxiety. The one engaged in this process is likely to encounter an increasing variety of negative thoughts and feelings as they seek a way to fully express, and it's likely that he will see himself as a failure, which of course reinforces the negativity already present. While there may be some short term benefits, in the long term, the practitioner gets the message that he is a failure in the art of positive thinking, and yet it is his approach that sets him up for failure, and this is precisely what he doesn't need.
It depends on how the shift of focus is done. If the jump is too big and the gap to bridge too wide, e.g. from "I am broke" to "I am a millionaire", then the shift is some kind of denial. Because one will encounter all day long signs of that not being true. If I tell myself "I'm a millionaire" and don't even have enough money for a taxi, then there's a credibility gap.
But if the shift is from "I am broke" to "I am on my way to financial abundance", then the shift is much softer and not really denial, only ignoring. Then the signs we encounter all day long will be noticed but aren't a big deal because they are seen as temporary only. So if I tell myself "I'm on my way to financial abundance" and don't even have enough money for a taxi, then there's no credibility gap.
I'd say the 'art of positive thinking' can work if it is done in the same way how our beliefs change naturally throughout our life. We don't have the same beliefs anymore we had when we were 5. There has been some successful modifications in the meantime. Usually it depends on what the person has been observing, what kind of input came from the environment. What those who teach 'the art of positive thinking' discovered is that not only input from the natural environment can change beliefs, basically any kind of input has the potential of changing beliefs. So why not try taking control of that input and change our beliefs into the direction we really want to go? That's the basic premise behind the positive thinking practice.
Of course, it's just moving from a pretty miserable personal vantage point to a pretty content personal vantage point. It's all on the personal vantage point level so the peace and happiness gained will always be conditional.
The optimistic person benefits from his optimism, and expresses it in the form of positive thoughts. The pessimist can no sooner become an optimist by thinking positive thoughts as the optimist can become a pessimist by thinking negative thoughts. For the optimist, those negative thoughts will merely highlight the absurd falsity of those thoughts for him.
That's momentum and feedback loop. It's like boom and bust cycles. I think positive thoughts, I notice positive things, I think more positive thoughts, I notice more positive things. I think negative thoughts, I notice negative things, I think more negative thoughts, I notice more negative things.
So why does positive thinking seem to be successful sometimes? Because the attention on the negative thoughts can bring a heightened awareness of the quantity and destructive quality of those thoughts. One becomes hyper aware of how he sabotages his own experience by imagining the worst that can happen, and will likely notice that most of those thoughts aren't even true.
I'd say it's successful because it becomes a habit and then there's a lot of momentum behind it which means it's not just word-lawyering with thoughts anymore. So there is also a change of awareness.
In the light of this clarity, the unconscious dynamics of the mind begin to change, and this alters the quality of the thoughts that reach the surface of conscious awareness. What we're talking about is not the attempt to directly change the thoughts, but simply becoming consciously aware of the thoughts that occur spontaneously. Thoughts and feelings are not suppressed or altered but rather allowed their full expression, while clarity collapses and restructures the negativity in the light of truth.
Consciously changing thoughts would probably only be necessary in the beginning when the momentum isn't there yet.
Positive thinking is really just like any other practice, like yoga for example. If it is done in the right way, it will give immediate results. Which means there have to be lots of tiny little baby steps along the way. If I've never practiced yoga and want to start with an advanced posture, then chances are high that I will overstretch a few muscles and dislocate some joints. But if it is done correctly then over time I will be able to do these advanced postures. Same with positive thinking.
