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For the last several years, there has
been a lot of focus on the power of positive thinking. Many people have
come to misinterpret this wisdom to mean that it is not okay to have a
negative thought or feeling. This can lend a kind of superficiality to their
relationship with life and relationships with other people. It also can
lead them to feel that if a negative thought or feeling comes up, they
must immediately block it out. When they do this, they are engaging in
the act of repressing a part of themselves that needs to be seen, heard,
and processed.
When we repress parts of ourselves,
they don’t go away so much as they get buried deep within us, and they
often come out when we least expect it. On the other hand, if we allow
ourselves to be fully human, honoring all the thoughts, feelings, and
moods that pass through us on a given day, we create a more conscious
relationship with ourselves. Instead of blocking out thoughts and
feelings that we label as negative, we can simply observe them and then
let them go. They only get stuck when we react to them negatively,
pushing them down and out of sight where they get lodged in our
unconscious minds. A healthier solution might be to develop a practice of
following any negative thought we may have with a positive thought. This
works well because positive thoughts can be more powerful than negative
thoughts.
Rather than setting our minds up in
such a way that we become fearful of the contents of our own
consciousness, blocking out anything that is less than 100 percent
positive, we might resolve to develop a friendlier attitude toward
ourselves, trusting in our inherent goodness. When we recognize our true
inner worth, a few dark clouds passing through our minds will not
intimidate us. We will see them for what they are — small, dark figures
passing through an expansive sky of well-being and truth.
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