Positive Living – the Power of the Mind and Thoughts

Your mind, your thoughts, your emotions and your statements create your reality.  Does that powerful concept resonate with you?

“Watch your manner of speech if you wish to develop a peaceful state of mind. Start each day by affirming peaceful, contented and happy attitudes and your days will tend to be pleasant and successful.”
~Norman Vincent Peale

Norman Peale’s book,  The Power of Positive Thinking, was first published in 1952 and his concepts were way ahead of his time.  He was one of the first of the modern day inspirational teachers and writers to suggest specific ways of shifting thoughts and energy into a powerful, positive current.

This was long before the Law of Attraction made its appearance, which may have been first in the 1980s.  And the “discovery” of the Law of Attraction revolutionized our way of thinking!

Today with all the wonderful inspirational teachers — as well as scientific research to back up much of it — we know how amazingly powerful the mind is!  Many people are awakening to this knowing, and yet there are still those who have no clue about how to harness the significance of your thoughts and emotions to improve your life.

It is not always easy to do this either, but the inner work of aligning with the flow of this way of thinking will bring so many benefits …

You are the designer of you life, the architect who creates the structure of your experience.

Once you bask in the understanding of this, there can be many glorious “ah-ha” moments!

So today I suggest you pause and contemplate your own unique reality and observe what you can do to reflect this type of optimistic thinking.

Our thoughts are something that we can CHOOSE — they may be shaped by our past and our surroundings, but ultimately we can select our own thoughts.  With that in mind, try to reach for positive thoughts more often. It may seem easier to be in the bad habit of reaching for a negative thought, but you can absolutely train yourself to access that stream of upbeat thinking.  (If you need some simple, basic help — just google Louise Hay, the foremost authority on positive thinking and feel-good affirmations.)

Your emotions are intertwined with your thoughts on many levels — your thoughts can strongly influence your emotions.  Therefore, optimistic thoughts result in a more joyful emotional state.

To those who are totally resistant, how would you feel if you decide to take up mental residence in a state of “woe is me” and victimhood? How will your thoughts feel?  And how will your emotions feel?  And needless to say, your well being will be severely affected in a negative way.

Embracing a stronger, more uplifting, can-do, “I-am-powerful” mindset will help you overcome challenges and obstacles that befall you along this journey of life…

And then we come to the verbal statements and speaking patterns that reflect our thoughts and attitude. When we make statements like “My life is a mess.” “Everything bad always happens to me,” and the like, we place ourselves in a severely negative mindset. As we have come to know, this leads to more negativity, stress, discord.

So it is essential to let your speech and statements be in the flow of calm and optimism as much as doable for you. (Yes, I know it is not possible to be in this state of mind 100% of the time or perhaps anywhere near this, but you can certainly improve the amount of time you spend in a more joyful, harmonious way of thinking and feeling.)

The bottom line is that if you begin each day with “peaceful, contented and happy attitudes” the balance of your day will tend to reflect this vibration of joy and balance.

See where you personally need the most inner work — do you need to start at the basic level of THINKING?  Are you catching too many sad and negative thoughts popping into your head?  Shift your way of thinking!  Say a positive affirmation. Consciously release the negative thoughts.  Focus on something you find uplifting — a good memory, a thought of someone you love, etc.  Do the mental work!

If you are getting into the mode of more peaceful thinking, but your way of speaking is still punctuated with too many negative statements, then CHANGE the way you speak. You can definitely do it!

My mother-in-law, who has recently moved up from Florida to a nearby Assisted Living facility, recently took a fall and was bruised afterward, but fortunately not seriously injured.  The next morning I phoned her and was making an extra effort to be upbeat, so I said a cheerful “Good morning!” to her. And she replied “What’s good about this morning!” in an extremely brisk, negative way. How do you think the rest of HER day might go with this sad start?

As an extremely senior citizen who grew up in a completely different time, she has never made the connection about thoughts and statements influencing ones day and overall well-being.  But I am working on helping her learn…

I believe one is never too old to learn this powerful lesson…

And we are each learning and re-learning aspects of it everyday…

Enjoy the journey that you are on, for life is a fascinating adventure…  and choose thoughts that will help you travel on a road of optimism, vitality, high-vibration and enthusiasm!

Affirmations:

• I choose positive, happy thoughts to help me align with the stream of joy and well-being!
• My thoughts and feelings create my reality so I decide to create with powerful, joyful, high-vibration thinking!
• I pay attention to my everyday speaking patterns and strive to use feel-good statements in my life on a regular basis.