Dear Soul Arcanum:
I am having a hard time with negativity and fear. I can’t seem to feel anything else. How do I learn to vibrate at a higher level so that all the good things I know are out there will start to come to me, instead of all the things that I worry about? Where do you start?
– Michelle
Dear Michelle:
This is a great question, and one that I get in one form or another frequently. When we first wake up to the truth that our thoughts create our experiences and we begin to pay attention to our mental habits, it can be very unsettling, for suddenly, we realize just how much of our thoughts are negative.
This is actually a very good sign, however. It means that you’re moving out of harmony with this negative vibration. You’re no more negative than you ever were before; you’ve just become uncomfortable with that negativity. So right away, here is a plus for you to focus on: even though it may not feel like it, you’re making great progress already!
I remember my own awakening as a conscious creator. My head was constantly buzzing. Every other thought seemed negative or “dangerous” somehow, and I was constantly trying to “take back” or rework some negative thought. This is normal at this stage. The more you pay attention to your thoughts, the more you’ll develop the habit of thinking positively.
First, I recommend meditation. We all have a lot of old energies and issues that we’ve stuffed down, and these will keep running through the back of our minds until we heal or resolve them. They are sort of like mental clutter. We get busy doing this or that, and we don’t have time to really deal with “old stuff,” so we push much of it to the back and put new stuff in front of it, and there it sits, mucking up our vibration and experiences.
In the beginning, meditating is simply allowing mental clutter to rise up so we can let go of it. Many beginning meditators feel frustrated and inadequate because they can’t “quiet their minds.” Well, all that mental clutter has to be cleared first. There is usually a lifetime of it accumulated, so we can’t expect it all to just dissipate overnight. Just sit and allow whatever wants to come up to come up, and then just gently let it go. If it doesn’t want to go, just sit with it and ask it what it is trying to tell you that you need to do (and then do it). Over time, this approach will clear all the stuff you’ve been avoiding dealing with, and then you will have a nice clear inner space, and your meditation will deepen. By dealing with it this way, the negative thoughts won’t take you by surprise so much, and instead of pushing them back down, you’ll be able to release or transform them.
While you begin this meditation practice, I recommend you also surround yourself with positive influences. The simplest way to do this is at a physical level. While it may be hard to control our thoughts, it’s pretty easy to get rid of the junk cluttering up our lives. Clear out all the stuff in your environment that carries a negative vibration for you, especially anything that ties you to a past you’d like to leave behind. For example, if your closet is full of clothes you wore when you were three sizes larger, get rid of them! If your jewelry box still holds the engagement ring your first husband gave you, sell it or give it away while affirming that as you do so, you are making room in your life for new love and a new beginning.
While you’re at it, clean up your diet and exercise regimen. Our physical health has a huge impact on how we think and feel. Try to eat whole, natural, unprocessed foods, and try to make at least 50% of them raw. I’m talking about fresh fruits and vegetables here. Drink water, get rid of sugar and white flour, or just pay conscious attention to your body and feed it the things that will truly boost your energy and well-being. The more you take concrete action to create positive change, the more empowered and positive you will feel.
Obviously, if you are surrounded by negative people, it’s going to be harder for you to become a positive thinker. Start weeding the people who are downers out of your life, and begin to seek new, positive influences. If you pray for these positive people to come into your life, they will! Also, strive to be this kind of person to others. If what you’re thinking is negative, don’t say anything until you have found something positive to say.
While doing all the above, I recommend you read about five pages of a positive book every day. By reading a bit every morning and every night, focusing on positive ideas will become a habit. If you are meditating morning and night as well, you will be clearing negative “junk” and replacing it with these books’ positive ideas.
Some positive, empowering books you might begin with: The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity and other works by Catherine Ponder, Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain, The Game of Life and How to Play It and other books by Florence Scovel Shin, anything by Dr. Joseph Murphy, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, etc. These books will keep you mindful of the fact that you are constantly creating for better or worse via your thoughts. Additionally, try reading uplifting books in general. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series is a good example. Other favorites include The Little Prince, all books by Sark, Susan Jeffers, Alan Cohen, Norman Vincent Peale. Keep reading Soul Arcanum as well! There is an endless abundance of positive teaching available.
Be choosy about everything you mentally ingest. Skip the news – nothing will bring you down faster. Make sure the music you listen to is upbeat, like New Age music, big band, etc. Watching TV on a regular basis will keep you STUCK. Some movies, however, can boost your vibration. A few to try: My Shirley Valentine, ET, The Wizard of Oz, Patch Adams, Field of Dreams, Forrest Gump, Pay It Forward, Powder, Phenomenon, the Harry Potter movies, Big Fish, School of Rock, Ghost, Enchanted April, The Whale Rider, Shrek 1 and 2, Big, The Terminal, Chocolat, Simon Birch, Under the Tuscan Sun, Secondhand Lions, etc.
These lists are just off the top of my head. Some people will say, “What? I thought ET was horribly sad. I have never gotten over Elliot crying his eyes out as ET went ‘home.'” This illustrates an important point: our interpretation of life will determine our experience of it. If you look for beauty, magic and wonder, you will find it. Everything can be seen in a negative light, but everything can also be seen in a positive light. You determine your experience when you choose which you will look for.
It does take tremendous mental effort to remain positive, even for people who have developed that habit of thought. Every time you find yourself focused on the negative, challenge yourself to find the positive. Spirit will help you with this; just close your eyes and mentally ask to be shown the situation in a spiritual light.
When this works, give thanks! Gratitude is the heart of positive thinking. Give thanks that you have been given the knowledge to create what you want in your life by changing what you think. Give thanks that I chose your question for publication. Give thanks that you’re already making progress. Give thanks that your eyes work, and you’ve been blessed with an education so you can read all of this. You’ll find endless things to be grateful for if you just look for them.
Finally, make a habit of uplifting others, for what you give is what you’ll get!
– Soul Arcanum
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