POSITIVE THINKING

Positive Thinking

Quote: “There is a power contained in thought.  This is very subtle, yet it does exist, and is extremely powerful.

Whether a person is aware of it or not, he is constantly transmitting and receiving thoughts…Thoughts control our lives, mold our characters, shape destiny, and affect other people. 

When the potential contained in the power of thought is realized, it is the beginning of great spiritual growth in the individual; a great step forward for all of humanity.”
 – Swami Vishnudevananda in “Meditation and Mantras”  

What is thought?

Thought is a powerful force or energy which can build and can destroy.  It is real.

We need to be aware of the nature of our thoughts in order to improve our life and to keep meditating and ultimately realizing our perfect positive nature.

Negative thoughts are like toxins produced by the mind that is not purified.  They are only temporary symptoms, not ourselves.

Thought, though invisible, is the origin of action and the material world.

We make a mistake when we think that the material world of objects is more real than the world of thought.

Objects are the manifestations of thoughts; the Sivananda ashram for example, came from the thoughts of Swami Vishnudevananda.

Thought has different wavelengths.  Positive thoughts or Sattvic thoughts have higher wavelength and negative thoughts have lower wavelength. 

We are constantly swimming in an ocean of thoughts, attracting certain thoughts and repulsing others depending on the quality of the thoughts we keep in our mind. 

The best way to improve our life is to constantly keep positive thoughts in our mind and to be able to change negative thoughts to positive thoughts.

Power of thoughts

Be aware of thought influences.  We need to be aware of the thought that is surrounding us as it is affecting our thinking.

Try to keep positive company, live and work in positive environments, be in nature, and take yoga retreats to retune our mind to positive thoughts.

Also, learn internal techniques to keep the mind at a high wavelength, so instead of being victims of our environment, we will be agents of positive change.  Being in company of the wise is the easiest and most powerful way to shift our thinking to be more positive.

This is called Satsang, company of the wise.

When you live in an ashram founded by enlightened masters, you are in Satsanga.  The vibrations of all the chanting, teachings and all the good thoughts of people who visited or lived in the ashram remain in the thought atmosphere and help you.

It is like taking a bath in a pool of pure water.  If you mix with polluted thought environments, you will pick up negative thoughts that you would not normally have.

Though Creates Destiny

Thought has the tendency to repeat itself; a negative thought or feeling can become habitual, and also a positive thought can create a positive personality or character that will bring about your future destiny. 

So destiny is in your hands, if you know how to control your thoughts.

One needs to be responsible for one’s thoughts because one’s thoughts affect the invisible thought world, and in turn, affect the environment and the people around you positively or negatively. 

Collective negative thinking can create wars, while collective positive thinking, like our group here sitting in the ashram, chanting and meditating, sends positive vibrations out to the whole world.

Thought is immediate.  So, its effect is immediate, transcending time and space (it is much faster than any supercomputers or the Internet). 

Only now, scientists and philosophers are starting to discover the power of thoughts (for example, the Japanese scientist Doctor Emoto has demonstrated the power of thought and emotions on water; as our body is made up of seventy to ninety percent water, you can imagine the effect a negative thought environment can have on us