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may/june 2017yogajournal.com.auHarnessing the power of your negative
thoughts can help you find inner peace.
Follow this simple practice and discover
how to influence the patterns of your
mind and the course of your life.
By Richard Miller, PhD
opposites
THHOOUGGHTTS AREIINNVISIBLE, intangible, and private, yet they
have tremendous power to influence the course of your
life. Every day, you experience up to 7o,ooo of all varieties
of thoughts – positive and negative, caring and hurtful –
according to research from the University of Southern
California’s Laboratory of Neuro Imaging. Thoughts
enable you to feel hope and connection, as well as fear
and isolation. They make you believe you’re capable of
great things, or that you’re so helpless you’ll never
amount to anything. As the inventor and automobile
pioneer Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you
can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”
In large part, thoughts get their power of influence
from your body’s reaction to them. Every time you have a
thought, whether it’s “I’m capable” or “I’m helpless,” your
body responds by secreting hormones that impact your
entire nervous system. For example, when you think you’re
being threatened (say, you believe someone is breaking into
your home), your body secretes cortisol to get you ready to
fight or flee. Or, alternatively, imagine being deeply relaxed
(maybe snuggling with a favourite pet); in this scenario, your
body produces oxytocin and serotonin, feel-good hormones
that help you find security and ease.
So it stands to reason that if you can change your thinking or
shift your perspective such that your thoughts lean toward the
positive, your body will respond by helping you feel more upbeat,
and therefore more connected to the world around you. Sounds
simple enough, but truly changing your thoughts takes incredible
concentration, determination, and courage. Working with your
thoughts is much like encountering a mountain lion in the wild. When
you see that big cat, your first instinct may be to run, but really you’re
supposed to stand your ground and make yourself look large in the face of
the feline threat. But if you run from a mountain lion – or your thoughts –
it will likely give chase. For instance, thoughts like “I’m powerless” and “I’m
afraid” tend to follow you until you’re willing to turn around and face them.
Much like trying to flee a mountain lion, fleeing your thoughts is ultimately futile;
they will always catch up with you. Your best defence is being prepared.