Negative Vs. Positive Thinking

I'm amazed at some of the research studies that are done and the ways they come about creating a conclusion. One such study was written about in an article in Time Magazine, Self Help Through Negative Thinking.

In the article, the researches suggest that thinking positive actually drives you more into the negative patterns. They go further in making the statements that the more you are challenged in your thinking or if someone tries to change your thinking, the more set you get in your ways. Sorry, but I'm summarizing the article into a small nutshell here.

There is a time and place for everything and to view things narrowly through a window of survival where little human growth and awareness takes place, is painting half a picture. At times, positive thoughts help a person hold on when they are in the midst of despair just long enough that they can grab the next rung on the ladder. Sometimes a positive thought can even allow a person to raise their head just enough to look over the peak of the mountain and give themselves the knowledge of just how far they have come. Sometimes a positive thought gives a person the motivation to take the next leap into the unknown. To say that positive thoughts invoke negative reactions and that's the end of the story, is just plain inaccurate in my view.

Of course one of the conclusions they draw towards the very end of the article is that some of the mind body practices which teach people to go into the negative, accept it instead of fighting it can be very effective. In the article however, they fall short in really making a proper connection between the thoughts and the body and mindfulness.

To confront the negative issues and bring it into your awareness through mindfulness while mixed in with positive thoughts can be extremely healing, rewarding and life altering. One of these aspects without the other may not necessarily lead to a break through or a furthering of the person into consciousness. Positive thoughts alone will only lead the body so far down its path but when you combine that with connected mindfulness with the body, it is like strapping on a jet engine and taking off!

It is fine to study things and understand things but let's not draw conclusions without all the facts and in ways that really are not helpful to humankind. That is called fuzzy math in my view and some days it is more hurtful than helpful.