I don’t read the paper. I don’t listen to the news. In fact, I’ll go a step further. I won’t read the paper and I won’t listen to the news. There’s so much torment and tragedy, murder and misery, nothing but story after story about man’s inhumanity to man, about horrible accidents, Acts of God that cause death and destruction. Do I really need to hear every possible rotten, awful thing that has happened out there? Does it add anything to my life? Will I be worse off for not knowing about these terrible incidents?
No.
As a hypnotist, I’m well acquainted with the power of the subconscious mind. It absorbs every single experience you’ve ever had in your life, creates beliefs based on those experiences, and is responsible for your thoughts and behaviours.
With 90% of those experiences, beliefs etc. being stored in the subconscious, imagine what that could mean if there’s a preponderance of negative, fearful and disturbing information roaming around in there. Life hands us enough challenges and unpleasantness. It makes no sense to deliberately add unnecessary negativity.
I figure that if there’s anything I really need to know, like the sky is falling or Armageddon’s happening after dinner on Tuesday, someone will tell me. I told a journalist friend once that I thought I ought to start up a newspaper that was full of only good news. He said it wouldn’t sell because people want the blood and guts (my words, not his, but that was the general idea). He said good news doesn’t (or wouldn’t) sell papers.
Several years later, there are now some very successful good news-papers online. Some of us want to be surrounded by positivity. Some of us want to know the good news, the happy events, the wonderful moments and miracles that are happening in the world. Some of us want to be uplifted by the beauty that exists in the perfect stories of love and kindness that are taking place around us, especially when they happen between strangers.
Some of us prefer to be connected with light and lovely positive energy that allows growth and movement, rather than heavy, oppressive negative energy that keeps us stuck and stagnant.
Now, I’m not saying I don’t care about the tragedies and suffering in the world and heaven knows I’ve spent decades doing my bit wherever possible to alleviate it where I can. It’s just that with technology as it is now, we hear about far more of these events than ever before. It’s one thing to hear about the major events in our own countries or in the world. But I don’t see how it is beneficial to read through a list of murders and other atrocities that have happened thousands of miles away when it’s over and done and there’s not a thing we can do about it.
Immersing ourselves in so much violence, horror, pain and fear is hardly helpful to anyone. It’s an all-too-frequent overdose that I think contributes to climbing statistics for anxiety, depression, and the resulting physical illnesses they can cause, even among children.
I refuse to give attention to the negatives in my life or my environment, above and beyond what is absolutely essential in order to deal with certain issues. Beyond that, negative thoughts are chased away and replaced by positive ones. If I find myself wandering into contemplations about anything that is distressing or upsetting – particularly if it’s nothing I am able to change – I dismiss it, focusing instead on what I want – and not on what I don’t want.
Does this mean I stick my head in the sand and don’t deal with difficult issues? Of course not. But dwelling on them beyond useful and constructive thought and decision-making is utterly pointless and an unhealthy way to spend precious time.
I’ve spent – or rather wasted – far too much of my life enduring and choking on negatives already. I refuse to give that rubbish any more of my precious moments because they would only harm me. They would not add anything to my life; they would only take from it. Well, they would if I let them. But I won’t.
Instead, I choose to immerse myself in sparkling, radiant, shimmering, positive energy of the purest kind. I will not feed the demons that thrive on negative energy; I let them starve to death, bloody tormentors that they wish they could be, if only I would allow them to ravage my life the way they used to do. They tore and clawed at it until it was in shreds, lapping at the dark red pools beneath the carcass of any dreams I might have had.
No, there is no room for them in my life, my heart, or any part of my being and they are unwelcome beasts. I have banished them from the sacred space that is Me. I am far more powerful than they could ever hope to be and they shall not destroy me again, nor shall I allow any more destruction of my time in this life.
Why would I choose to do anything else? Unless, of course, I had some burning desire to destroy my own life, my own happiness and wellbeing.
I have complete control over what I think and how I respond to anyone or anything. I have complete control in deciding where to focus my attention and energy I can choose to make my life better – or worse.
And a most important point: I believe that if everyone could stop absorbing so much negativity, whether from news, social media, toxic relationships, jobs they hate or wherever else they’re being affected by it, and instead if they focused on surrounding themselves with more positive energy, we would soon begin to see a massive shift in the world that would begin to reduce the tragedies, the suffering and terrible events that seem to be on the rise.
If it’s true that we get more of what we focus on (and I absolutely know this is the truth), then what would happen if we spent more time focusing on the Light of hope and positive energy?
I think a chicken-and-egg situation is at play in the world in a negative way, so it can only help us to use it for good.
I know what I’m choosing. How about you?