What's the big deal about a positive attitude?
You've heard of how-to articles, but this is a why-to article.
Why is it so important to develop the ability to choose a
positive attitude , no matter what?
We Westerners have a tendency to worship the brain. Note that I
didn't say the mind, but the brain. We confuse the two. When I
speak of the mind, I'm speaking of our own piece of the mind of
God. The mind is the Observer within us that can watch our
thoughts and choose which ones to entertain. The brain is
something else: It is an organ, a survival tool that keeps our
bodies going. The brain is a problem-solving machine, and it
seeks problems to solve. When we treat the brain as a god,
instead of as a tool, our emotional and mental life becomes
saturated with problems.
Just as the ancients brought burnt sacrifices to feed their
gods, some of us bring sacrifices in the form of problems to
feed our brains. As in any other religion, we consider it moral
and necessary to bring a steady stream of sacrifices to our
"god." We develop a pious attitude and consider it more
realistic and sophisticated to be cynical, focused on problems.
Even those lucky people who aren't cynical by temperament feel
obligated to suffer with others. We sacrifice our natural state
of bliss.
But here's what I know today. Our outer experience follows our
thoughts, and not the other way around. Our attitudes and
beliefs have the power to alter our experiences. So the
development of a positive attitude in any circumstance is a very
sophisticated response to experiences that are unhappy in any
way.
We create our experience of the world, but we don't do it alone.
There are over six billion people on this planet, all with the
gift and responsibility of free will. So we don't
single-handedly control all the experiences that come our way,
but we always have a choice about how we respond to them. Our
response has the power to transform a "negative" into a
positive.
An old story that illustrates this point is the one about Joseph
and his brothers. Joseph was the 11th of 12 sons, the favorite
of his father, and he had dreams of glory. In fact, he dreamed
that his brothers would someday bow down to him. When they heard
this, his jealous brothers became furious and sold Joseph into
slavery. He ended up in Egypt, where he still paid attention to
dreams. In fact, he interpreted Pharaoh's dream about a coming
famine, so he was given a position of high honor and
responsibility. Joseph prepared the land for famine and was able
to provide for his family when the famine affected them. His
brothers still lived in remorse for what they had done. When
Joseph revealed himself to them, he said, "Do not be angry with
yourselves. You may have meant it for evil, but God meant it for
good." By focusing his thoughts positively, rather than reveling
in resentment and bitterness, Joseph created good.
Taking a positive attitude is the most realistic way you can go.
By using a positive attitude, you can real-ize, or make real,
the good you want to bring to life. This is not a discipline for
the timid. You have to be willing to give up the sophomoric
pleasures of cynicism, resentment, and bitterness. Once you
really "get it" that whatever you focus on grows, you use the
power of your mind to cultivate a positive attitude.
About the author:
Amy Biddle has been a lifetime student and teacher of spiritual
principles. Spiritual Healing Secrets is a fast-growing resource
for anyone who wants to improve her or himself, or simply to
learn practical spiritual principles. Let Amy help you improve
your life! Discover the secrets at
http://www.spiritual-healing-secrets.com
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