Does Positive Thinking Really Work?
Posted 2nd May 2014 at 11:20 AM by markdawes
According to Napoleon Hill, what the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. In short our thoughts become things. If that is true that means that what we choose to focus on we choose to create. So, wherever we direct our mind we direct our minds power - what we focus on we attract to us. In essence we come into the world with the opportunity to create whatever we want by the power we hold in our mind.
Throughout the annuls of time all of the great thinkers, philosophers and prophets knew and spoke about this one great universal truth. Today you can find evidence of this in the great books of our ancient civilisations, including the Bible, the Koran and many other Hindu and Buddhist texts.
Today, with the help of modern science, including brain-imaging equipment such as MRI scanners for example, it is possible for scientist to actually see the physical changes that take place in our brains, in particularly the pre-frontal cortex, when we are having positive thoughts. Activity in the left pre-frontal cortex is associated with positive emotions such as enthusiasm and happiness whereas activity in the right pre-frontal cortex is associated with negativity and stress. In study's done with Buddhist monks scientists have discovered that through meditation the monks can shift their neurological activity from the right hemisphere to the left. The studies so far have concluded that meditation's effects on brain activity can lower levels of stress hormones and boost immune function - for as little as two minutes three times a day! The beauty of this is all it involves is breathing - something all living beings can do.
The Internal Hospital
Our bodies are also designed with an inbuilt ability to heal. If you get a paper-cut it will heal. If you fall and graze your skin it will heal. If you get a virus your immune system will fight it and heal you. Some people even have the ability to heal themselves of terminal illnesses, and this is something that people such as Deepak Chopra and Norman Vincent Peale know all about. In short, if you remove negativity and stress from the body it increases its healing potential.
Positive thinking therefore, is much more than a daily routine of affirmations or mantra's. It has to become a way of thinking of a consistent and habitual nature. The reason this is important is the way our conscious and unconscious minds work. Our conscious mind is the part of our mind that is aware of what is going on at any given moment in time. It is the window through which we view our perception of reality, jumping from one thought to another like a hyperactive gymnast. Our unconscious minds however are what I refer to as the 'fertile field of obedient servant's'. The unconscious mind is dealing with vasts amount of information processing all of the time, and one thing that it is very good at is developing and nurturing what the conscious mind focuses on. Think of it this way. The thoughts generated by our conscious focus are like seeds (seed thoughts) that are then planted in a fertile field of unconscious potential and possibility. Now not all seeds will grow, but if we pay particular attention to one, shall we say, dominating thought, it is the equivalent of nurturing one seed more than others. If given more attention on a consistent basis eventually the seed will grow until its roots are well established and it breaks through the surface of the soil. This is when our unconscious thinking patterns create conscious behaviour on a consistent basis and this is how our habits are created. However, as the seed becomes dominant it needs more nutrients so it has to develop dominant behaviours to satisfy it's biological and chemical craving. In short it becomes 'addicted' to its nutrients (chemical needs). As a result an angry person will find more reasons to become angry, a depressed person more reasons to be depressed and so on. This is why it is important to break the old cycles and patterns of addition that are negative and replace them with new ones that are more positive.
The Internal Drug Company
One important aspect of the mind and body’s intelligence is its ability to create a wide variety of natural drugs. For example, when you are feeling calm your body is producing it’s own version of Valium. When we are feeling brave or invincible, our bodies are making chemicals similar to interleukin-2; one of the most powerful and effective chemicals used to fight cancer cells worldwide. When we feel happy our bodies are flooded with chemicals that boost our immune system helping us to resist and fight off bacteria and viruses. What is fundamentally brilliant is that all of these ‘natural drugs’ are produced by the body, in exactly the right quantity and targeted exactly at the right cells. In essence the body seems to know what we need and where we need it – without any of the side effects that are common with many synthetic drugs made by pharmaceutical companies.
So if I were to decide to dive off of a high board at the swimming pool and I felt excited at the though of it, I would be producing neuropeptides such as interlukin-2. However, if in the same situation, I was dreading the thought of it, I would be producing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. In short, our thoughts affect our cells. Happy thoughts become happy cells and unhappy thoughts become unhappy cells, and these in turn effect every organ of the body. In short ‘our body believes every word we say’.
Can I Just Think Myself Rich?
Well if you think that by continually focusing on having £1 million in your bank account the money will somehow miraculously appear, then you are most certainly wrong. However, if you practice focusing on having wealth and being wealthy, you mind can begin to sow the seeds of wealth in your unconscious, and then what your unconscious mind will do is work on them by bringing to you the opportunities that will allow you to make more money and become wealthier.
Thoughts Become Things
What We Focus On We Get More Of
If you would like to change the way you think then change the information you choose to feed to your brain.
It really is that simple!
Throughout the annuls of time all of the great thinkers, philosophers and prophets knew and spoke about this one great universal truth. Today you can find evidence of this in the great books of our ancient civilisations, including the Bible, the Koran and many other Hindu and Buddhist texts.
Today, with the help of modern science, including brain-imaging equipment such as MRI scanners for example, it is possible for scientist to actually see the physical changes that take place in our brains, in particularly the pre-frontal cortex, when we are having positive thoughts. Activity in the left pre-frontal cortex is associated with positive emotions such as enthusiasm and happiness whereas activity in the right pre-frontal cortex is associated with negativity and stress. In study's done with Buddhist monks scientists have discovered that through meditation the monks can shift their neurological activity from the right hemisphere to the left. The studies so far have concluded that meditation's effects on brain activity can lower levels of stress hormones and boost immune function - for as little as two minutes three times a day! The beauty of this is all it involves is breathing - something all living beings can do.
The Internal Hospital
Our bodies are also designed with an inbuilt ability to heal. If you get a paper-cut it will heal. If you fall and graze your skin it will heal. If you get a virus your immune system will fight it and heal you. Some people even have the ability to heal themselves of terminal illnesses, and this is something that people such as Deepak Chopra and Norman Vincent Peale know all about. In short, if you remove negativity and stress from the body it increases its healing potential.
Positive thinking therefore, is much more than a daily routine of affirmations or mantra's. It has to become a way of thinking of a consistent and habitual nature. The reason this is important is the way our conscious and unconscious minds work. Our conscious mind is the part of our mind that is aware of what is going on at any given moment in time. It is the window through which we view our perception of reality, jumping from one thought to another like a hyperactive gymnast. Our unconscious minds however are what I refer to as the 'fertile field of obedient servant's'. The unconscious mind is dealing with vasts amount of information processing all of the time, and one thing that it is very good at is developing and nurturing what the conscious mind focuses on. Think of it this way. The thoughts generated by our conscious focus are like seeds (seed thoughts) that are then planted in a fertile field of unconscious potential and possibility. Now not all seeds will grow, but if we pay particular attention to one, shall we say, dominating thought, it is the equivalent of nurturing one seed more than others. If given more attention on a consistent basis eventually the seed will grow until its roots are well established and it breaks through the surface of the soil. This is when our unconscious thinking patterns create conscious behaviour on a consistent basis and this is how our habits are created. However, as the seed becomes dominant it needs more nutrients so it has to develop dominant behaviours to satisfy it's biological and chemical craving. In short it becomes 'addicted' to its nutrients (chemical needs). As a result an angry person will find more reasons to become angry, a depressed person more reasons to be depressed and so on. This is why it is important to break the old cycles and patterns of addition that are negative and replace them with new ones that are more positive.
The Internal Drug Company
One important aspect of the mind and body’s intelligence is its ability to create a wide variety of natural drugs. For example, when you are feeling calm your body is producing it’s own version of Valium. When we are feeling brave or invincible, our bodies are making chemicals similar to interleukin-2; one of the most powerful and effective chemicals used to fight cancer cells worldwide. When we feel happy our bodies are flooded with chemicals that boost our immune system helping us to resist and fight off bacteria and viruses. What is fundamentally brilliant is that all of these ‘natural drugs’ are produced by the body, in exactly the right quantity and targeted exactly at the right cells. In essence the body seems to know what we need and where we need it – without any of the side effects that are common with many synthetic drugs made by pharmaceutical companies.
So if I were to decide to dive off of a high board at the swimming pool and I felt excited at the though of it, I would be producing neuropeptides such as interlukin-2. However, if in the same situation, I was dreading the thought of it, I would be producing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. In short, our thoughts affect our cells. Happy thoughts become happy cells and unhappy thoughts become unhappy cells, and these in turn effect every organ of the body. In short ‘our body believes every word we say’.
Can I Just Think Myself Rich?
Well if you think that by continually focusing on having £1 million in your bank account the money will somehow miraculously appear, then you are most certainly wrong. However, if you practice focusing on having wealth and being wealthy, you mind can begin to sow the seeds of wealth in your unconscious, and then what your unconscious mind will do is work on them by bringing to you the opportunities that will allow you to make more money and become wealthier.
Thoughts Become Things
What We Focus On We Get More Of
If you would like to change the way you think then change the information you choose to feed to your brain.
It really is that simple!
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