THINK POSITIVE

By Ernest Vinaya Kumar

If you want to live longer, be happy, healthy and successful, all you have to do is
tell yourself that you can do it by tapping the healing forces within

There is no greater joy than a healthy, positive life. You feel exhilarated, energetic, happy
and on top of the world. A sense of total well being permeates your mind. The future looks
bright. You feel good to be alive.

Great, but how do we get out of our innumerable worries, tensions and fears that the
increasingly competitive life burdens us with? Simple! Tell yourself that you are good,
healthy and capable. That is the power of positive affirmations.

Such affirmations are also called self-suggestions. It is a powerful tool for transforming your
inner self into an amazing health generating, self-healing entity. You can record these
affirmations on a tape synchronized with pleasant instrumental music and replay them often
to make them more effective and permanent.

SELF-INDOCTRINATION
Psychology says that our mind controls our body. So, taking charge of your mind becomes a
vital factor in keeping your body healthy. You can do this through affirmations that establish
the power of your mind. Try: "With the power of positive thinking I now take charge of my
body to maintain perfect health, strength and happiness unconditionally, now and always,
so be it." When you repeat this, the misleading programs of your mind will be erased.

It is said that we are never given a wish without the power to fulfill it. Each person is
capable of programming his own mind to achieve what he desires. You can tap this
capability by following a few simple steps. But before you begin, make yourself totally
relaxed and be consciously willing to adopt the method.

Attuning yourself with nature guarantees an overall healthy life. To modify this statement
into an affirmation, say: "I attune myself with nature to stay healthy now and forever."

You can have the right kind of food by affirming: "I can attract healthy food to keep myself
fit, healthy and strong, everyday."

You can develop the habit of exercising your body and mind by affirming: "I can easily get
up early in the morning everyday to exercise and keep fit and cheerful."

In case you are an insomniac, all you have to do is repeat: "I can relax into sound sleep
now and wake up revitalized, alert, bright and cheerful early in the morning. It is done. So
be it."

Sometimes, social influences play their part in either inducing or encouraging negative
thinking. This is the stage where most doctors give up the case as incurable. So, to find the
right doctor, suggest mentally to yourself: "I will locate the right doctor who can cure me
completely in a simple, easy and positive way, now and always."

Your health problems can be dissolved by affirming: "I can now dissolve all my health
problems, worries and fears easily, quickly and successfully in simple, easy and positive
ways. So be it."

MAGNETIC RELAXATION
Unlike sleeping, magnetic relaxation requires you to be physically at rest but subconsciously
alert. When your conscious mind is relaxed, the positive suggestions seep into your
subconscious. To achieve maximum benefit from relaxation:

• Sit in a comfortable chair or lie down on a bed.

• Let go of all the tension by repeating to yourself: "I can now relax comfortably. I can
now relax my body. I can now relax my mind. Easily, quickly and positively. Now I
can enjoy the state of alert relaxation peacefully."
• Let a feeling of soothing comfort take over.
• Let go of yourself totally. Feel a universal healing energy surrounding you and
getting absorbed into your body and mind.
• Feel a cool breeze around your body. Visualize a white sparkling light pouring
through your head down your body and seeping deep within you.
• Think that soothing and healing forces are vibrating within and radiating from you.
• Maintain a positive and peaceful state of mind during the session. Also, take
precautions that you are not disturbed.
• Mentally repeat to yourself: "Day by day in every way I'm getting better and better
and better."

This is a general formula that will heal you of all sickness. Emile Coue, a French doctor,
recommended it for physical, mental and emotional well-being. It can be mentally repeated
as many times as possible.

MAGNETIC ABSORPTION
The subconscious has the knowledge, power, wisdom and understanding to heal and
maintain perfect health. It is the interference of negative suggestions that causes ill health
and weakness. So, whenever you feel that something is not right, use affirmations to get
back on the right track. Here is a simple one that can be absorbed into your subconscious to
keep your body fit: "Attuned with universal healing powers and the source of life, all my
body organs are now becoming normal and fit, and they will function perfectly to maintain
excellent health, strength and vitality up to a great age."

USING THE SUBCONSCIOUS

The subconscious mind is perfectly programmed with a survival package in the form of
universal instincts that can be synchronized with conscious programs to live in harmony.
Accepting your subconscious instincts relieves you of half of your health problems.

The subconscious is always receptive to suggestions that transpire from your conscious
mind. So keep your conscious mind filled with creative, positive, pleasant, peaceful and
productive thoughts. When you repeat an affirmation in a relaxed state of mind, it works
wonders. To retain these suggestions, repeat them often, till you feel confident that they
have become a permanent habit.

The subconscious mind is an all-powerful, omnipresent and omniscient gift. Peace will
prevail in your life when these conditions are maintained. So, affirm often: "I most willingly
accept healthy, happy and self-healing success programs of my subconscious mind
consciously for total fitness, now and always."

It is easy to program your subconscious to integrate your inner healing power into a self-
healing force. All that you aspire for will come to pass. New friends, new relationships, new
ideas, new thoughts and new plans can motivate you to become a powerful optimist. So
affirm: "Today I am a new, dynamic, and optimistic futurist flooded with positive thoughts
of successful self-healing."

VITAL LIFE ENERGY

Magnetic energy plays a vital role in self-healing. The more energy you generate through
eating, breathing and exercising, the longer you will live with health and happiness. It is
said that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of his mouth.
When we speak to ourselves in positive terms, we tend towards self-healing. We can build
up positive statements like:

• I am healing myself positively.

• Positive energy is keeping me healthy.
• Healing myself and others is easy for me.
• I have the positive habit of deep breathing.
• Today I am feeling better than ever before.

• Tomorrow I am going to be perfectly all right.

FEEL YOUNG, LIVE LONGER
Age is an attitude of the mind. When you think youthful, you feel youthful. Energy can also
be enhanced by being active, alert and awake most of the time.

In my experimentation with autosuggestion, I feel that new frontiers can be explored in the
process of evolution. Some of them are:

• Assert firmly to reverse aging. Take it as a challenge.

• Use the countdown method to feel young and energetic after 50. Subtract the
number of years that you are over 50 from 50 and affirm that age constantly. For
example, if you are 55, all that you have to do is to count downwards the years of
your age by subtracting five from 50 and imagine that you are 45. Now build up
positive magnetic statement like: "Today I am 45 years young."

The second phase is to regain the natural color and abundance of youthful hair on your
head. But consistent practice coupled with firm determination is required on your part. You
can begin the practice right now by affirming: "I am determined to regain all the hair on my
head with its natural youthful color as soon as possible." Mentally repeat it 21 times just
before you go to sleep at night.
SELF-HEALING IN SEVEN DAYS
The magnetic self-healing schedule that follows is an invincible method that can take you to
the height of perfect health, strength and happiness. After practicing it for a period of seven
days you will find that all your past health problems automatically disappear. The
watchword here is consistency. All that you have to do is read the affirmations as soon as
you get up in the morning and before going to sleep. It has cured me. It can do the same
for you. Now read the following:

• I'm relaxed, my body is relaxed.

• My mind is relaxed, my emotions are relaxed.
• I am now totally relaxed.
• I am getting better, stronger and happier forever.

Now make yourself comfortable. Read the affirmation given below focusing your eyes in a
half-closed manner as if you are reading it half asleep.

Hold your breath comfortably and read each statement twice. Relax after reading it. Don't
hurry. Don't worry. You will see the difference from the very first day. After you practice the
magnetic affirmations for seven days, let go of it. You can always come back to the seven-
day program whenever you feel the need. You can mentally repeat each affirmation for the
whole day but remember to hold your breath while doing so. Now repeat:

• My body and mind are clean and energetic. I love my body.

• Today I am becoming strong, powerful, dynamic, happy-go-lucky and attractive.
• Today I can choose to take total interest in regaining perfect health successfully.
• Today I assert, affirm and relax with total freedom to heal myself with the power of
thought.
 • Today I am on the way to recovery easily, quickly and successfully to become
healthy, happy and free.
• Today I have regained normalcy with the power of positive thought successfully.
• Today health and energy are vibrating and radiating from me.

Do it for seven days at a stretch and discover the new, optimistic you who can take
anything in his stride. It only takes a little belief and a little determination to change your
life.
 2 The Power of Positive Thinking

Key Point
You are what you think. You feel what you want.

Why Think Positively?

All of our feelings, beliefs and knowledge are based on our internal
thoughts, both conscious and subconscious. We are in control, whether
we know it or not.
We can be positive or negative, enthusiastic or dull, active or passive.
The biggest difference between people is their attitudes. For some,
learning is enjoyable and exciting. For others, learning is a drudgery. For
many, learning is just okay, something required on the road to a job.
"Most folks are about as happy as they
make up their minds to be."
Abraham Lincoln
Our present attitudes are habits, built from the feedback of parents,
friends, society and self, that form our self-image and our world-image.
These attitudes are maintained by the inner conversations we constantly
have with ourselves, both consciously and subconsciously.
The first step in changing our attitudes is to change our inner
conversations.

What Should We Be Saying?

One approach is called the three C's: Commitment, Control and
Challenge.
Commitment
Make a positive commitment to yourself, to
learning, work, family, friends, nature, and
other worthwhile causes. Praise yourself and
others. Dream of success. Be enthusiastic.
Control Aim high and do your best
Keep your mind focused on important things. Set goals and priorities for
what you think and do. Visualize to practice your actions. Develop a
strategy for dealing with problems. Learn to relax. Enjoy successes. Be
honest with yourself.
Challenge
Be courageous. Change and improve each day. Do your best and don't
look back. See learning and change as opportunities. Try new things.
Consider several options. Meet new people. Ask lots of questions. Keep
track of your mental and physical health. Be optimistic.
Studies show that people with these characteristics are winners in good
times and survivors in hard times.
Research shows that,
"... people who begin consciously to modify their inner conversations and
assumptions report an almost immediate improvement in their
performance. Their energy increases and things seem to go better ..."
Commitment, control and challenge help build self-esteem and promote
positive thinking. Here are some other suggestions.

7 Suggestions for Building Positive Attitudes

• In every class, look for positive people to associate with.

• In every lecture, look for one more interesting idea.
• In every chapter, find one more concept important to you.
• With every friend, explain a new idea you've just learned.
• With every teacher, ask a question.
 • With yourself, keep a list of your goals, positive thoughts and
actions.

• Remember, you are what you think, you feel what you want.

Copyright 1991 Donald Martin, How to be a Successful Student

POSITIVE. PERIOD.

By Suma Varughese

Positive thinking is not a new concept, but in recent decades it has been
increasingly gaining currency among the global populace. There is almost a
consensus on the value of consciously cultivating positive thinking for individual
health, happiness and success

A friend is undergoing surgery as I write this, but she chose not to let any of us know about
it. When the news inadvertently reached a mutual friend who called her to commiserate,
she was not enthusiastic. She agreed to disclose it only on the condition that we do not call
her. She wanted some peace and quiet, she said. This might seem an attempt to bury her
head in the sand. But I know my friend's quiet courage and self-awareness too much to
suspect this to be the motive. I figure that she wants to spare herself the concern, anxiety
and false bonhomie all of us are bound to express. No matter how well meaning, such
gestures are invariably fuelled by fear and dread, emotions that she could well do without.

It made me think of the negativity we load our lives with and how counter-productive it is.
Take the US-Taliban confrontation. Whether we feel anger at the Americans or at Osama bin
Laden, or sorrow at the meaningless deaths, first of the Americans and now of the helpless
Afghans, we flood the situation with negativity. What is needed instead is a dispassionate
acceptance of the situation and a single-minded intention to resolve it. The single-
mindedness is the key. So one-pointed should our attention be that negativity simply has no
place in the scheme of things.

This state of positivity without an opposite is potent. Free of negating doubts or fears, one's
attention focuses unwaveringly on the subject of our intention, knowing fully well that what
we intend will happen. In my friend's case, for instance, where I would once be consumed
by fear and call out to God in my helplessness, this state of positivity would indicate a
steadfast intention for her healing. It may be accompanied by a prayer, but importantly, no
longer in helplessness but with the calm self-possession of love. God shifts into the role of a
helper and beloved friend rather than the omnipotent power He was earlier.

Surely this is the ground of all creation? The Upanishads reiterate that the Realized One can
manifest anything he desires, simply by intending it. They also assert that this power of
instant manifestation can only arise in one who has learnt to control his senses, overcome
desire, fear and anger.

What is it like, this state of positivity? What kind of life would we lead when immersed in it?
I think it is a state of concentrated energy, for we will be freed of all the negative thoughts
that steal away our energy and dissipate our focus. It will be a quiet and still state of mind,
with no conflict, for the latter is the direct result of negative thoughts. It would be a
peaceful and happy state of mind, regardless of circumstances. Most of all, it would be a
highly effective state of the mind, for it would zero in on what needs to be done and do it. It
would also be a tremendous force for good.

No matter how hopeless or terrible the situation, the positive spirit will prevail, seeing the
opportunities inherent in the situation and providing a beacon of hope for others around it.
Serenely oblivious to the negative, it does not occur to him/her to falter or doubt, forging
ahead regardless, confident in the ultimate good of things.

The corollary is that the positive individual is also a black hole for the negativity around him.
In his presence, the negativity dissolves and dissipates, never to appear again.

How is it that negativity simply cannot touch such an individual? One could say that his
energy is at a higher frequency than that of negativity, thereby shielding him from its
influence. At the level of deconditioning, s/he would have bored through all that came
between him and his blissful inner core. In other words, she would have transcended desire
and freed herself of fear and anger.

What is the relationship such an individual has between her intention and surrender to God's
will? What if God does not want the peaceful resolution of the Afghan situation? I can only
hazard a guess. The positivist operates from the stand that man proposes, God disposes.
We never stop thinking positive, but we leave the outcome strictly in the hand of God,
retaining with ourselves only the ability to see the positive in any outcome.