Don't avoid negative thoughts
Bring them closer
Avoiding negative thoughts is silly.
We’re human beings. We’re going to have thoughts. I just read somewhere that the average human being has 1,300,000 thoughts a day. Given the constant barrage of information we process, it’s likely that a few of those thoughts will be negative.
What is a negative thought?
A negative thought is any idea that shoves a boulder onto your path of awareness and growth. Negative thoughts de-energize you. They tell you a story about yourself that aims to keep your brilliant soul small.
Feel it, don’t own it.
Of course, we don’t want to identify with these negative thoughts. First of all, they don’t feel good in our bodies. In addition, they generate deleterious energy into collective consciousness. Most importantly, we don’t want to identify with these thoughts because they are not us.
So, if avoiding negative thoughts is no good, what do we do with them?
Bring them closer.
That’s right. Bring the ugliness close to you so that you can see and deal with it.
Let’s look at the structure of this action: An object (the negative thought) exists, and a subject acts upon that object (you). By that logic, it’s clear that you are not it.
You are the Highest Self, bringing the negative thought closer to you so that you can process it—and learn from it, where applicable—without judgment and shame.
Find a safe place to do this work—a container.
When we work with negative thoughts, we may feel them so deeply that we perpetuate the negativity. That’s why it helps envision a container where you place your thoughts while processing them.
Because I’m pretty witchy, I imagine placing my negative thoughts in a cast iron cauldron so that as I work with them, I am protected from their toxicity and the energy around me is kept safe.
What does this look like?
Let’s say you’re starting a new venture. It could be a new project at work. Or maybe you’ve decided to start dating again. Just when you’re about to begin, a negative thought comes to you:
You’re not experienced enough to succeed at this.
or
No one wants to be with you; all your relationships end badly.
Rather than buying into this nonsense, and rather than pushing it away (when you can bet your last dollar it will come back louder and nastier), close your eyes and envision your container. Place this wriggling ugly thought into the container and simply witness it. Watch it writhe around, gnashing its teeth, separate from You. The real you. The Highest Self you.
Once it’s calmed down, you can ask it a few questions:
Why are you here?
What do you want me to know?
Is there any way we can work together so that you can be more helpful?
No matter what the answers are, a few crucial shifts will have occurred:
1. You’ve taken control of the negative thought with the benevolence of a just ruler.
2. You’ve become aware that you are in charge, not the thought.
3. The thought has had a chance to spin out in the safety of your container.
4. You’ve given the negativity an audience—even opened a respectful dialogue with it—allowing your fearful part to be seen and heard.
5. This, in turn, helped diffuse the unpleasantness.
There’s no point in avoiding negative thoughts; you’re going to have them periodically. That’s life. Instead, give these thoughts a safe arena to express themselves—all under the watchful and non-judgmental eye of your Highest Self.
I like it. Especially the big witch pot image.