CATALYST NEWS

Eva Dahm, CPCC, MA

July, 2004

Dedicated to your growth and exploration

POWER OF POSITIVE WORDS

In the 50's or 60's, it was first proposed that holding positive thoughts affects our health and our lives. Translated into fifteen languages with more than 7 million copies sold The Power of Positive Thinking states a strong case for focusing on maintaining uplifting thoughts.

Science is now catching up with Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller (a protégé). Dr. Larry Dossey points to the last half of the 20th century when,
"Evidence began to mount suggesting that the mind could affect the body. Eventually it became clear that our emotions, attitudes, and thoughts profoundly affect our bodies, sometimes to the degree of life or death."

L. Robert Keck, an author and United Methodist minister, comments, "Research also documented the deleterious effects of hostility, anger, and depression, and the positive effects of love, compassion, and forgiveness."

Many of my clients use negative self-talk to be critical of themselves and to judge others. What is the impact of this on-going dialogue? First, it does not make you feel good. And second, it can be the first step on a long lonely road to a place you do not want to visit. One client now realizes that dwelling on a negative comment takes her to isolation and despair.

MAKING THE SHIFT IN TWO SIMPLE STEPS

So how do you stop this "runaway freight train" mind? It is simple (notice, I did not say EASY).

The first step is to be aware of our thoughts and the beliefs that create them. Listening to the constant conversation in your mind as an observer (rather than a judge) helps you catch yourself. A teacher in a class I just completed said she imagined what it might be like to hear all of her thoughts on a public address system. That image was scary enough to help her be more aware of her chatter.
We can also watch our judgments of others to catch our automatic thoughts and long-held beliefs. Many times we see in the world the qualities we have and do not want to see in ourselves.

The second step after awareness is to practice changing the negatives at the moment they arise. Change them to a more accepting and loving option. These two steps can change your life. Even catching negatives so you can say; cancel/cancel is a huge step.

I practice catching my negative thoughts in traffic. When I have a negative thought about another driver, I shift it immediately and bless them on their way. I think, perhaps they are rushing home to an emergency or are distracted by a family illness. Watching my judgments to then shift them, I have changed my whole outlook on others. This, then, is great practice for changing how I speak about myself in my mind because I am sensitized to hear negatives as glaring words that stand out in the positive milieu.

When you undertake these steps, it is especially important to notice any "I AM" messages. These messages convey the deeply held beliefs about how you are, oh, maybe, "not good enough or smart enough or perfect enough". Does that sound familiar to anyone in addition to me? Of course, we all know you are really creative, resourceful and whole.

WHAT CAN POSITIVES DO?

Research in 16 studies over 30 years concluded, "an optimistic attitude can do wonders for patients' recovery." According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"In each case, the better a patient's expectations about how they would do after surgery or some health procedure, the better they did," said Donald Cole of Institute for Work and Health in Toronto.

Those of you familiar with Unity know that its founder, Myrtle Fillmore, healed herself of a life threatening disease by using her thought patterns. She also participated in healing others in this way.

Fillmore sat in meditation for hours and used visualization to see the health and wholeness of her body and it's organs. Since it is proven that positive thoughts and affirmations have a healing impact, wouldn't you rather choose the positive ideas and results? There is tremendous power to impact the body and the world by using positive, life-affirming words Fillmore maintains.

"Life has to be guided by intelligence in making all forms. The same law works in my own body. Life is simply a form of energy, and has to be guided and directed in a person's body by her intelligence. How do we communicate intelligence? By thinking and talking. I began to teach my body and got marvelous results." Myrtle Fillmore

ONE MORE PLACE TO WATCH

Another way we are unconsciously reinforcing negatives is when it comes to "poverty". We all seem to have a pattern of emphasizing the lack or need in our internal and external lives. It is easier to find the one thing we did not do well than to focus on the twenty or more items we did wonderfully. How often can you identify a statement of lack and shift it to one of gratitude for what you do have. Focusing on something increases it. Being grateful for our health, homes, friends, family, and so forth will bring more wonderful feelings and beings to us.

QUESTIONS

What are your thoughts right now?
What beliefs are evidenced in your thoughts? (About you and your world.)
When you hear "I AM" in your thoughts, what follows? Whole, beautiful, capable, perfect?
When do you focus on lack or need? Who are you with at these times?
What do you want to create in your life rather than lack?
Focus on gratitude for what you do have.
Create a vision of what you want. Feel how it will be to have your vision.

love and light, eva

Complimentary Coaching Session, Email Eva

Healing Words, Larry Dossey, 1997.

Healing As a Sacred Path, L. Robert Keck, 2002.

How to Let God Help You, Myrtle Fillmore, 1956.