Here is the continuation of the friendly debate between A.S. Ansar and myself on the topic discussed in my article “Mind over matter”.
Reader: …. By your “changing the thought” technique, no change really occurs, the fact remains fact — reality didn’t change. I am happy to note that you agreed that “Positive Thinking does not “change” anything.” If “Positive Thinking” does not make any change, what does it really do? It moves one out of reality, that’s is what I call “make-believe world”. We need a positive attitude, which is not creating a fog to cover the reality, but to see the “truth in the false” and “false in the truth” and not to succumb to circumstances. It is to believe in the power one has, by holding the foot right on reality, not on created thoughts, that can calm you for the time being, like a medicine, which will be back once the power of medicine recedes….. “The light of reality and its bliss are destroyed when the mind which is the seat of self, assumes control.” (quote)
Answer: To your words, “If Positive Thinking does not make any change, what does it really do? It moves one out of reality, that’s is what I call make- believe world”, I can only answer with the following.
When a supposedly wise man asked some children if they saw themselves as “white” (good) or “black” (bad), a child answered, “I see myself striped“! Well, aren’t we all striped? Aren’t we all sometimes right and sometimes wrong? What counts is our honesty, our belief in the right that everybody has to be who he is and to be accepted as such, with neither judgment nor biased criticism. From personal experience, I can assure you that, with true commitment, trust and patience (it takes years!!) — although we DO NOT CHANGE THE OUSIDE CIRCUMSTANCES — we can change ourselves so that we become able to see such circumstances from a different perspective. Some examples? I used to be rather hot-tempered while now I am more calm. I used to hold resentment and now I try to understand the other person’s behavior and accept it (although I might choose not to see that person any more). I used to worry a lot, now I trust more. This is what I owe Positive Thinking (books, lecturers, conversations with like-minded people, a lot of self-talk etc.) and that is why I am willing to share it. It goes without saying that I am still learning because it is a life-long task. But it is never about creating a fictitious, fake world. It is about transforming our view of what surrounds us so that inner serenity can come up to the surface.
As to your last quote, “The light of reality and its bliss are destroyed when the mind which is the seat of self, assumes control”, it mentions another topic I have often tackled. But I interpret it in a different way than you. Author Alan Cohen calls the mind “the slayer of the real” and Indian philosopher Krishnamurti expresses a similar belief. It sounds right to me in the meaning they attribute to it, which is: When we are having an experience (from drinking coffee to admiring a sunset, we miss the true essence of the moment because our mind engages in “thinking,” i.e. starts to judge the taste of the coffee (too hot, cold, bitter, sweet etc.) or to make comparisons (with a sunset we saw in Hawaii or in Greece..). Positive Thinking does not attempt to destroy reality, on the contrary. It shows us that what we believe to be the negative side of “reality” can be seen from a different viewpoint and thus accepted with a lighter heart.
I’ll conclude with an example that I gave in one of my first articles (again, personal experience), “The screen goes negative.” Just try this. Stay in front of your laptop and look at the image it shows. Now move the screen and see how the image changes. It may even disappear, according to your position. This is exactly what Positive Thinking is trying to show us, as we do something similar with our outlook on life. If you have been reading my articles and I still seem to be advertising for a make-believe world, I am afraid I have failed in my efforts. (But I strongly hope that my message is getting through, no matter how slowly).
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