There are many forms of energy and negative energy can present in many ways, from the poltergeist to the everyday worry, however despite the Hollywood popularity of the former, both of these energies and all that fall in between these extremes are equally harmful. While one can create quite an impressive show and wreak havoc suddenly and quickly, the other takes its time, becomes such a constant that it becomes a part of a person and is actually fed by the person himself. Worry works its way into everyday thoughts and wakes you in the middle of the night.
Worry is right there when things are wonderful, preventing you from truly experiencing the good by reminding you that it will be fleeting or that it's not real. Worry wants to be the one and only. There is nothing but worry, according to Worry.
Worry has only one enemy - Hope. Hope sees through the darkness of Worry and sees the first ray of light on the horizon. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. Some would call this "wishful thinking" which of course it is, but in modern times, the term wishful thinking has become synonymous with fantasy. While Hope uses imagination as a tool it is not about being oblivious, but being conscious of the good energy that is available to us from various sources all the time and choosing to let our thoughts and actions be influenced and directed by this energy .
Energy needs attention to become powerful. It feeds on other energies. That's why extremes of either positive or negative energy can be contagious. Our personal attitude determines which type of energy we will feed - which one is the louder crankier demanding baby. The trick to bringing in the best energy is to practice giving your attention to/feeding the positive energy, and ignoring the negative energy, much the same way parents are taught to focus and praise good behavior in their children while being careful not to feed the bad behavior with too much attention. If you are prone to negative thinking, especially in regards to your life path this will be a challenge for you, but like any habit, it only takes less than a month to acquire it. By the same token, the same amount of time is needed to rid yourself of a bad habit, so you can apply this to your goal of ridding yourself of Worry.
The world is not an easy place for most humans these days. Those of us in North America are feeling the pinch (or have bruises from) the difficult economy, money/health/family/relationship issues. These are times the darker energies enjoy - when the feeders are plentiful. It's not easy to remember that Hope is available too - right there next to worry. It's as simple as a choice.
Now, I - like almost every woman over the age of 30, have read my share of self help books. While some of them are good, a chosen few great, most are not so good. I stopped reading them when they became repetitive and when they used too many "case studies." I found these studies, provided so that the reader will feel comforted that he/she is not the only one with the various personal issues in need of help, actually feed the issue. Knowing that so many others have the same issue made me feeling oddly glad to have the issue, like I was a member of some kind of misfit club. It did not make me want to break free of the issue, but to bond with these "friends" in a support group so we can all share our misery. It encouraged talking about the issues (which to me is like bringing your negative energy to an all-you-can-eat buffet.) You, as bloggers know that many blogs are used as a place to talk about life issues of the negative kind. You may also notice that the blog entries rarely get more positive - it seems nothing is resolved. So much for talking through your problems.
So here are my own helpful hints, influenced by none of these books to encourage/feed Hope and ignore Worry.
1. Watch what you watch, read and listen to. Television/News/Movies/Music/Internet
2. Keep good company. This of course is not always possible, but when possible, choose to be with positive supportive people. When in the company of the others, remain disconnected and be polite, but don't get dragged into negative conversations, gossip or pity parties.
3. Listen to your thoughts. Worry likes to sneak in uninvited. Catch him at the door and offer him no appetizers. Immediately think of something wonderful, or plan something fun or simply dismiss him. Worry doesn't like when his power is taken away. If I realize I'm worrying, I will say something like "That's not going to happen," and move on - and so does he.
4. Do things you love. For no other reason than you love to do them.
5. Be in nature as much as possible. I don't need to explain why. You will know once you make this a habit.
6. Remember, life is short. In the words of Jim Morrison "no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn." A day spent worrying is one day out of your life you are not getting back. Keep busy. Do things you love, or if you can't, at least do the things you have to do with an upbeat attitude. Keep looking for opportunities for fun. Believe it or not you can find fun almost anywhere - we all did when we were children and were dragged along with mom on one of her shopping trips or visits to the hairdresser, remember?
7. "An idle brain is the devil's workshop." Yeah, well, there is some wisdom here. Too much time to think is too much time for Worry to visit. Keep busy. Keep your mind occupied.
So that's it. My plan to stop worrying and learn to l
I'll keep you posted.
-Aine
© Aine O'Brien - Please do not use without permission.
Black Crow Tarot Readings
Witches' Work Newsletter
Sources: H.G. Bohn's "
Jim Morrison
Dr. Strangelove
Too many self help books to list
Life
10 comments:
Thank-you-much for this timely post. More of my Synchrinosity. :-) ("When you need the Lesson, the Teacher will appear", or some such.)
And so true, about being careful of where you spend your time... Which certainly includes, in "Pretty Blog Land." -sigh-
There are blogs, which are all-about-problems. I am learning to protect myself, and not visit them. Even though it feels "not nice," to not reciprocate to them, with Visits/Comments.
No one will protect "Me" if I do not do so. That isn't Unkind. It is Wisdom.
Again, thank you, my Dear. I'm so glad I am reading here.
Gentle hugs,
"Auntie"
spot on post.
So many times we "give in" to the negative energy and have some other reason why we "had" to.
You have a great deal of wisdom in this post. The first point is for me the most important....garbage in, garbage out, in other words. If you don't let it in, in the first place, it has no place to fester and grow.
Thanks for your words, Oma Linda
I love your redefinition of hope, Aine. I always thought that hope oculd get us in trouble instead of being realistic and knowing that there are good sources out there for us esp. when times are dark. I just felt happier reading this post.
I can't remember the last time I read a newspaper. It seems that lately, all the public wants is gore and violence so it is always front page news. Try to find a nice, friendly little article in any newspaper nowadays.
One thing I find extremely negative is the rock music???? I use the question marks because I don't consider it music at all. It's purely negative with its glorification of violence, guns, and mistreatment of women.
Personally, I keep all of it out of my life. I have enough negativity surrounding me at my job and am constantly having to shield myself.
Thanks for a great post.
Mary
Auntie - I am glad you are reading here too! Sometimes I think that for some people, the only way they can get "deep" is to delve deep into problems, (negativity.) This isn't true. Joy/positivity are also deep. It doesn't make one cooler to be miserable, although many kids think this to be so. How refreshing and attractive is happiness? It's so very nice to be around a positive person. These people, by the way are not always "lucky" or fortunate or blessed - sometimes they are as poor as church mice, but they believe themselves to be so very fortunate and act acccordingly. That's attractive - that's special. That's so very cool.
Linda - thank you. this is a constant struggle with me as I am a person of the world and subject to many kinds of energy invasions. I try so hard to stop, take stock and act accordingly. It's hard sometimes, but...well, I just can't waste my life being a downer.
Wendy - I'm glad you do - and I know what you mean. I was once in a position that I felt afraid to hope. I felt that if I did, I would be dismantling my defenses. But the opposite happened. I became stronger and more powerful and my life got so much better. Don't live in fear. That's my best life advice.
Mary - yeah, "rock music" which is certainly not the same music that spoke of peace, love and well, just music. There used to be uplifting powerful messages in the music, but not so much anymore =- or at least not in the music that the record companies are sponsoring - because I guess that's the crap that people want now. I understand, because people feel powerless and so this music makes them feel like they have power, but..they don't. At least not this way.
Thanks for this post Aine! I truly appreciate your wise words! Everything you said, is so true! I feel when you let worry in, you step back and don't go for it! Take Care!
Magic Love Crow - yes, worry is so bad - bad for your health as well. And here's the truth - most things we worry about don't happen, and even if it did, what will worry do to prevent or solve the problem? Nothing.
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