I have been reading The Secret Power Within: Zen Solutions to Real Problems by Chuck Norris1 (available from amazon.com
“I have a system of ridding my mind of negative thoughts,” he [Lee] said. “I visualize myself writing them down on a piece of paper. Then I imagine myself crumpling up the paper, lighting it on fire, and burning it to a crisp. It may seem silly, but the system works at least for me.”
I [Norris] take Bruce’s system one step further. I actually write down on a scrap of paper whatever negative thoughts I have and then burn them. When I dispose of the ashes, the thoughts, too, are removed from my mind. I let them go.3
I don’t encourage you to burn pieces of paper where ever you go in order to rid yourself of negative thoughts. However, Lee & Norris’ system highlights to the power of visualization in ridding oneself of negative thoughts. What visualizations and or systems do you use to help rid yourself of negative thoughts in a positive way?
References & Notes
- You can find out more about Chuck Norris on Wikipedia
- You can find out more about Bruce Lee on Wikipedia
- Norris, Chuck. The Secret Power Within: Zen Solutions to Real Problems. Little, Brown, & Company (Canada) Limited, Toronto. pg. 75. ISBN: 0316583502. (Available from amazon.com
Q: Why are frogs happy?
A: Because they eat whatever bugs them.
More to the point, I like the following metaphor (borrowed from a Buddhist):
Our mind is like a vast ocean. Thoughts and emotions that pass through our mind are like the waves at the surface of the ocean – whatever we’re feeling or thinking, our underlying consciousness is still the same. Usually when we feel upset with something, the mind goes again and again to the object of obsession and reinforces that feeling. Instead, when we feel anger or upset, we should observe the thought – not try to analyze it or find its causes, just look at the thought within our mind. After a while, the thought will move on like a wave, and a new thought will come. All emotions and thoughts are fleeting.
We are vaster than our thoughts. Of course, sometimes the emotions are flooding us like a tsunami. On these occasions it will be harder to implement this visualization. But to my understanding, with mind training, this should become easier with time.
http://www.ted.com/talks/matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_happiness.html