TOXIC EMOTIONS AND THINKING

Every time you have a thought, it is changing your brain and your body – for better or for worse. 

Dr. Carolyn Leaf has studied the human brain since 1981 and wrote a book about the effects of toxic thoughts. Below is a list from her book of common toxic thoughts: 

• "could-have", "would-have", "should-have" statements

• "if only" statements

• replaying situations that pained you or that haven't even occurred yet

• creating the unpredictable future

• making comments like "nothing ever goes right for me"; "everything I touch fails"; "I always mess up"

• Are you at cross-purposes with yourself - going through the motions, but not really committed to the goal, saying one thing but meaning another? How honest are you with yourself?

• How distorted is your thinking? Are you forming a personal identity around for example, a disease? Do you speak about "my arthritis", "my multiple sclerosis", "my heart problem"? [1]

On a surprising note, Dr. Aaron Beck believed that toxic emotions arise from three negative and incorrect beliefs that people commonly think:

1. I must do well

2. You must treat me well

3. The world must be easy [2]

Dr. Marion Diamond, another groundbreaking brain researcher, describes memory networks. In effect, these networks create "copies" of your "thought life" along with the emotions that the chemicals coursing through your bloodstream literally carry around your whole body like an information highway. Information molecules are then able to cause changes at the cellular level, actually restructuring the cell's makeup on the outside and the DNA on the inside. This is how diseases are able to take hold in the body. [3] The toxic waste that builds up actually distorts your memories!

The list of diseases and chronic disorders caused by toxic thoughts and emotions is quite long and includes all the major maladies of the day.

Unmaking or unlearning old belief patterns is extraordinarily difficult by consciously attempting to unmake them or change them.

But it is possible to change deep-seated belief patterns easily and effortlessly. This is done by the introduction of a few new seed thoughts. These seed thoughts have the unique and invaluable characteristic of systematically and effortlessly expanding the conscious boundaries of the individual’s mind. Each of these seed thoughts has the result of unmaking past belief patterns that keep our lives from unfolding in a healthy and harmonious way. Each of these seed thoughts, correctly practiced, causes the entire range of the personality to become aligned with the most basic force in the Universe.

"The Ascension Attitudes are designed to clear out past beliefs and behavior patterns that inhibit full mental and physical functioning. By effortlessly introducing these seed thoughts at a deep and refined level of thinking, the entire structure of the mental framework gradually and gracefully transforms to reflect Reality." [4]

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[1]  Leaf, C. PhD, 2007.  Who Switched Off My Brain; controlling toxic thoughts and emotions.

[2]  Beck, A. et al., 1979. "Cognitive Therapy and Depression." New York: Gilford Press.

[3]  Diamond, M. and Hopson, J. 1999.  "Magic Trees of the Mind: How to nurture your child’s intelligence, creativity and healthy emotions from birth through adolescence." England: Plume.

[4]  MSI, Ascension

3 helpful meditation tips

Advice from Researchers on Meditation -

 3 Helpful Tips 

Daniel Goleman, a science writer twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize got together with Richard Davidson, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Davidson was one of the first researchers to demonstrate neuroplasticity of the brain — its ability to change in response to new information — and has been researching meditation for years. 

They looked at 6,000 published peer-reviewed articles about the benefits of meditation. Together they wrote The Science of Meditation: How to Change Your Brain, Mind and Body. 

These are just some of the findings: 

• Benefits emerge in the beginning hours, days, and weeks of meditation.
• “Other payoffs for novices are an increased ability to focus, less mind-wandering, and improved memory,” Goleman says. 
• The more hours you meditate over a lifetime, the wider the array of benefits you will notice and the stronger these benefits become. 
• With long-term meditators, there was a lower reactivity to stress as well as lessened inflammation. 
• For those who think they can’t meditate, you may think, ‘Oh, I can’t control my mind,’ but it’s not about controlling your mind. Meditation brings discipline to the mind. 

The authors shared this advice: 

1. It is important for novice meditators to have a good teacher. 
2. Go on a retreat where someone can guide you because the data suggests that’s when people make the most measurable progress. “Feedback from a teacher is important because you can get stuck. Even though I’ve meditated for many years, I can still improve.” Goleman says. 
3. A few minutes a day is better than nothing. “Ten minutes in the morning, ten at lunch and ten at night is a good way to start,” he suggests. Money worries, family issues or health problems may remain, but meditation helps many people to work towards creating an unworried mind.

If you are searching for a proven, simple technique that is taught by a qualified instructor, please view courses available to learn a great practice that is based in Praise, Gratitude, Love, and Compassion.