"Emotional Re-Direction"
By Brian Germain

We have all experienced it. Something happens that sets our minds in a negative direction, and we begin to feel bad. Our minds loop, mulling over the facts and unwanted possibilities, like a cow chewing its cud. By focusing on the undesirable imagery, and repeating thoughts that make us feel lousy, we bring our emotional experience to one of negative expectation and the world around us responds in kind. The Universe reacts to our emotion more than anything else, and brings us more experiences that feel the same as the muck that we are dwelling in, just as it does the beauty that we are basking in.

So how do we break this cycle of unhappy thinking? How do we alter our thoughts when we realize that our direction of thinking is leading us down the spiral staircase of pessimism? It begins with a stop. We must let go, and stand in a place of no thought for a moment, the most fearless act of all. We must surrender to the space between the thoughts, and simply be. We must stop struggling, because we cannot solve any of life’s problems from an emotional basis of feeling bad. That is like swimming after exiting an airplane, it just doesn’t help. We must cease our resistance and allow things to be as they are, and begin the process of regaining our composure.

Being in mental silence is far better than scrambling in the darkness, but it is not the same thing as being in a constructive mood that leads to solutions. That requires a positive frame of mind. This is where we must utilize the most powerful tool of emotional re-direction, the conscious attention to the positive aspects of where we are. When we appreciate our moment for what it is, and strive to extract the “up side” of the situation, we begin to feel better. No matter how dire the circumstances, there is a perspective available to us that will allow us a feeling of relief. There is always a bright side.

When we consciously look for the positive aspects of our reality, we alter how we feel. Our list of things that make us feel better becomes our suit of armor against the negativity, and we transform our emotional experience to one of optimism and appreciation, and thereby enter into  a completely different reality. Our attention is now away from the object of worry, and our good feelings begin to expand, as thoughts that feel more positive naturally come to join our new encouraging direction of conceptualization. Thought are magnets that attract other thoughts that feel like the ones before, and so we now find ourselves easily drifting toward the positive possibilities. We are on the right track.

Even in your worst moments, there is another way to look at things. Perhaps it is a bird singing outside. Perhaps it is a moment of static safety on a high mountain ledge that allows you to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings. Maybe you simply take a deep breath and realize that, despite things not going according to your original plan, everything is going to be alright. Once you allow yourself to focus your mind in a direction that brings relief, you are beginning to tap into your true power as a person.

We have two personas inside us at all times. One is born of our current mindset, which is most often merely a reflection of the situation around us. This might be termed the Ego. The second is our Higher Self; the wise, ever-expanding aspect of who life has led us to evolve into. This side of us is brilliant, optimistic, and always in the best possible mood. When we focus on the aspects of our reality that bring us to a negative feeling, we are not congruent with this part of us. We are alone and powerless, and without the benefit of our profound wisdom and insight. It is as if we have two lights with which to illuminate a cave, one small headlamp and one large floodlight. When things seem dark, it is simply because we are pointing our heads in a direction other than the one that the floodlight is pointed. The big light always shows us the way out. We simply need to look to our emotions to see if we are focusing in the right direction. If things look dark and foreboding, we simply need to relax and look for the light cast by our inner knowing.

Stop your struggle. It has never led you in the right direction before, what makes you think that this moment is going to be any different? Loosen your grip on the wheel and look for the aspects of your world that bring you to a feeling of positive appreciation, and you will find your way out. There is a way, and by decidedly altering your path of thought toward one on appreciation and positive emotion, you will tap into the genius creator that you know you are. Feeling good is the answer to everything, it always was.

BSG

Here is one possible solution to the problem