How do we stay encouraged & positive?

Thought for the week

When we are going through a tough time we need to take time for ourselves, a quiet time so we can recoup our energies and escape to a better place. Where is this better place? It is within us. It’s in our imagination and it can bring real benefits to us.

How can we do this? No matter how tired or beaten we are by our current circumstance we can use our imagination to go to a better and a happier place. If we can take five or ten minutes, at any time that suits us, we can use that time to reconnect with the happier part of ourselves. Here are a few techniques:

Use our memories and our imagination
Let’s close our eyes and take a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly. We should try and quite the mind. With our inner eye we look at the point between the eyebrows and see if we can see an inner light. We can also listen for an inner sound, a sound coming from within us.

Now, in this quietened state, in our imagination we can look for something that warms our heart, something or someone we love. Feel the love that flows from us to them. If it’s a person or animal let’s begin to talk to, play with or just enjoy being with them. We can use our memories to generate the scene from a happy time in the past. We can also use our imagination to generate a scene we can enjoy now.

Sing a holy. positive or encouraging word
Another technique is to sing a holy or positive word like a mantra. Alleluia is a good one. We could break that down into its original parts of Allah and HU. Both are names for God. HU goes way back in time and has been used by saints and masters for thousands of years. It still works today and it can help us move to a more positive place when we sing it.

It’s best to take time to sing HU, so that we can listen to any inner sounds it stirs within us. With our eyes closed we may see some light on our inner screen. If our thoughts tend to ramble as we sing HU, we can guide our thoughts to someone or something we love. We can move our attention from the thing we love, to the sound and to the light. We are now moving from one positive thing to another. We can take rests from singing HU but continue watching and listening inwardly.

Take time to remember the experience

When we come out of our contemplation we should take time to remember the experience we’ve just had. Take time to enjoy the feelings of happiness and love we have just experienced. By doing this we the blessing of the happiness and encouragement into our lives.

Sing a happy song
Another technique is to sing a happy song. A song that brings a smile to our face. Always look on the bright side of life, from Monty Python, does the job for me. Here’s a video of it:


If you have a technique that encourages you, we’d love to hear it. Click on the word ‘Comments’ below and share your ideas. Thank you.

* Ed Parkinson

Comments

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