Understanding the Workings of Negative Thoughts

Gururaj Ananda Yogi discusses how to dissipate negative thoughts and how to free your self from this patterning.

Transcript

Negative thoughts are deep rooted.

That the roots might even go far back and much,

Much further than even this lifetime.

That is the realm of the sanskaras.

And the negativity has to be weeded out.

Now,

What do we mean by weeding out negativity?

Weeding out negativity would too mean controlling negativity.

Because the energy in positive thought or negative thought is but the same.

Now you have people that teach of the power of positive thinking.

Good.

That is true.

There is great truth in it.

Where the same negative thought can be taken and really understood.

And great positivity could be brought into the negativity.

Without altering any of the energies involved.

The energies remain the same.

But the direction is changed.

The direction is changed.

A person has the negative thought of,

Say,

Hate.

You hate something.

Right.

Now,

If you ask yourself,

Why do I hate that thing?

Now by asking,

The process is the same with everything.

If you ask yourself why I hate that thing,

Then you will find a million reasons that I hate that coat because I don't like the shape of it.

I don't like the design of it.

I don't like the way it is stitched or the color of the buttons on the coat.

Now you will find all those reasons.

Then you ask yourself why I have now examined the external side of it.

Then I ask myself that why shouldn't I like it?

Now if the button is three-quarter of an inch or half an inch,

How much difference is it going to make?

Good.

Secondly,

Why must I wear that coat?

Do I wear that coat because it's a necessity to me that the weather is cold outside and I should put on a warm coat?

Or do I wear that coat because of my vanity?

Now,

Then we start analyzing,

But all these processes take place so quickly in the mind.

It requires training.

The animal called mind requires to be tamed and trained.

Good.

So,

Then we come to the point that am I trying to please my own vanity?

Then we examine what vanity is.

What am I showing off?

If I put on a beautiful coat to feed my vanity,

Is that going to make me a more beautiful person?

So,

That is how the process goes on and on and on.

With every negative emotion we feel,

With every negative thought we have in mind,

If we just put this acid test to it by going into some form of analysis,

We will find that the negativity loses its sting.

And when the negativity loses its sting and the hatred for the coat dwindles down or becomes less,

It has to be replaced by something.

And hatred is replaced by love.

You'll start loving the coat because then you will know for what that coat was made.

That coat was made to keep me warm and not to feed my vanity.

And that is how Christian Dior and all these designers make millions,

Feeding on people's vanity.

That's all.

It's so simple.

It's a simple process of self analysis.

Now,

What can equip us to have the strength for analysis is by doing our meditations regularly.

It does produce strength in us.

And when we have the strength,

Then all these things become so clear,

So,

So clear.

It is only if you try and take weakness away,

It has to be replaced by something.

And weakness is replaced by strength.

Negativity is replaced by positivity.

Heat cold is replaced by heat.

Hatred is replaced by love.

The human mind cannot remain a vacuum.

Either one thing exists or the other exists,

Or a combination of the two opposites exists.

So,

If we condition our minds to let the positive side exist more,

And it is like learning anything,

Like a child wanting to play the piano,

Or us,

We want to play the piano,

In the beginning we would have to practice finger by finger by finger,

And then after that when we become proficient at playing the piano,

You can play one of Bach's Concertos,

Or what have you,

And yet at the same time hold a philosophical conversation.

Yes,

Yes,

Because things that are practiced can become automatic.

So that is what our foundation teaches.

Do your meditations regularly,

And in the waking state of life,

Consciously use the instrument of your mind to analyze itself and gradually get rid of the negativities,

And when you get rid of negativities,

Automatically positivity sets in.

If you have a jug of dirty water,

You do not need to go and throw out the dirty water.

It is very difficult with the mind to empty the mind.

You can do it with a jug of water,

Yes,

But there is another way that we handle the mind using the analogy of the jug of dirty water.

Just put it under the tap,

And as the clean water flows into that jug,

Then eventually all the water in that jug will become clean.

It will push out the dirt and the dirty water.

So in our conscious state of life,

We have to use some effort.

Meditation is effortless,

But in the conscious waking state of life,

Some effort must be used.

Now,

If a person thinks,

And some movements might promise this,

And to me it is an absolutely false promise that just meditate morning and evening and everything comes right,

That is not true.

That is not true.

You can keep on meditating twice a day until doomsday,

And the only thing that will happen is that you will be doomed.

So with our practices,

We must also have self-help.

We must also try and do something.

These negative thoughts are there.

They are planted there through so many different kinds of experiences and all these lifetimes we have lived and gone through this,

That,

And the other.

There was a woman who married her fifth husband,

And the fifth husband,

The fifth marriage also ended up in divorce,

And she was on the search for the sixth.

I don't know if she has found it yet,

Found him yet.

Nevertheless,

Now look at the tragedy.

Look at the tragedy.

She went through four marriages.

Did she not learn anything in those four marriages to make her fifth marriage happy?

Yes,

We see that.

Even our human minds are just like that woman.

We go through things,

But we never stand and stare.

We never analyze all the experiences of life,

And we keep on repeating the same old thing over and over and over again.

Now that is good for animals,

But not for humans.

Animals are act instinctively,

And an animal can be trained,

The dog can be trained to go and fetch the newspaper at the gate.

And at a particular time,

Or if we accustom it to a certain sound,

It will go out and fetch the newspaper.

Right.

It becomes a kind of training,

A habit.

And that is the same with us.

Reviews

Thoughts to consider about negative thinking and replacing with positive.

Very insightful.....

I thank you for this. I struggle so much with negative thoughts that seem to be planted daily in my subconscious mind.

Excellent info!!!

So very interesting and true. Ha! Thank you.

Insightful thankyou

This was the first talk I have listened to by him, it was very clear, well-paced for my morning brain, some helpful analogies I can use. Very balanced, understanding and practical.

Fascinating how I always hear the right things at the right time. So grateful. This lecture was much needed.

Always a gem ...thank you🙏🏽

Great wisdom and insight!

Yes!! Excellent teaching.

A good reminder to live with intention.

Wished it were longer!