Will Positive Thinking Make You Mad?

An article ‘Positive thinking will make you mad’ by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudevji, Founder, Isha Foundation (Page 12 of DNA, Mumbai edition of 28 July, 2010) triggered my chain of thoughts. I have no problems admitting that I have been there, done that. This experience has also proved to be a blessing, like so many others in my life. I share my views here:




It is a fact that all human experiences are strongly based in duality; good/bad, positive/negative, dark/light, masculine/feminine, sanity/insanity, tall/short, fat/thin, rich/poor and so on.

Another reality of the human existence is that we have continuously been striving to make our lives better. This is something that is ingrained in the human consciousness and is not something that has to be taught. It is the birthright of each and everyone.

Yet a third important fact is that the only constant, certain and continuous process in the universe (and also in the human reality) is that of Evolution. With time, everyone and everything changes. We are continuously evolving both in body and in mind. The way we adults think today is totally different from the way our ancestors used to. The children today have minds of their own which seem to have evolved exponentially if their skill of handling anything electronic was to be made the yardstick. Evolution is the only constant process happening all over the universe all the time.

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In this striving to make lives better and somewhere along in this process of evolution, a few humans discovered that ‘Positive Thinking creates Good’ in life. Regular practice then helped for it to become their belief system. With the growing understanding and spreading of this knowledge, more and more experimented with this thought and it has now become an integral part of human consciousness. Many have now accepted the fact that the inner and the external worlds are deeply inter-connected. But not all humans who are alive today are ready to learn this concept – our ancestors definitely were not ready.

But the ones whose lives have been transformed because of this new belief system are definitely not stupid. Lost and confused, yes. But stupid, no definitely not! I would say that they are not wise enough, yet.

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Some have subsequently discovered in this process of evolving consciousness that Positive Thinking does not seem to work Always. But to be able to reach that stage of understanding (and evolution), they needed to get the experience of creating at least a few ‘good morsels’ in their lives before positive thinking could become their belief system. What really happened was that this new way of thinking did become a bit exciting and they became completely taken up with it. So much so that they started applying it to all areas of life without even stopping for a moment to consider that a few things/situations did need to become ‘worse’ before they could become ‘better’. This one dimensional approach has taken them miles away from reality as the bit of initial success created the illusion that they have now become strong and powerful and would be able to eliminate the ‘Bad’, the ‘Dark’, the ‘Negative’ from their lives. They learnt the hard way that the misery, turmoil, frustrations and other dark emotions in life also seem to have become worse. Along with the good, the bad also seems to have grown bigger and stronger. The Affirmation, ‘Everyday, and in every way, I am getting better and better’ is apparently working in more ways than one.

Why so?

The fact is that the negative/dark/bad emotions, feelings and experiences are an integral part of the Duality of the human existence. The ‘good’ positive thinking human beings while distancing themselves from the reality of human existence have been rejecting the dark/negative/bad and this is the root cause of the problem. Too much attachment to Light alone has also created a state of imbalance and some might have lost their sanity too. I know I nearly did.

These good human beings need to remember that if you remove the 'dark', the 'light' goes out too. Take ‘death’ out of human existence and ‘living’ also ends. Maybe in some time in the future, humans might not need to have darkness as an integral part of their existence but at least, for the moment, these undesirable aspects can not just be wished away.

In the meantime, another universal law is also making its presence felt and more so in the last couple of decades. This law is, ‘Whatever you resist, persists’. More the resistance; the stronger the thing being resisted becomes. This is what has been happening to the darkness and all the other things that have been considered negative so far.

Additionally, there have been an emerging group of humans (read Reiki channels) who love to be referred to as being ‘Light-Workers’ and this also is a part of the problem. Since the apparent balance of mass consciousness is tilting towards the Light because of their efforts, it had to be counterbalanced by an equal tilt towards the opposite side too so as to maintain the overall Balance in Consciousness. This has added to the confusion and the chaos.

The shift in human consciousness because of the growing numbers of people taking to other spiritual paths has done its bit too. The ones who made the spiritual journey their mission for life over the last ten-fifteen years or so have been negating/rejecting their material selves also. These good human beings, the so called Light Workers are the ones who seem to have been hit the hardest as they are now apparently battered and bruised for life. There are thousands, maybe millions, sitting on the sidelines licking their wounds because the scarring in this lifetime has been real deep. In moments when the Light within should have been the strongest, they find themselves engulfed in deep darkness.

They need a gentle reminder that the positive and the negative, the good and the bad, the light and dark all coexist and are inseparable. So darkness, negative, bad etc. is here to stay, at least for the time being. Because Light is here to stay.

Does it mean that all is lost and that we humans can never ever be really happy?

Not really.

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As a part of the process of evolving human consciousness over the last couple of decades, a few individuals became active Energy Movers especially the ones who became Reiki Channels along with the ones who discovered the Power of Positive Affirmations in this lifetime. They have helped open up the consciousness of human beings in a big way and at the same time have re-learnt how to move this thing called energy; an ability that had become dormant over the last couple of thousand years. This ability was lost because it was time for the evolution of the scientific processes, so in a way it was good. After the tremendous scientific growth, it is time for the Spiritual Evolution.

The time is now ripe for the Energy Movers to become Energy Transformers.

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I, for one, am speaking directly from self-experience after being connected for over a decade with a group called The Crimson Circle which is directly involved in this process of expanding human consciousness. Many amongst us have discovered that the Darkness stops having its power the moment there is total acceptance. Darkness starts transforming to Light in these moments of total acceptance.

To be able to reach this state of total acceptance may sound as being impossible but is really not. The good thing is that the techniques can now be taught in a classroom environment. There obviously are energy dynamics involved that need to be understood before that state of acceptance can be achieved. The concepts have now been experienced and translated into knowledge that can be shared, learnt and applied.

But then everyone is not yet ready to understand these concepts. Evolution does not happen overnight. It has to start with a few humans who open up to a new way of thinking and they then become responsible for spreading the knowledge. I feel that the ones for whom Positive Thinking  no longer seems to be working, or is making them go mad, are in fact the ones who are now ready to move beyond.

As has been with all new concepts, it will take a bit of time before these new understandings can become a part of the mass consciousness and the human experience. But then this is part of the process of evolution.

The year 2012 being referred to in spiritual circles is actually a part of the process when the old human way of thinking will actually ‘die’ to be replaced by the new way of thinking. In that sense this is a golden period for us humans as there will be a large scale ‘destruction’ of the old belief systems so that they can be replaced by the new. But then again, all humans walking on earth today are obviously not ready for this change. The good news is that this process is already happening.


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So where does one start?

Obviously by accepting the negative, the bad and the dark. These energies need to be accepted and not rejected the way we have traditionally been doing for a long, long time now.

Now this thought alone can be very upsetting to many because it is not in the realms of their consciousness to accept this fact. But that is okay.

Please understand that Acceptance of the negative, the bad and the dark does not imply that one has to start liking bad things or start doing dark deeds. Acceptance just is.

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Now there are two kinds of acceptance – Active and Passive.

A Passively Accepting person thinks, “This is how life is because God/my Kismet/my Karmas has made it so and I cannot do anything about it.” He just refuses to believe that he can change what is willed. This belief system creates his reality and there is nothing that can be done about it even if God was to step down in his life.

On the other hand, an Actively Accepting individual thinks, “OK, this is what fate/karma/life has dished out to me and I now accept it totally. But I will do all I can to change it.”

In that moment of active acceptance of the darkness, the burden of the negative and the dark in life in fact lifts from the shoulders. New thoughts, new ideas, new beliefs start flowing in which then need to be learnt and understood before they can become the new belief system. This together with the additional energy of hope transform the situations from being dark to light. The darkness can then becomes a tool for learning and growth as the perspective of the now enlightened human shifts. The individual then becomes wiser an can ultimately discover the reasons for all the personal darkness in his life. The empowered human can then actually transform darkness to light.

As I said, it is time for the Energy Movers to become Energy Transformers.

My mantra to get started is “Be Positive for the Negative too.”

And if Positive Thinking is making you mad, be happy with that too. After all being Mad/Sane are two sides of the same coin. Maybe you need to become completely insane before you can become completely sane…

And so it is.