Ten Ways to Shift Negative Thoughts and Emotions

Fear. Sadness. Jealousy. Stinginess. Scarcity. Shame. Regret. Worry. Anxiety. Frustration. Rage. Such thoughts and stuck emotions pop into our heads, automatically, uninvited. They can come completely unexpected or seem as constant as breathing, as dependable as the sunrise.

Negative thoughts often show up just when we want to trust or as we extend beyond our comfort zone. They are barriers to getting focused and productive. They come between us and those we love. Negative thoughts can take the pleasure out of the most promising of circumstances.

Happily, as you move into states of increasing stillness, the negative thoughts and emotions show up less often. When they do pop in, they stay around for shorter periods of time. Now that’s a great motivation for living in stillness!

But when you find yourself stuck with a negative thought or emotion, you can use your attention to shift yourself into more flow. Here are ten of our favorite ways:

1. Breathe deeply. A quieting routine would be to inhale for the count of 4, hold for the count of 4, release for the count of 4, and rest for the count of 4. The breath enlivens and creates flow.

2. Watch your breathing. Don’t change it. This technique is especially good when you are busy or very distraught. Just watch your breath while you go about your business. Doing so will calm your body immediately and put an immediate distance between your Self and your thoughts.

3. Feel what is happening in your body. Where do you feel the thought or emotion? Can you relax your body at that spot or s

pots? Connecting to your body brings you into what is actual now.

4. Pamper your body. Give your body something it can use for opening – brisk exercise to get the blood flowing, a fresh vegetable juice to provide a shot of nutrition and energy, a bath or a massage to relax it deeply, dancing to your favorite music to add pleasure. When you can’t change your mind, change your body.

5. Meditate with your Discover Stillness or course CDs. Just put the headphones on (or put the CD in your car stereo) and let the tones and waves in the CDs do the work for you. Just make sure to feel the tones bathing your body and shifting your frequency as you listen.

6. Give your attention away. You can put your attention on someone else or on a project. Observe someone and get curious about what they are communicating, beyond their words. Watch the changes in their face and body and energy field as they interact with you or others. Or, throw your energy into a project with short-term results – like preparing a meal with a new recipe, or cleaning out a closet where lots of choices have to be made about what to do with things, or completing your income taxes. Getting your attention off your own thoughts can be as simple as shifting it to something else.

7. Light people up. Intend to interact with the people around you to see if you can surprise them, make them curious, make them laugh, wake them up. Bringing someone else into the present moment is a fast way to bring yourself into the present moment too.

8. Buff someone. To support someone to open, you will have to open yourself. Buffing someone is a quick way back to flow. In general, serving others is one of the fastest ways to find yourself again.

9. Start noticing subtlety. Take your attention off the obvious and move it to what’s happening underneath the obvious. You must be more present to see subtlety. You have to move from knowing to not-knowing to notice the next subtle layer of things. You know … observe life the way a young child looks at a bug.

10. Forgive yourself. The only way to let go of those chronic negative thoughts is simply to allow them, without resistance. This can be a tall order! Practice treating yourself with the kindness and acceptance that you would treat a young child, one who is just learning. In doing so, you will find the place in you – the seed of the thoughts – that just needs to be embraced and forgiven. The beauty of this practice is that you can forgive yourself both for your own thoughts or for someone else’s. After all, each of us is part of the whole.