Positive Mental Attitude
Choose from the following Tapas practices.
# A Moment of Gratitude
1. Set a specific time during the day to be grateful. This time must be specific - for example, upon waking, or before bedtime.
2. Determine how long your Gratitude Moment will be: 1 minute, 2 minutes. The more specific the better.
We can be grateful for being able to walk, or choose the food we eat, for being able to see, and for our desire to learn and to grow and to help others. It's a privilege.
We can be grateful for being able to express ourselves in words, for being able to work, and to practice arts or sports.
We can be grateful to have a family, our parents and partners and children, our teachers and our friends, and even our woes as they are too our teachers.
We can be grateful for being able to do what we want to do, and to be who we want to be.
# Practice Pratipaksha Bhavana
This Yoga Sutra states:
"When disturbed by negative thoughts,
opposite (positive) thoughts should be envisioned/focused on."
1. Each morning, remind yourself to keep this perspective in mind.
2. As soon as you catch yourself blaming or regretting, STOP. Instead, appreciate what you have in this moment.
3. As soon as you catch yourself being critical or judgmental, STOP. Instead, focus on what is good in this person, or in this situation.
"What's wrong is always available, and so is what's right!" ~ Anthony Robbins
Notice all the good things you have, all the good decisions you have made. Remember all the friends and guardian angels you've already met on your path.
# Develop Your Buddhi (Yogic Discernment)
"Will this make me more peaceful, caring, selfless?"
1. Each morning, remind yourself to hold this perspective in mind.
2. Look at what you see, read, and hear through the lens of Yogic Discernment.
We have some control over our mind by 'feeding' it positive sensory impressions.
This faculty of the mind, which exercises control over our choices, is called Buddhi, or Discriminative Intellect.
We should always try to spend more time with the Buddhi and less with the Ego.
Healing the Senses
Our mind is a sum total of everything we had ever received through the senses. Just like the body is made of the food we eat, our sensory impressions make up the mind.
Everything we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch makes an imprint, an impact.
It also means that we can influence our mind through our sensory choices .
Being in a healthy environment heals the 'scars' in the mind. Healthy environment is full of positive healing sensory attributes.
Negative environment will have the opposite effect. If we are subjected to violence, aggression, competition, pain, and bad news, OUR MIND literally BECOMES THAT.
We must be very selective in our sensory choices if we want to experience Mental Peace.
1. Be mindful of the TV programs, shows, movies, newspapers, books, magazines, and Internet media. They are in business. Choose the ones that are positive, and the ones that add a real value to your well-being and health.
2. Be mindful of the people you speak to every day. Deliberately limit your interactions with negative people.
# Smile at a Stranger Each Day
1. Remind yourself in the morning
2. Find your target
3. Smile! (making it spontaneous is best)
Often, smiling is contagious.
In the very least, it will cause them to return a quizzical look, which may cause you to smile.
It's a cycle.
It's a ripple of Positivity in the Universe.
# Practice Positive Affirmations
1. Set a specific time during the day;
2. Determine for how long: 1 minute, 2 minutes, etc.; and over how many days: 5 days, 2 weeks, etc.
Everything is Energy. Our body, breath, thoughts and intentions are all the same energy at different frequencies. They affect each other.
Positive affirmations are a way to send a frequency that aligns and harmonizes all other energies in us and around us.
INHALE: "Every moment as I breathe,"
EXHALE: "I feel better and better," or "I feel stronger and stronger."
After a couple of minutes, there will be a marked difference in how you feel. It's a simple way to reverse negativity.
# Practice Loving-Kindness Meditation
1. Set a specific time of day of when to practice
2. Decide how long and over what period (ex: 5 minutes for 2 weeks)
Sit comfortably. Take a few conscious breaths.
Think of those you love: family, friends, animals.
Then, take a minute or more to think of those who have given you their attention and love. Visualize their image in your mind.
Observe the feeling in your heart, and let it spread through the rest of the body.
Breathe. Savor the Love for another minute.
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Positive Attitude in Practice
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“Suppose somebody looks at you and says, ‘Hey, how come you seem to be super happy today?’ What does that person see? Does the person see your mind? How does he or she know that you are happy? It shows in your body. That means the happiness of the mind immediately is reflected in the body. That is the proof. The same way, if you are unhappy you may be asked, ‘What's wrong with you? You don’t seem to be happy today.’ So that means every mood immediately gets reflected in the body. Every thought has a say over every molecule of the body. Even though we see the change more visibly in the face, that doesn’t mean other parts of the body are not changed. From head to foot you change. There’s no doubt about it. That is the power of mind”.