You're right, babayada, it would be futile to simply tell the mind to stop thinking a thing. It just won't work, no matter how stong-minded we think we are.
For example, even though I tried to love all people, even the ones I couldn't stand, it just wouldn't happen! If I told myself to stop thinking those resentful thoughts, it would seldom make any difference. So I finally found another way to accomplish this, without attempting to stop thinking a particular thing.
Something told me that whenever a negative thought or emotion would rise up against someone, to imagine that I could see that person at their most vulnerable private moment, crying to themselves alone, sobbing, broken-hearted from the depths of sadness, and alone. This image of them would cause my heart to soften, and unleash my ability to feel pity for them. This reinforced a lesson I'd recently learned. You see, when people are rude and ugly to you, it's only because they are hurting inside and fearful. When I understood this, I found myself able to send them blessings (because they are definitely in dire need of them) and pray for their recovery.
I thought up a statement that I tell myself, sometimes: "People can only do the best that they FEEL capable of doing, AT THE TIME." All human beings have the ability for greater character, personal power, and accomplishment, but few feel capable of it on a regular basis.
It took me a while, but I finally learned the importance of applying this consideration to myself. Now, if I happen to think about something from my past that I did which was terrible and painful to someone or even myself, instead of feeling awful and attempting to push it out of my mind, I casually say ALOUD to myself, "You were just lower evolved, spiritually, so you couldn't help it. You were fearful and hurting, and you just didn't know how to get out of it. But now things are different, and you are out from under that problem. So you'll just have to forgive yourself, that's all." I can then release the ill feelings toward myself, and direct genuine love from my heart, to my person.
This example shows that trying to stop a habit of thinking does not work. You have to redirect your focus on something new that captures your attention, by way of one of your senses. In this case, they were the senses of hearing and (inner) seeing, as I took notice and heard the revised inner image of how I saw myself.
I did the same thing where anxiety was concerned. Even though I'd resolved all issues of fear, and received a noticeable degree of relief from the Paraliminal tapes, they still happened, but ONLY WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT! This proved that the problem was now just my body and mind's learned, habitual reaction to things. I concluded that my system was so used to the chemicals and adrenaline of fear and anxiety shooting through me on a regular basis, for so long, that it eventually thought this flow was normal. I tried to force myself to stop thinking about the anxiety, because the mere thought of a possible attack would bring about an attack. But this did not work, no matter how hard I tried!!! My body and mind would soon swing me back the other way!
Then a small, quite voice inside of me suggested that I think back to how I used to see life as a child, and compare it to now. After reflecting, I realized that everything seemed so wonderful and new, with little to no judgments or meanings attached to anything. All my senses were heightened, because everything, even the smallest of things were fascinating to me.
So I thought I'd experiment, and see what would happen if I acted as if I were seeing life through my eyes as a child, again. Rather than NOT think of something which would trigger an attack, I focused on experiencing everything with my 5 senses, as if everything were new. I marveled at the texture of the things I touched. I would pretend that no visual or audible thing had any particular meaning attached to it, it just WAS, that's all. I would convince myself that the kind of people I would normally not like, no longer represented anything to me, other than just being there. I would be captivated by the movement of my body, and how interesting and fun it was to care for it. The smells I experienced were as if they were new, and I took them just as they were, and nothing more.
After almost a full day of this, I had noticed that I had not had one single anxious episode! But of course, once I thought about it, it happened (ha). By the end of the second day, I was better able to catch the sensation of an upcoming episode right before it could show itself, and I'd instantly play that game with myself again, and quickly focus on a nearby object and pretend that I was fascinated by its shape. This would halt the reaction before it had the chance to begin, which is something I'd been unable to do, before. Now, those minimal, subtle mini-sensations have become almost nonexistent, and will soon cease altogether. I don't feel the fear, anymore. I can honestly say that I NO LONGER HAVE *ANXIETY ATTACKS*. After over two years of struggle, I AM NOW FREE FROM THEM.
My point is, trying to stop thinking about certain things did NOT work. I had to give myself a game to play... something interesting to do, to notice, to touch, that would short-circuit the behavioral attack. AND IT WORKED.
What lessons I learned, babayada! They were hard ones, but the Paraliminals opened up my mind, reduced the anxiety, and "re-wired" my thinking, so that I could be more receptive to that positive inner help, which is within me. If that can happen for me, imagine what the Paraliminals and these ideas can do for others who are fighting the same problems.
[This message has been edited by SHEANIMA (edited September 20, 2004).]
