Although you may not know of it, you are being influenced by many negative forces. This is more prevalent than you think. It is in books, TV Programs, the workplace, church, your favorite sporting venue, etc. It is even there when you engage in gossip about others.

We are all sensitive to outside sources, some more than others. The more sensitive you are, the more these forces will affect you. To become more aligned with your higher self, one must eliminate the negative influences around you.

It takes effort to find the positive, but it is not impossible 

There is a busload of fear-mongering traveling in front of our eyes 24/7. What is weirdly fascinating about seeing or hearing about scary things is that we like it.  It is like experiencing a sugar high from eating candy; it is fun at first, but you know the crash (no pun intended) will come later.

Let’s focus for a moment on what we get from television programing and news coverage. Outside sources inundate us round the clock with all things evil or imperfect.  We hear about every accident, murder, robbery, fire and other disasters. Pundits and show hosts tell us how the world is falling apart, or detail every vile comment or statement made to disparage others. Breaking stories often focus on the latest scandal that destroys a well-known person. Many programs depict the worst of human behavior for our entertainment. It is a sick dance.

Yet based on popularity and viewership numbers, this seems to work for them. Our society tunes in every day to this negative barrage. The decision to fill our minds with this garbage has terrible consequences. By allowing negative influences to enter our lives, we join others who believe what they see and hear and help them create this unwanted outcome. We pay for this pleasure by attaching our consciousness to fear and helplessness.

If you don’t believe this, how do you explain the growing depression, pessimism and fear permeating in our country? The never-ending parade of horrors is having an effect.

Evil over good is an illusion

The fact is the negative stories are the exception to the rule. Humans are not intrinsically evil as they lead us to believe. While some commit evil, the overwhelming majority of humans engage in humane, courageous and generous acts every day. We don’t hear about them because there is no payoff in reporting good by those who control the medium by which we get information.

If we want to live a joyous life, we must seek the positive. This does not imply that we ignore what is happening around us, it means that we must put these things into context. This is best done by strengthening our belief there is a loving and creative Higher Consciousness that is part of all things and is working for our greater good.

Three things you can do to nurture more positive 

1) Adopting a spiritual practice led me to the road of healthier living. Mediating twice a day has brought serenity to my life. From serenity comes reflection and the ability to put things into perspective. This is key to finding peace in all situations. Any form of meditation is great, but I highly recommend the methods that have you siting still and becoming one with the great silence where our Highest Consciousness resides. The effects of meditation are steady but slow, this is why it takes a daily commitment.

2) You can control your thoughts and choices. Another way of nurturing the positive is to realize that, although you may not be influential enough to change the world, you can turn away from the negativity that surrounds you and align yourself with more positive people. This may not always be possible in the workplace or with family and friends, but every day offers time for you to be with positive people and experiences that fill you with joy, fun and hope. Take these opportunities for, at the very least, will balance out your perception and your moods.

3) Don’t give in to angry feelings. The first step is to recognize anger has never helped a single situation you have ever been in. Think about it, when has name calling, yelling or punching somebody ever helped the situation. You might have gotten some immediate gratification from doing so, but when you step back, you can see you made the problems worse by these actions. I am not saying one should ignore their anger. Anger serves a purpose; it is a warning post that you need to make some correction. But we make a mistake when we use our anger to justify our explosion at another person or situation rather than use it as a timeout to analyze our perception.

A good example is when someone cuts you off while driving. In the past, I felt justified honking the horn and flipping them with my middle finger. I never stopped to think they may have been rushing to reach a child who was taken to hospital on an emergency. My anger came from feeling entitled to drive on my way unimpeded on my hurried timetable. I have done this even when I caused my tardiness to where I was going. Today, my anger serves as a warning sign that I am being selfish or that I need to take another look at the faulty belief system that is feeding it.

There is no way you can wipe out negativity but doing these three things will help you form a more reasonable perspective. You will also be able to see the silver lining in every situation. That alone will bring you a great amount of comfort and peace.

As always, wishing you a life filled with hope, love and serenity.

Photo by Ian Froome on Unsplash