Positive Questioning

I have been exploring the concept of positive thinking for almost three years now. After having seen a wide variety of situation, I have found out when exactly positive thinking works and when it does not. 

During tough times of life when everything that happens supports negative thinking, it becomes almost impossible to think positively. But all the self-help authors and speakers promote positive thinking as the most important thing to do at such times. When I force myself to think positively, I apparently seem to know that I am cheating myself and only see little progress.

More than ‘positive thinking’, ‘positive questioning’ is a better way of dealing with our negativity. Let me explain. The way positive thinking is taught to us, we pick out affirmations as framed by others and we keep repeating those to ourselves. Initially, there is significant resistance from the negative reality. The magnitude of resistance depends on the issue and the situation a person is in. Smaller problems can be dealt with ease by ‘Positive thinking’. Here ‘positive thinking’ gives rise to positive vibrations and gives us the power to face problems/challenges. But for bigger chronic issues, a different approach becomes necessary.

Questioning the Positive

The technique of ‘positive questioning’ is something I personally feel extremely effective. It involves paying attention or noticing one good thing that has happened to us and questioning the universe or God on why this good thing happened or sent to us. 

A good thing might have happened without any effort on our part, and we have to question that. Usually, when something bad happens without we deserving such ill-treatment or misfortune, we question the bad from a state of disappointment and victimhood. This would not make us feel any better. Rather we would further get more depressed or disappointed.

Instead, if we question the positive things that happen to us on why we were blessed with it, one would realise that we are loved unconditionally. That would immediately put us in a higher state of vibration and will give us enough strength to deal with the situation from a state of trust & faith.

An example that I would like to use here is that of a baby. Although the baby does not think much, just imagine that it could. If the baby questions why everything is provided to it, why it is cared for, hugged, kissed without doing anything or giving back anything, the truth will come to its awareness. – that it is loved and cared unconditionally, just for being whatever it is. 

 
Once this truth that it is loved, cared and taken care of at all times is completely integrated and digested, even the negative situation will be accepted as an act of love. Eg. A baby has to be given some medicines or injections, which may not be a pleasant experience. There are two ways the baby might perceive them. It can feel threatened, or it accepts the bad experience as discomfort but ultimately TRUSTS.

The same thing is valid for us too. We may view the negative situation as a threat, or we may deep down trust that we are loved a lot, and even the perceived negative is only for our long term good. It is important to realise that we are loved, whether love is expressed to us or not. The understanding would soon dawn upon us that we are expressed just enough love to enable and ensure our steady progress.