A human mind can be looked at as a factory of thoughts – it keeps churning out one thought after another, like energy forms fleeting through the space of your being.
Some thoughts make you feel good while some make you feel bad or negative, and you feel pulled and pushed around by the force of your thoughts – this is inherently a powerless state.
Our being feels like a prisoner to the constant bombardment of thoughts from the mind.
It would be great if the mind generated only good thoughts, but that is not case.
So the question is, how do you get rid of unwanted thoughts that arise? How do you become free from the influence of negative thinking?
Tips to Stop Unwanted Thoughts
It may not be possible to “choose” the thoughts that come into your mind, because thinking is spontaneous, but it is possible to not be influenced by unwanted or negative thoughts and hence be free of their impact.
Here are five pointers that will help you in this regard.
1.) Don’t Try to Push Away an Unwanted Thought
When a negative thought arises in your mind, it creates a bad feeling in your body, and the immediate reaction is to push the thought away. But in truth you are always “shackled” to the anything you try to resist or push away.
The more you try to push the thought away, the more it seems to haunt your mind.
The secret is to “allow” and not resist the negative thought. For a moment it may look very counter-intuitive to allow a negative thought instead of running away from it, but this allowing is the path to freedom.
Whatever you allow fully will pass through your being effortlessly, and it will be transmuted into the energy of your being. The vibration of your being is pure positive and anything which touches this vibration converts into the same.
So allow the negative thought to move through the space of your being without any resistance, and see how it transmutes itself.
What does it mean to ‘allow a thought’?
To allow a thought is to let the thought be without giving it any acknowledgment. Neither do you resist the thought, nor do you give attention to the thought.
Simply view the thought as a passing cloud and let it float away.
If this concept is still not clear, continue reading on.
2.) Only Consciousness Can Cause a Real Transformation
A powerful way to permanently get rid of unwanted thoughts is to allow the light of consciousness to shine on it and transmute its energy.
Be “conscious” of the thought, feel the energy behind the thought and allow the thought the space to be.
Don’t judge it or try to analyze it, don’t get lost in it, but just be conscious of it.
When you are conscious of a thought it cannot “pull” your attention and hence it does not grow in energy. The intelligence of consciousness can then dissolve the negative thought. Real change can only come from the “unconditioned” intelligence of consciousness.
If you look to analyze or distance yourself from a thought, it will only become more powerful in your resistance and attention.
3.) Deprive a Thought of Attention and it Loses Power
Reiterating the above points, a thought completely depends on your ‘attention’ to thrive and sustain itself.
If you don’t give attention to a thought, it has no way of surviving in the space of your mind.
So the best way to get rid of unwanted thoughts is to stop feeding them with your attention. Though this is easier said than done because negative thoughts, because of their fear content, have a way of attracting our attention way more than positive thoughts.
The real question is: can you trust life and be confident in the intelligence of your being and avoid being suckered into the fears of the negative thoughts?
One who rests in their being, trusting its intelligence, would not be disturbed by unwanted thoughts because he/she would not feed it with attention.
Also read: 3 proven techniques to stop obsessive thoughts.
4.) Silence is the Secret of Enlightened Living
There is a dimension of “stillness” in you which is underlying the entire surface level phenomenon like thoughts and emotions.
When you have access to this dimension in you, nothing on the surface will have the power to trouble you.
Whenever you are faced with unwanted thoughts, move into the stillness of your being. This will bring a lot of space into your experience and the thought will not seem so powerful anymore.
Here’s how,
The best way to experience stillness is to become aware of the present moment. Sit or lie down and bring your attention to the present moment. Feel your body, feel your environment, listen to the sounds around you. Become aware of what your body is doing. If you find any tension in your muscles, let to relax. Feel the energy in your body by scanning your entire body, right from the soles of your feet to your head. Rest in this awareness. In other words, become fully aware of the now.
All the noise of the mind will fade away in the silence of your being. The silence of your being is not “dumb”, but a highly intelligent force, and it has the capacity to create solutions and transform situations simply by its presence.
Also read: Inner body meditation for deep relaxation and healing..
5.) Don’t Fear the Negative Thoughts
Stop being fearful of your thoughts. Look at your thoughts as temporary energy forms that make their way into the space of your being.
Negative thoughts are harmless unless they are fed with your belief and attention.
So to get rid of unwanted thoughts, one has to cripple them by depriving them of attention, allowing the silent force of your consciousness to dissolve the energy of these thoughts and practice stillness.
