Does negative thinking matter?

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No_Mind
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Does negative thinking matter?

Post by No_Mind »

Does negative thinking matter? Does our life change when we become thankful for everything we have? Is there anyone here who changed their pattern of thought from negative to positive?

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"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”― Albert Camus
Saengnapha
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by Saengnapha »

Of course negative thinking matters. Once you begin to see how you are suffering from the effects of your thinking, you can begin to act differently. Isn't this what therapy is all about? Thinking is an habitual activity. It is something you learn to do. You can learn to do something else, too. It's a good start and simple mindfulness training can help immensely. People quit smoking, drinking, beating their wives and themselves. This is the first thing that must change and the good news is you have control over this.
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No_Mind
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by No_Mind »

Saengnapha wrote: Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:18 pm Of course negative thinking matters. Once you begin to see how you are suffering from the effects of your thinking, you can begin to act differently. Isn't this what therapy is all about? Thinking is an habitual activity. It is something you learn to do. You can learn to do something else, too. It's a good start and simple mindfulness training can help immensely. People quit smoking, drinking, beating their wives and themselves. This is the first thing that must change and the good news is you have control over this.
if I observe my thoughts .. and label them .. worry, worry, worry and return to mindfulness of breathing

If done over a period say a month (I have not really tried that) will that remove that negative thought or give me more control over it?

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befriend
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by befriend »

I follow the Rahula sutta sometimes I did it all day one time and I asked myself is this afflictive to myself or others or both? When a negative thought came up or intention for negative behavior this motto just naturally released the negative thought intention by itself. I think letting go of negative thoughts is more important than thinking good thoughts because refraining from evil is the foundation and doing bad is more catastrophic than doing good is beneficial.
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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No_Mind
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by No_Mind »

befriend wrote: Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:25 pm I follow the Rahula sutta sometimes I did it all day one time and I asked myself is this afflictive to myself or others or both? When a negative thought came up or intention for negative behavior this motto just naturally released the negative thought intention by itself. I think letting go of negative thoughts is more important than thinking good thoughts because refraining from evil is the foundation and doing bad is more catastrophic than doing good is beneficial.
Whenever you want to do a mental action, you should reflect on it: 'This mental action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?' If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful mental action with painful consequences, painful results, then any mental action of that sort is absolutely unfit for you to do. But if on reflection you know that it would not cause affliction... it would be a skillful mental action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any mental action of that sort is fit for you to do.

"While you are doing a mental action, you should reflect on it: 'This mental action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?' If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both... you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not... you may continue with it.

"Having done a mental action, you should reflect on it: 'This mental action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?' If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful mental action with painful consequences, painful results, then you should feel distressed, ashamed, & disgusted with it. Feeling distressed, ashamed, & disgusted with it, you should exercise restraint in the future. But if on reflection you know that it did not lead to affliction... it was a skillful mental action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ati/tip ... .than.html
Do you mean this passage? So I should be mindful and ask myself - Was it an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results? (such as anxiety)

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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by befriend »

Yes that's the sutta. I'm not sure what's causing your anxiety but doing this practice can't hurt. After doing a day of this applying it to every action mental verbal and physical I felt the bliss of blamelessness it was a very pleasant abiding.
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by Meezer77 »

Aw No Mind, why did you get rid of the HINDU" stamped pic?
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bodom
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by bodom »

This is what the Buddha had to say:
“Bhikkhus, whatever a bhikkhu frequently thinks and ponders upon, that will become the inclination of his mind. If he frequently thinks and ponders upon thoughts of renunciation, he has abandoned the thought of sensual desire to cultivate the thought of renunciation, and then his mind inclines to thoughts of renunciation. If he frequently thinks and ponders upon thoughts of non-ill will … upon thoughts of non-cruelty, he has abandoned the thought of cruelty to cultivate the thought of non-cruelty, and then his mind inclines to thoughts of non-cruelty.

- MN 19
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Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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Lucas Oliveira
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

No_Mind wrote: Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:37 pm Does negative thinking matter? Does our life change when we become thankful for everything we have? Is there anyone here who changed their pattern of thought from negative to positive?

:namaste:
One instance of intention is one instance of kamma. When there
is kamma there is immediate result. Even just one little thought,
although not particularly important, is nevertheless not void of
consequence. It will be at the least a “tiny speck” of kamma,
added to the stream of conditions which shape mental activity.
With repeated practice, through repeated proliferation by the
mind, or through expression as external activity, the result becomes
stronger in the form of character traits, physical features
or repercussions from external sources.
A destructive intention does not have to be on a gross level. It
may, for example, lead to the destruction of only a very small
thing, such as when we angrily tear up a piece of paper. Even
though that piece of paper has no importance in itself, the action
still has some effect on the quality of the mind. The effect
8 9
is very different from tearing up a piece of paper with a neutral
state of mind, such as when throwing away scrap paper. If there
is repeated implementation of such angry intention, the effects
of accumulation will become clearer and clearer, and may develop
to more significant levels.
Consider the specks of dust which come floating unnoticed into
a room; there isn’t one speck which is void of consequence. It is
the same for the mind. But the weight of that consequence, in
addition to being dependent on the amount of mental “dust,” is
also related to the quality of the mind. For instance, specks of
dust which alight onto a road surface have to be of a very large
quantity before the road will seem to be dirty. Specks of dust
which alight onto a floor, although of a much smaller quantity,
may make the floor seem dirtier than the road. A smaller
amount of dust accumulating on a table top will seem dirty
enough to cause irritation. An even smaller amount alighting on
a mirror will seem dirty and will interfere with its functioning.
A tiny speck of dust on a spectacle lens is perceptible and can
impair vision. In the same way, volition or intention, no matter
how small, is not void of fruit. As the Buddha said:

“All kamma, whether good or evil, bears fruit. There is no
kamma, no matter how small, which is void of fruit.”3


http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/good_evil_beyond.pdf


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Lucas Oliveira
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

In any case, the mental results of the law of kamma are usually
overlooked, so another illustration might be helpful:
There are many kinds of water: the water in a sewer, the water
in a canal, tap water, and distilled water for mixing a hypodermic
injection. Sewer water is an acceptable habitat for many
kinds of water animals, but is not suitable for bathing, drinking
or medicinal use. Water in a canal may be used to bathe or to
wash clothes but is not drinkable. Tap water is drinkable but
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cannot be used for mixing a hypodermic injection. If there is no
special need, then tap water is sufficient for most purposes, but
one would be ill-advised to use it to mix a hypodermic injection.
In the same way, the mind has varying levels of refinement or
clarity, depending on accumulated kamma. As long as the mind
is being used on a coarse level, no problem may be apparent, but
if it is necessary to use the mind on a more refined level, previous
unskillful kamma, even on a minor scale, may become an
obstacle.


http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/good_evil_beyond.pdf


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binocular
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by binocular »

No_Mind wrote: Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:37 pmDoes negative thinking matter? Does our life change when we become thankful for everything we have? Is there anyone here who changed their pattern of thought from negative to positive?
There are no grumpy arahants, are there?
Hic Rhodus, hic salta!
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Sam Vara
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by Sam Vara »

I was going to post a chunk of MN 19, but I see Bodom has beaten me to it. So I'll point out instead that there have been lots of non-Buddhist systems for addressing or eliminating negative thoughts. REBT is one that I particularly like:
REBT (...) generally proposes that many of these self-defeating cognitive, emotive and behavioral tendencies are both innately biological and indoctrinated early in and during life, and further grow stronger as a person continually revisits, clings and acts on them. Ellis alludes to similarities between REBT and the general semantics when explaining the role of irrational beliefs in self-defeating tendencies, citing Alfred Korzybski as a significant modern influence on this thinking.

REBT differs from other clinical approaches like psychoanalysis in that it places little emphasis on exploring the past, but instead focuses on changing the current evaluations and philosophical thinking-emoting and behaving in relation to themselves, others and the conditions under which people live.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_ ... or_therapy
You have considerable power to construct self-helping thoughts, feelings and actions as well as to construct self-defeating behaviors. You have the ability, if you use it, to choose healthy instead of unhealthy thinking, feeling and acting.
(Albert Ellis)

I would add that for many people, stopping negative thinking is relatively easy. The difficulty lies in catching oneself doing it before it takes over (i.e. before the negative thoughts condition the mind into thinking it is powerless) which is why mindfulness is so important.
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Lucas Oliveira
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

Verse 121. Take Not Evil Lightly

Think lightly not of evil,
‘It will not come to me’,
for by the falling of water drops
a water jar is filled.
The fool with evil fills himself,
he soaks up little by little.


Image

Explanation: Some tend to believe that evil can be taken lightly. There attitude to wrong-doing is that they can get away with anything whatsoever. They say in effect: "I will behave in the way I want. Evil results will never come my way." But evil accumulates little by little - very much like a water-pot being filled drop by drop. Little by little the evil accumulates, until he is filled with it.


Verse 122. Merit Grows Little By Little

Think lightly not of goodness,
‘It will not come to me’,
for by the falling of water drops
a water jar is filled.
The sage with goodness fills himself,
he soaks up little by little.


Image

Explanation: Some tend to think that virtue can be taken lightly, and that virtue practiced is not likely to bring about any spectacular good results. This view is not quite correct. The good done by an individual accumulates little by little. The process is very much like the filling of a water-pot, drop by drop. As time goes on, the little acts of virtue accumulate, until the doer of good is totally filled with it.

http://www.buddhanet.net/dhammapada/d_evil.htm


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SarathW
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by SarathW »

What is the Buddhist term for negative thinking?
I think it is anger or Ayoniso Manasikara. Ie: inappropriate
Attention.
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Does negative thinking matter?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity
Repeated complaining rewires your brain to make future complaining more likely. Over time, you find it’s easier to be negative than to be positive, regardless of what’s happening around you. Complaining becomes your default behavior, which changes how people perceive you.

And here’s the kicker: complaining damages other areas of your brain as well. Research from Stanford University has shown that complaining shrinks the hippocampus — an area of the brain that’s critical to problem solving and intelligent thought. Damage to the hippocampus is scary, especially when you consider that it’s one of the primary brain areas destroyed by Alzheimer’s. (Travis Bradberry)
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