tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886575137375451769.post3627315669315187981..comments2023-08-08T00:53:58.434-07:00Comments on Garth Kroeker: Perils of Positive Thinking?GKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14714377295981745087noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886575137375451769.post-60818453020113136702009-10-15T12:15:30.859-07:002009-10-15T12:15:30.859-07:00I saw Barbara Ehrenreich appear on the Daily Show ...I saw Barbara Ehrenreich appear on the Daily Show last night, talking about her new book "Bright-Sided", and have been looking around for more positive perspectives on positive perspectives. I'd found other discussions on the Wood, et al., article, but I rather like your analogy to single workouts vs. marathons, and the emphasis on active conversation, realism and resonance.<br /><br />As an example, my daily - well, periodic - affirmations once included the statement "I am disciplined and decisive". However, I found that I sometimes forgot this statement, and when I did remember to include it, I sometimes couldn't decide which order to use, e.g., "I am decisive and disciplined" ... and would then find myself distracted by figuring out which order was best ... demonstrating that I was not, in fact, very decisive or disciplined. Ironically, perhaps, I finally decided to omit this statement from the sequence, so that I could be more disciplined in reciting the other affirmation statements, which did not derail the process the way that this one did.<br /><br />My affirmation sequence always starts off with "I love and accept myself exactly as I am". This one has grown more resonant over time, and is more in keeping with a perspective I first read about in <a href="http://www.familymanagement.com/spirit/prelude.html" rel="nofollow">The Prelude</a> to <a href="http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/" rel="nofollow">Oriah Mountain Dreamer</a>'s book, The Dance:<br /><br /><i>What if your contribution to the world and the fulfillment of your own happiness is not dependent upon discovering a better method of prayer or technique of meditation, not dependent upon reading the right book or attending the right seminar, but upon really seeing and deeply appreciating yourself and the world as they are right now?</i><br /><br />So, in another manifestation of indecisive and undisciplined affirmation, I sometimes substitute appreciation for acceptance in my practice: "I love and <i>appreciate</i> myself exactly as I am" ... and the internal conversation continues to unfold.Joehttp://gumption.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.com