Читать книгу Self Hypnosis - Valerie Austin - Страница 22

You cannot have two conflicting thoughts at one time: for example, you can be either sad or happy, you cannot be both at once. You can train yourself to change moods, however depressing your environment. If you have a worrying thought you can learn to shelve it and bring forward a memory of a more pleasant occasion. You can make a ‘hell out of heaven’. I was living on a beautiful Malaysian island when I began writing this book. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there came a host of problems that brought me depression, even in paradise. One of the wise islanders to whom I remarked: ‘There is no peace in paradise’ replied: ‘The only paradise is in your mind.’ How true.

You can also make a ‘heaven out of hell’. Take for example the person in jail who still manages to live happily through his imagination and thoughts. One of my students had, many years before, served a six-year jail sentence as a political prisoner. He served his time in the same jail in South Africa as Nelson Mandela and, although the experience was horrendous, he kept his sanity by thinking of beautiful and peaceful surroundings and all the good things in life, remaining positive through the hell to which he was being subjected. When I met him he still had a wonderful outlook on life, which made him very easy to converse with and enabled him to become a very calming therapist. The jail sentence had given him the keen ambition to help people. He has now taken his skills back to Africa.

A negative mind can soon become ill and plummet into the depths of depression if not alleviated. Negativity and depression can be overcome by practising good, positive thoughts. The mind needs ‘feeding’ through the powers of hearing, vision and speech.