New Thought’s false positive
By Sara Victoria Emory
“…because to sin by silence, when I should protest, makes cowards of us all.” -Neville Goddard
Stimualienation: the specific type of despair which results from excessive exposure to social media [also known as brain-locust angst]. *
I shuddered at the images in my news feed and scrolled down, searching for something positive enough to displace it. It was first thing in the morning and my own personal challenges were overwhelming enough.
I avoided the story until stunned by a headline: The EPA, itself, was responsible for the spill of three million gallons of toxins into the Animas River, and the Navajo Nation’s water supply was poisoned. A roiling wave of agony and outrage flooded my soul, my gut, my heart; it was a trifecta of violation. The impulse to click ‘Share’ was overwhelming – this was personal – yet it was bigger than ‘me.’ This is The Mother.
But I didn’t. I stopped myself. And it felt wrong to do so.
I didn’t want to be that person, the one you avoid because of their furious obsession with the ills of the world. I know that focus upon a problem perpetuates it. So I swallowed my impulse to scream – I was afraid to.
I think that among many who understand the causal role of thought and feeling lurks a caution bordering on superstition – understandable enough, given the degree of negativity in our culture – to avoid anything that may engender fear; a fear of negativity itself, of conditions that seem so overwhelming that we shut down in denial. One ‘New Thought’ response to the tragedy would be to focus on a desirable condition in its place. And that is powerful, when done with power!
That such a focus simply must extend into the realm of action, however, is the great challenge of our day, for the stress of the present window of time is so acute that many great souls who would do just that struggle for their own survival.
I believe that just as the attitude of the mystic – and by that I mean a genuine, transformative intimacy with Source and one’s own inherent divinity – is essential for activists, lest they lose their spirit in the struggle, so too is activism essential for the mystic –- lest she close the door to perception, in an effort to avoid the pain of the world.
But how do we act in ways that are truly creative, rather than exacerbating challenges through our own negative reactions? Surely right action is unique to the individual. Service is a natural bi-product of alignment with our true, divine nature, and takes infinite forms. But we must be honest, for that is the only way to pierce the veil of fear that has engendered what must be re-created now. A false positivity that intones affirmative mantras as it withdraws, in denial, into ever narrower circles of self-interest, is potentially lethal. We must act from that higher frequency that does not resonate with fear, and I am the first to admit how challenging that feels. Yet I know from experience how truly magical and miraculous our real power is.
The exquisite mystic and scholar, Andrew Harvey, has issued a passionate call to action that expresses it perfectly:
“When the deepest and most grounded spiritual vision is married to a practical and pragmatic drive to transform all existing political, economic and social institutions, a holy force – the power of wisdom and love in action – is born. This force I define as Sacred Activism.”
*Thanks to Austin Coppock for soliciting words to fit the definition, and to Aaron Cheek, for his synonym.
I understand this. “I can’t watch certain news programs” I like to joke, because I can’t afford to buy a new television every day. I choose to read those kinds of stories instead. It gives me more emotional control.
I rather like the way Ervin Seale, the great New Thought teacher from the 1960’s and ‘70’s wrote in his wonderful article, “Emotions We Live By”:
“A negative emotion is not a thing to fight; it is something to be supplanted. Fear and anxiety and hopelessness are not real things in themselves; they are denials of a positive opposite, and it is that positive opposite that the nervous and fearful person ought to search for with all his heart, zeal and vigor.”
Focusing on anything continues to produce that thing. Fighting it is even worse as it seems to speed up and strengthen the negative emotion’s resolve to make itself real. It’s like in meditation. At first, when one tries to empty the mind of thoughts, the inner volume goes up and all that is achieved is more stress. But as we learn to just observe those thoughts and even welcome them, over time they dissipate all by themselves.
The idea that you can replace a thought is foreign to most people outside of New Thought, I think. Even the idea that you are not your thoughts is often met with confusion. “What do mean I’m not my thoughts? Of course I am. Who else would I be?” So, to most of us in the West, the idea of welcoming the very thing that is causing you upset or worry seems ludicrous. But it’s exactly what we need to learn to do. And then practice putting in its place a more constructive, positive thought.
Thanks, Rob – Absolutely.
I think the concept of the causal power of thought and emotion has infiltrated the mainstream to a – dare I say – significant degree. We’re in a post ‘The Secret’ world, or country. And the legacy of ‘positive thinking’s influence on the culture at large (that Mitch has so eloquently delineated) counts for something, in terms of the cultural world-view. … Regardless, however, the question remains: to what extent do those of us who understand the causal power of thought and feeling invest time in supplanting thoughts of fear, with thoughts of positive re-creation, in response to the frightening conditions we encounter in the media? And to what extent do we – who understand something of the power of consciousness – react unconsciously, and withdraw into self-interest to a potentially destructive extent? I wholly believe that as individuals raise their vibration to resonate with their eternal aspect, the effect does transform the world – for a myriad of reasons. I also believe that at the same time, to extend that loving frequency outward in action of some kind – not necessarily in obvious ways, but in definite and discernible ways – is a natural result of that accelerated frequency. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment, truly.
Rob, What article is the Seale quote from? His statement has the tone/thought pattern of Mary Baker Eddy, who was a big influence on (and bane of) Emma Curtis Hopkins, who Seale’s generation learned from. The Quimby-Eddy debate is a thicket but there are ways to demarcate each of their thought. Eddy sounded a lot like Seale’s passage, i.e., denying the reality of violence, fear, sickness, etc., calling such states illusory. Hopkins and her generation really sounded that note.
I completely understand your reaction to this news. Looking at the damage, we often feel like we’re faced with a dilemma: either take immediate action (share the post, sign a petition, volunteer for the clean-up) or ignore the story–which is itself a response of helpless resignation. Perhaps the problem is our either/or thinking? Might there be an alternative– to use the external condition as an opportunity to deepen spiritual practice? Each person has their own ways of “going deep.” For me, affirmative prayer is my “go to” spiritual tool. Reading such an article, I might do a quick prayer: “The creative power of Source lives through all beings and the earth, our home. I am aligned with this Presence, and from this place of Oneness, I know forgiveness for the persons who seemed to cause this disaster. I know the abundance of the Earth and I affirm the beauty and majesty of the water, plants, fish, and trees. I ask Spirit to direct me to where I may serve to help in restoring harmony. I’m grateful for the care and attention of all the first responders. I release these words into the creativity of the Divine and from a place deep in my heart, I say: And so it is.”
Then I would just wait to see what opportunity comes up for me to help. It could be an email petition that I get, or a phone call asking me to go to a fundraiser. I’m open– and I know that the perfect opportunity to help out will come if I pay attention. So– it’s a kind of doing, but it’s not action, per se. It gets you out of the dilemma at least. (sorry to be so long winded, but you got me thinking . . . )
Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Maryjane. It was kind of a rhetorical device, the ‘post inhibition’ event, though I did experience that in a way that served to get me thinking about an ongoing conversation between New Thought and social awareness that Mitch and Harv had going… To truly respond with a prayer for guidance as to how one can best serve is a beautiful practice, and begins to address the question between creative thought and activism.
Some, like Barbara Ehrenreich, view New Thought as promoting individualism-bordering-on-narcissism. She identifies positive thinking/self-help with a type of consumerism. The positive message provides a short term lift, a delusion. Clearly, many people would rather read about how to change their lives than actually change their habits. My teacher calls this “spiritual bypass.” True spiritual development requires sustained daily practice over time. And how is it possible to become more spiritually aware and compassionate without embracing a broader social perspective? This is the bridge to social action, I think. It boils down to: reading about a philosophy or living a philosophy.
So well said, Maryjane.