A Guest Post from Igor

Occasionally I receive requests from writers who want to write a guest post for Erase Negativity. Igor Tomić is the featured blogger of the hour (or week.) Be sure to help spread the good news and share his story with others. Igor lives in Novi, Vojvodina (Serbia.)

TWO UNIQUE WAYS TO ERASE NEGATIVITY
 
Many of us have negative spells in our lives. We may be afraid of losing our jobs, stressed about a relationship that we had hoped would develop that didn’t, or anxiously waiting for the results of an exam. During these trying times we usually obsess with all that is wrong, and to be honest, we usually help bring about unfortunate results with our obsessive negative thinking.

How can we change negative thinking patterns into positive, helpful ones? Meditation and positive affirmations help me.

 MEDITATION

In its simplest form, meditation can be viewed as a practice where we monitor our thinking, which affects the functioning of our bodies, all while not thinking of anything. This is harder done than said, and it takes a lot of practice. 

A good way for beginners to start is to focus on their breathing. Stretch, find a comfortable position, make sure no one is going to disturb you, and relax. Then take a breath in, and take a breath out. Focus on your breaths. If you find your mind wandering and thinking about this and that, stop it immediately, and focus back on your breaths. Alternatively, you may try with a guided meditation mp3, where a speaker’s voice will guide you through the process so it feels more natural.

POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS

Positive affirmations are simply positive sentences that you would repeat to yourself. They work

not only because of repetition, but because of a few tricks that you can employ while using them.

For example, when you awaken, or just before you go to sleep your mind is usually more

susceptible to suggestion, and positive affirmations have a better chance of working well. Remember never to use the negative form, as our minds cannot grasp the negative. The standard example would be if I told you right now not to think of a juicy, well cooked, big, tasty potato.

Really, just stop. Don't think of that potato. You are thinking about that potato, aren't you? Also, saying the affirmations out loud, in front of a mirror, with full conviction of what you are saying usually has a tremendous benefit after a few weeks.

Focus on one problem area at a time. Here is how positive affirmations might look like:

"I am completely relaxed at all times." "I take everything on as it comes." "I easily handle all the problems that arise."

It may sound simple, but positive affirmations are effective and they help. Not right away, but take on a habit to repeat about ten to twenty sentences each day, and you'll do good.

There is a website, freeaffirmations.org that is an awesome resource to check out pre-made affirmations for pretty much anything you can think of.

I hope meditations and affirmations will have a benefit on your life, just like they had on mine. Just go ahead and give them a couple of weeks trial, you will be happy you did.