Ways to Right and Harmonious Thinking:
Someone once defined prosperity consciousness as the experience of functioning in the physical universe without effort and conveniently with or without money, a state of being that attracts whatever you require and desire, whether its money or not, but most importantly it being characterized by happiness. All possession is based on consciousness and all gain is the result an accumulative consciousness, all loss is the result of a scattering consciousness and so is all poverty, the result of scarcity consciousness. What we feel is a direct result of what we are thinking and the way we are perceiving our circumstances and environment. What we attract into our lives is also a direct result of our thinking patterns, conscious or unconscious, our mindset. If one’s mind is always tuned to prosperous thoughts we call it a prosperity consciousness and if its tuned to the negative side of things, the side that always sees little, always grasping and grabbing, we call it the poverty consciousness. A prosperity consciousness will always attract circumstances and situations, ideas and thoughts, that will ultimately result in you being prosperous and wealthy. To cultivate this consciousness, you will have to develop right thinking, harmonious thought patterns.
In the last article we already talked about the method of substitution in developing harmonious thinking patterns, that is, purposely putting one thought out and replacing it with another, excluding discordant thinking thus furnishing the opportunity for harmonious thinking to take its place. In this article I will talk about other methods to developing the right thinking patterns in cultivating your prosperity consciousness.
When you have some how mastered the method of substitution, you can move on to the method of complete destruction of a discordant thought without necessarily having it substituted by another. The two methods of substitution and destruction go hand in hand, substitution assisting and sustaining the work, and, if persisted in, finally leading to the total obliteration of objectionable thoughts. I think you do recognize that most of life’s ills are occasioned by anxiety, a condition resulting from indulging negative doubtful and fearful thoughts, and that if you were to completely put out of mind these negative thoughts, those ills would be destroyed. You might say that it is only a thought, but I want you to realize that in that thought lies the cause, the cause exists in it and do not forget that every discordant thought unequivocally leads to discordant mental and physical conditions, so by destroying the cause, the consequences do not appear. The destruction of erroneous thinking is the destruction of the possibility of wrong conditions.
Another way of overcoming discordant thinking and inducing harmonious thinking is travel and change of scenery. Under these circumstances, almost everyone submits to the suggestions of the new environment and allows their minds to follow, without effort, these new suggestions. Removal from the old environment which has become too familiar into scenes of an entirely different nature and character gives new suggestions which replace and substitute the old habitual thinking process with a new line of thinking thus effectively bringing a fresh new stimulus to the body from the changed mental condition. It is the change in thinking that causes the change not the change of air, a common phrase.
A most excellent way to develop harmonious thinking patterns in your quest to have prosperity consciousness is to look habitually for the good and desirable in both things and people. I personally believe that nothing can exist which is completely evil and entirely separated from good. Every person has some good qualities, and if you make it a habit of noticing only those good qualities you will induce harmonious thoughts in your own mind, cultivating that type of consciousness that sees the good, the opportunities, the beauty, the lessons, the joy, in everything and everyone thus consequently attracting that which you desire. Taking up this method, you should realize that the search for the good should be taken up for its own sake with no ulterior or secondary object in view. This search for the good, one of the best methods for substituting discordant with harmonious thoughts, should not be limited only to single moments. It should be a life work, constantly exercised, and should be pursued until complete success is achieved. Another tip is to rejoice mentally whenever you can and to be glad over each triumph. Gladness alone invigorates powerfully just like all harmonious thoughts.
Here is another method, commonly used in neuro linguistic programming if you have heard of it, change your physical expression to that of the mental condition you desire to experience. The bodily action upon the mind, through its recognition of physical conditions, is so strong that if the bodily attitude natural to any mental mood is properly assumed, that bodily attitude will so act upon the mind as to induce those mental conditions assumed by the physical expression. For example, the natural bodily expression for cheerfulness is an erect spine, head well poised, and a general upward direction of the eyes, of course, with something of a kind that fits a smile. This position, which the body adopts when someone is feeling cheerful, if purposely assumed and maintained, will produce cheerfulness. To induce confidence, assume that position you would when feeling confident, and you will feel confident in that moment. So, in summary, one who is seeking to banish discordant thinking should assume that bodily attitude or expression which the desired harmonious thinking would naturally produce. Smile even if you don’t feel like it, and you will surely feel like smiling. Act brave, use your will to this end, and a courage fit will replace that fear.
Many men have achieved great success in their vocations not because of their skills or talents, but by the very impetus of their own self confidence, by the very power of their harmonious thinking with the absence of any self distrust and self condemnation, while others with far greater ability fail for no reason other than because of their own fear and hesitation, born out of doubt in themselves. You see the necessity of developing a prosperity consciousness, a success mindset for he who gives up his mind to be preyed upon by doubt, fear, irresolution, is inviting his own defeat and ministering to it, but the one who resolutely dismisses all such thoughts is taking the important and necessary first step towards success, prosperity and wealth.
In concluding this part, let me leave you with a quote from Ruskin, something to ponder on: “Do not think of your faults; still less of others’ faults; in every person that comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that, rejoice in it; and, as you can, try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes.”
