Cheat Codes To Life

The ability to shift a negative mindset is one of the most valuable life skills that will rescue you during the most emotionally turbulent times of your life. At some point or another, we have all been subject to the debilitating effects of being imprisoned in negative thinking patterns. The mind is the most sophisticated machine to ever exist and surprisingly enough, we spend most of our prime years in school without learning how it works.

Most of us are very familiar with terms such as Good vibes only, ‘good vibes, good life, ‘no bad vibes here’, and so forth. But what is a ‘vibe’ and why is it so important to have ‘good vibes’? ‘Vibe’ simply means vibration and is the emotional quality or feeling of a person. It is important to note that how you feel corresponds to the quality of your mindset or thoughts. You are not your thoughts quite literally, your thoughts are broadcast to you depending on the vibration you radiate through your electromagnetic field. 

Feeling good equals good thoughts and vice versa. Your thoughts also feed or fuel a certain feeling or emotion. This means that having negative thoughts for an extended period will fuel a certain feeling, when this feeling gains enough momentum, it becomes like a powerful magnet that draws like thoughts and experiences to it. In this sense, thoughts and feelings have a reciprocal relationship in determining your mental state.

Although it is very important to be on a high vibe that is, feeling good, negative feelings are a blessing in disguise! They are just messengers to show you the aspects of yourself that need to be worked on. More on this later!

But for now, let’s look at practical ways to shift a negative mindset. 

1. Go into nature 

Mother nature has the PERFECT VIBRATION! Since the level at which we are vibrating determines the quality of our thoughts as seen above, most of us emit a negative vibration without even realizing it. Most of the time, a majority of people are not aware of the undercurrent unease, tension, dread, fear, or anxiety that plays in the ‘background’ of their being or the body. 

We all know that trees absorb the toxic carbon dioxide we exhale while they give off oxygen that sustains our very own existence but most spiritual seekers who are familiar with esoteric spiritual knowledge such as that of ancient African spirituality know that the creative spirit or force behind everything in existence is not separate from its creation as it is popularly believed now, but rather this creative force is the essence that animates everything from within itself. 

Knowing this means that there is a very intelligent ecosystem where the individual organisms work towards the common good of all. And since everything is connected because they come from the same source, all the solutions we need, be they physical or spiritual can be found in nature. And for this reason, many students of metaphysical or spiritual laws know that in the same way trees transmute carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, they also take in and transmute negative energy elevating you into a higher level of vibration or good vibes. 

In the recent past, modern science has proved that just spending 2 hours weekly immersed in nature can benefit your health by boosting your immunity, lowering your blood pressure, curing depression, improving sleep, accelerating recovery from injury, reducing stress and so much more. connecting with mother nature on a regular basis can significantly heal you physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Guess what? It is impossible to feel good and have a negative mindset! 

2. Watch a funny clip or comedy 

This is not a joke, laughter is one of the quickest and easiest ways to relieve stress. There is a Swahili proverb that says ‘kucheka ni dawa’ which loosely translates to ‘laughter is medicine’. But do you know that this should be taken literally? Laughter is actually medicine in a different form. 

Laughter is a funny way of tricking the body to release feel-good chemicals like endorphins which instantly make you feel good. This provides an instant shift in mindset. In fact, research has shown that laughter works just as antidepressants. This is because it activates the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that performs many functions such as regulating body temperature, sleep, and happiness. Low serotonin levels in the body is believed to cause stress, depression, and anxiety. 

Bonus tip!

Find time to watch something that will make you laugh on a daily basis. Your subconscious mind which is your body and the seat of your emotions is a habit mind. This means that if you feel a certain way for an extended period of time, it will start seeking the same feeling because it has already formed a pattern. Don’t let negative states of being become a routine, instead seek things that will make you laugh your heart out, and in return, through repetition, your body will learn to produce these feel-good hormones on its own.

3. Use water

Referring to the discussion above about trees, water is also a different aspect of this creative force and personally, I believe that water is like a cheat sheet to the revelation about the true nature of this creative force. For one, life can only exist where there is water therefore water seems to be one of the best ‘ mediums’ or vessels for life. 

In almost all ancient spiritual and religious traditions, water has always been regarded as the source of life and an integral part of various rituals or ceremonies such as purification, protection, and healing or baptism.

Think about this, when you are sad or depressed don’t you feel like all the life force has been sucked out of you? Is it a coincidence that we describe a happy, jovial person as full of life? Water is a carrier of life and that’s why the earth is like 75% water so are our bodies. This means that we don’t only need water to sustain our existence but water can help with the emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives. 

That is why it is always guaranteed to feel good and brand new every time you take a shower, especially after a long day. Is this where the phrase ‘cleanliness is next to Godliness’ comes from? ‘Godliness’ in this sense means a higher state of consciousness or vibration.

If you can, spending time near a body of water frequently can do wonders for your overall mood. Sit next to a stream, river, or any body of water, and just listening to the sound that flowing water makes can instantly shift how you feel. There is a calmness that washes over your entire body. How do you feel when you fall asleep to the sound of soft rainfall? This practice can also be used as a form of meditation.

4. The power of music

I don’t need to tell anyone this. We all know how it feels when our favorite song is playing. You feel like you are on ‘cloud nine’ this is a way of describing a high vibration or an elevated state of consciousness. 

Music is the only thing that can bypass the ego which acts as a security guard to the subconscious mind the seat of our emotions. This means that if you try to adopt a better mental state, the ego will remind you how awful you feel with ‘valid evidence’ as to why you should continue to wallow in this misery. Rule of thumb, never attempt to use the mind to shift from a negative mental state. That’s like expecting the chief of police to solve a crime when they are the perpetrators!

 In addition, when you have negative thoughts, it means you have negative feelings that correspond to these thoughts. Any negative state of being results from the marriage of these two. ALWAYS. Even when you try to shift negative thoughts, the corresponding feelings already have a heavy momentum that will trample this effort.

This is where music comes in. Music is the only thing that can bypass these barriers and get to the core of who you are. You see, we are electromagnetic vibrational beings. This means that the core of who we are, is nothing but pure vibrational energy and this is what music really is. Music literally sings to our soul that’s why everyone loves music. Music is a natural way to feel high. Never forget, good feelings, good thoughts!

Bonus tip!

Use high vibrational sound frequencies such as binaural beats. There are tons of different frequencies on youtube which can be used for different intentions. My favorite ones are 432 Hz and 528 Hz pure tones.

5. Do breath-work 

We can survive for 30 days without food, and a few days without water but can barely exist for a couple of minutes without air. Breathing seems to be ‘a lifeline’ literally! In fact, the etymology of the word respiration originates from Latin ‘spiritus’ or spirit meaning ‘a breath’  

If you’re not familiar with metaphysics or have a hard time believing that there is a life force that animates your entire body from the inside, then this right here is the proof. This force seems to be replenished by every breath we take! Breathing is like the ‘umbilical cord that connects us to this primordial force that pervades everything. Different patterns of breathing can induce different states of consciousness. 

As doctor Andrew Huberman explains there is an important relationship between how we breathe and our level of alertness and calmness. He goes on to explain, “when we breathe, the diaphragm moves up and down, during inhalation, the diaphragm moves down because the lungs expand, creating more space for the heart, blood flows slower and the brain sends a signal to speed up the heart rate. 

If you want to be more alert you have to make your heart rate increase by inhaling more and longer than the exhale. That immediately shows that the last thing you want to say to someone that is stressed is to ‘take a deep breath‘! the other thing you want to tell them is to ‘calm down’. 

This is because it is tough to control the mind with the mind. What we are talking about is using the mind to control the body and then the body to control the mind and then to take over the reciprocal relationship between the two. If inhalation induces more alertness then the opposite is also true. 

Exhaling moves the diaphragm up, there is less space for the heart, blood flows faster, and consequently, the brain sends a signal to slow down the heart rate. So if you want to relax, extend yours exhales relative to your inhales. Simply extend your exhales longer and deeper than the inhales.”

What I am getting from all this is this; your pattern of inhalation and exhalation determines your heart rate in turn, your heart regulates your level of relaxation or stress. 

6. Meditate regularly 

Let me be honest, meditation is not a quick fix to shifting a negative mindset but a permanent foolproof way of completely fixing your mind for good. You won’t reap its benefits until several weeks later and also very important to note, meditation is not a one-time fix.

Just as you don’t expect to brush your teeth once and you’ll have fresh breath for the rest of your life, you do not expect to meditate once to have a clear mind, you should meditate on a daily basis for at least 15 minutes.  Otherwise, the benefits will not last and your mind will revert back to its old ways. Meditation is like weeding out a garden, the more you meditate the more you ‘pull out’ harmful weeds aka negative thought patterns.

But why is meditation so powerful? For one, you are not your thoughts or your emotions, because you are not your body or your mind. You are the one that is aware of these. Your mind and body are the vehicles that you use to experience reality.

And secondly, if I ask you to say your name in your head without uttering a word, you’ll notice that there is a part of you that says your name and there is a part of you that is aware of this. This is why when you experience negative states of being, there is a part of you that is aware of how you are feeling.

In fact, in every experience in your life, there is always one who is always aware, always watching. If you liken this to a virtual reality game, most of us have mistaken ourselves for the avatar in the game instead of the one experiencing the game through VR goggles. 

If you’ve read Echart Tolle’s the power of now, this is what he talks about. The mind, which is a tool that is supposed to serve us, has taken over and is the one running the show because we are identified with it. This is like losing the ability to control your legs and they go wherever they want! The more you meditate, the more you learn to observe your mind without reacting to it, you cannot control your mind just as you cannot control your heartbeat.

You can only learn to disassociate yourself from it by creating a distance between the one who is aware and your mental activity. Over time you’ll notice that you have created a distinction or space between the one that is aware and the constant stream of thoughts. When this happens you are able to be in control of your psychological state and when negative situations arise, you are able to handle them very, very well.  

7. The revision method by Neville Goddard.

We have already established that there is a reciprocal relationship between the mind and the body. Every emotion that you have ever experienced is stored in the body just as the mind holds records of all the experiences that you have ever had. These memories and experiences make up your identity because the memories influence how you perceive yourself and your reality which must have a corresponding feeling stored in your body. 

Believe it or not, there is an unbroken link between your current state of mind to every experience that has ever happened to you since were born. Collectively all the experiences act as roots or the foundation which determines your current mindset and if the experiences are mostly negative, they determine your persona and the mindset this persona adopts.

Your memories have corresponding emotions to them with a certain mindset attached. So if the experiences are negative, you might have an undercurrent negative mindset without even realizing it. This means that it is very easy and most likely for you to think of a negative thought and believe it more than a positive one. This is because neurons that fire together, wire together.

To remedy this, enter Neville Goddard’s revision method. Neville Goddard was a 19th-century author and a spiritual thought leader. One of the tenets of his teachings is the idea that imagination creates reality. In one of his lectures about imagination he states that prior to sleep, you should revise your day just as you would have desired it to go with great detail.

When we wake up, we tend to revise the events of the day before which sets the pace for how we think and feel. Imagine the best version of your reality and before you fall asleep, play it in your mind just as you could have wanted it to be. 

Let’s take this one step further, start revising every single negative experience that has ever happened to you repeatedly, and replace these memories with pleasant experiences just as how you could have liked them to go if you had a time machine! When done enough times, you’ll start to notice that all the negative emotions associated with these memories will start to diminish. In fact, you’ll start to feel and think differently. This is one of the most powerful ways to reprogram your mind to adopt a new mindset or persona.

Final thoughts.

One of Saghuru’s iconic quotes about the mind is that ‘there is no subtraction or division for the mind only multiplication and addition’ This means that the more you ‘fight’ negative thoughts the more negativity you’ll get. For the mind, whatever you resist, persists. When you realize that you are in a negative headspace, do not resist. Just allow them to be, accept and acknowledge how you feel then use your body, to change your mind!

In gratitude,

Winnie.