One cannot deny that each cell in our body is comprised of an electric charge. If we were to view ourselves as energetic beings, then we have the capacity to choose whether to emit positive or negative energy.

When a person walks into a room, their energy impacts it. Some emit a creepy vibe that puts you on guard, while others may fill you with a sense of joy. What impact do you have on a room?

To emit positive energy, love is the key. I have noticed that when I remain in my loving heart, it provides positive results. Therefore, I have worked on creating more love in my world. How I treat others—and especially how I treat myself—can provide more happiness, health, and well-being when I am centered in my loving heart. This type of positive focus we refer to as Holding the Light.

Holding the Light helped me survive 11 years at the Mental Health Urgent Care Center. Like when I lived in a haunted house, if I shifted to fear, it would have made me vulnerable to attack. It is interesting to look at shielding negativity as a survival mechanism, but at the urgent care center and in life, you never knew what was about to confront you.

The Bible says that Light dispels the dark. Then I ask you: are you willing to face the difficulties of your life in the Light? This can be very difficult to achieve, especially if you have been wounded in life and those wounds are left unaddressed. It follows that an exploration of your unresolved issues can be one of the keys to keeping you upbeat and happy, but who wants to address things we hope are behind us and need to be left alone? But it is still in there, imprinted in our subconscious, and with a lot of Light, they truly can be a thing of your past.

Do you get angry? Anger protects our vulnerable parts and attempts to protect our hurt, but left unaddressed, anger grows and turns to rage. However, when love is applied to our hurt, according to Spiritual Psychology, we heal. This makes Spiritual Psychology one of the most effective approaches in the practice of psychology because it explicitly applies Light to the dark.

Are you willing to address your pain? It is the hero’s path. This takes a lot of courage to do, but if you’ve got a thorn in your skin, you can cover it up and pad it, but that wound will not heal. If, however, you yank out the thorn, it will hurt, but the healing is quicker and easier, and much more effective than hoping the thorn will go away.

We say the real issue is how you are with yourself while you go through your issue. When I am in the dentist’s chair and they are numbing me in preparation for addressing a cavity, I hold my own hand, support the fearful part inside of me, and get through it much easier. In the process, I am applying love to my hurt. Remaining in your loving heart can address old wounds, physical pain, and the future negative fantasies that used to dominate my existence. “What is the worst thing that can happen?” brings in darkness. It fouls our thoughts, our physical body, and our mood. Why not focus on what is the best thing that can happen?

There are countless stories I have heard about how people don’t deserve to be happy. They have done some unforgivable sin and feel that life is then about helping others to get some spiritual brownie points and suffer because that is their lot. Look, what you have done in the past needs to be processed through and with love. You did what you did because it was the best option you had at that time, knowing what you knew. Now that you have learned differently, hold onto that learning, make that who you are now, and let go of the negative label that guards you against peace and love in your current life. If you choose to do that negative thing, only negatives will come back at you. If you change to the Light, then Light will follow.

“God won’t forgive me,” people try to convince me. Well, my God is different. The real issue is, are you able to forgive yourself? If you continually beat yourself, stop it. Simply learn from your mistakes and do your best not to repeat them.

This is why, to me, Spiritual Psychology is a positive approach that brings hope. Look, we are all screwed up; there is no perfect person out there, so let go of your self-criticism. Tell yourself it is okay to mess up. If you had good intentions, it is okay to learn from the situation, change your ways, and be a better person to yourself and others. Here, more and more Light enters the picture.

Education can be the key to feeling better. Why repeat the same problem when you can learn and grow from it in the first place? If, while you are learning, more negativity creeps into the mix, pause, center yourself, and then continually practice doing the positive thing.

Wounds that have existed for years can be healed if we are persistent. A self-care regimen is encouraged, which includes tending to your physical, mental, and emotional levels. We can’t forget the spiritual level as well, which has been the focus of this article. Addressing an issue with an open and willing heart can set the tone for enhanced well-being on every level.

Even in the face of rage, positivity can win the day. This was the key to surviving emergency sessions at the Mental Health Urgent Care Center. On countless occasions, I would force myself to keep breathing and repeat the phrase, “God bless you, I love you,” when psychotic patients went on a tirade. Fighting anger with anger brings anger. We cannot find the Light through the dark. Remaining centered in your loving heart can keep you safe, strong, and stable, no matter what is taking place. I learned how important it was to keep my head in a crisis situation. If I were to shift to anger in a crisis, my cognitive abilities would diminish, I would operate on survival and instinct, and probably regret my actions.

Should we only be positive? No. It is important to be genuine. Err toward the positive, but when the negative rears its ugly head, do your best to process through it. I am sure you are aware of the Yin/Yang symbol, which depicts the importance of balance. If we cut off our negativity, we fail to learn and grow from it. If we get stuck in the shadow, well, our prisons are filled with people like this. Just let your energies flow, and if the negative sticks, work with it. Anger can be embraced, talked with, and lead to incredible healing. Anger, again, is our shield; underneath is hurt, and when love is applied to hurt, we heal.

Addressing our hurt with love can be as simple as using opposite-hand writing, where on paper you talk to the part inside of you that is wounded. Give this part of you the opposite hand and write out the dialogue on paper. Ask the hurt self what it needs from you to feel better and follow through on the request. Try finding this approach in any textbook.

Then there are mental strategies to change a rule of yours that was violated but is outdated. Many of our Ego Rules (according to Freud) can be outdated and in need of amending. This type of work is easy to master and eye-opening. A huge portion of our negativity lies right here. If someone breaks an Ego Rule of yours, you are assured to react. “How dare that person go into the fast checkout line with too many items!” Who cares? Is it that important to get your panties in a bunch over this?

Let’s assume another example:
A wife continues to remind her husband about something that took place the year before. She gets heated and wants an apology for something he has apologized for time and time again. The husband, instead of arguing, takes a deep centering breath, and from a loving place, can thank the wife for reminding him, tell her he has learned from that experience, and, as a result, become a better man.

Will this fix the situation? Probably not. However, all we can do is change our side of the fence and set a positive tone. At least we aren’t having our habitual upset. Now, with regard to the wife, what generally happens is this behavior can frustrate her and cause her to escalate in anger.

I recall a time when I was in the midst of my substance addiction, decided to visit my parents after being away for a few years, and came into the house only to meet my mother in a rage. She was angry, told me off, but the entire time I kept thinking about how much I missed and loved her. Then, suddenly, in the midst of her yelling, she stopped, burst into tears, and hugged and kissed me. I was shocked! It was like some miracle took place. But clinically, when I was holding onto my loving heart, it intensified my mother’s feelings, and eventually her negativity transmuted to the loving. We can do the same with determination and a dedication to the loving heart.

Positive or negative—what do you choose? We have the challenge every moment of every day. There are a few tools to use to keep you in your loving heart, including affirmations, setting positive intentions, meditating on love and joy, and placing 100% effort into anything you do. You may want to make it a challenge to love every action you take. All of the above is of positive means. If the negatives become too great, write them out and rip them up, move your body, and talk in a deep voice about your resentments. Purge the negativity and embrace the good.

Your thoughts are, as always, appreciated.