I walked by a blaring television tuned to a program hosted by a speaker voicing criticism and harsh judgement toward other people in the world. I thought, “Just because I heard it, doesn’t mean I need to retain it.” I made a quick decision to dismiss the negativity I heard spouted from that noise box and continue thinking about how much good there is to see in others if one is willing to look for it.
To keep one’s thinking in a good place, one needs to be thinking good thoughts. Hatred, resentment, self-righteousness, envy, jealousy, revenge tactics, and their kin, are evil. They bring evil results until countered and neutralized with truth and love.
To keep your experience in a healthy place, align with healthy thinking—spiritual thinking. Resist the temptation to indulge negative views coming at you from different directions.
There is nothing imperative about a negative opinion. It does not have the power of God behind it.
Truth and Love have the power of God behind them.
Reflect the Mind of God and live in peace.
Guard against negativity.
Thank you Evan for that brilliant suggestion to think only good. Sometimes a tough ask, but so beneficial to all. A gem! x
Thank you for this today, its just what I needed.
Dear Evan,
Thank you and the SV family for the joyful and valuable inspiration throughout the week.
When you know you are “clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you”. Being aware of this at all times is vital. And the precious line that follows, “The cement of a higher humanity, will unite all men in the one divinity”, is what you insisted on as the only Truth. There is none other. How grateful I am for the Comforter, that is meeting all our needs, and always will. And Iinfinitely grateful that Mary Baker Eddy dedicated half her lifetime here on earth, in selfless prayer and listening, to realise the promised Comforter.
Citation SH 571 :18
Thank you Evan. Everyday your topics and spiritual insights are so needed, explanatory, and of course positive!
We are so blessed to have this blog with all the contributions. . It is a concrete demonstration of Love in our lives. Happy day all❣️
Thank you Evan and all. It is true that we should guard against negativity. Negativity can be experienced in many ways, maybe through conversations with friends who do not understand your way of life. When you find yourself sympathizing with error the best thing is to move away from such friends physically hoping they would know and appreciate Truth one day too.
Dear Grace, I am in a situation with a friend who says not nice things to me. I dismissed it on a regular basis. The last time I saw her, she said many things about me that wasn’t nice. I couldn’t react at the time but was upset. Error being upset about error! I focussed on the good points about my friend, but feel now reluctant to meet again. It is hard to walk away from friends as she will be hurt but see that we are not really compatible. I welcome any comments. thank you.
Evan I like the thought you immediately had about the negative, critical things you heard on the “noise box,” “Just because I heard it, doesn’t mean I need to retain it.” Very important to remember we have the freedom to reject anything that does not line up with the truth of God and His creation, and to only accept reality — God’s good. As we learn and study more about God’s laws and His creation, we can see more clearly what we have the right to reject and accept.
There is an account somewhere that I read – and I don’t know where I read it now
as it is a long time ago – where a person went to a Practitioner and voiced all
kinds of discordant and sickly conditions that needed healing. The practitioner,
apparently, just looked out of the window the whole time as this person was
voicing these things. The patient was rather irate and thought that she could
have been sympathetic, and went home not pleased. However, when this person
got home, all the problems had disappeared and he/she was well.
The Practitioner wasn’t going to let all these negative things into her thoughts,
and obviously just held the correct view of this person in mind.
So the problems didn’t affect her, and it lifted the lies off the
patient.
Perhaps J knows where this can be found.
I also like the passage that when error speaks, nothing has bee
said. It is not ever a person that voices negative things, but just
impersonal lies suggesting themselves to us, and we need neveer
accept them as real either for ourselves or our fellow man.
As this week’s Lesson brings out so well, divine Love
is always present in every event of our lives, and always ready to
Shepherd us back into the fold where all his positive good.
What a lovely story Maggie, thank you for sharing it. I’ve searched, but haven’t been able to locate it.
Thank you for looking, J. I have been searching too unsuccessfully.
I have heard that story too, Maggie and J. I wonder if it might have been included in one of Myrtle Smyth’s lectures, or possibly an anecdote of one of the more well-known healers from back in the day. I am familiar with the story, though. Most definitely.
A few friends get together a couple times each month for what we call our NCL – our “No Complaints Lunch.” We visit and laugh and enjoy each other while being very mindful of not letting our conversation fall into complaint or negativity. It’s not easy. I’m amazed at how often we slip into a negative comment or complaint. I urge everyone to try this. It has alerted our little group to be alert every moment and to keep our thought and conversation on a higher level.
I love this idea of a NCL Eleanor! 🙂
sounds a brilliant idea to do this……x
Thank you Eleanor. I love that “No Complaints Lunch.” And thank you Evan for this topic. We definitely need more Positivity.
“Clad in the panoply of Love”
FLORENCE I. EDWARDS
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/23ewcghc2jq?s=e
THANKYOU Edie for finding the article which I’ve just read now! And Evan for your inspiration ! This is extremely helpful for me . What a wonderful article in the link Eddie has provided above. This is going to be very helpful for me , going forward , as I’ve known this sentence for most of my life but never thought of it in the way that this author has suggested and as Evan wrote that just because I heard it I don’t have to retain it. My husband is a very gentle , sweet, natured man and yet watches an immense amount of violence on TV every day , but as he worked in film and television for 40 years he sees it as “ just a movie” and notices the way the filming is done . On the other hand I cannot bear to hear or see even 2 seconds of this kind of thing without feeling terribly disturbed and then replaying these hideous actions as I’m trying to go to sleep….. But reading this article I can see how to help us both to feel a more balanced approach and out come .
A negative opinion, thought or action does not have “the power of God behind it.”
That is enough to eliminate any influence it tries to have on us or others.
Thank you.
So necessary in today’s society!
Thank you, Evan, for this entire site of Positivity! It Seems that there is so much worldly
negativity lately and it is so refreshing to come here and learn from and share with others
the spiritual Truths that help keep our thinking in the right place. There are good people
striving to make these Seeming things better and more and more folks are realizing the
Truth of God’s Goodness, despite the negative thoughts, ads and predictions that Seem
to be.
Sometimes just a smile makes someone’s day, so it is always good to have positive
thoughts. It is the small, daily acts of kindness that have the power to make the greatest
impact, being towards others or by being gentle towards ourselves.
Angel thanks for mentioning being gentle towards ourselves, sometimes we may forget this. But as children of God we reflect all His qualities, including gentleness (which is an aspect of Love) towards ourselves and others.
One another note: I wanted to give a shout-out to our dear SpiritView friend Carol, a frequent and loved contributor here. Have not heard your insightful sharings here on SV in a while, Hoping all is well and that we’ll enjoy your insights soon. Sending many blessings.
Awww, Thank you so very much, dear Rose. You are always so thoughtful,
sweet and kind. Your words so endearing. I have been here basking and
sharing in the light of all of these wonderfully spiritual thoughts… God’s
thoughts passing to man.
Sending many blessings and love back to you, dear Rose and All.
: )
Carol glad to hear all is well and that you are continuing to imbibe Truth with fellow SV family.
Insist “Thy kingdom is come” by Karen Neff:
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/19o4ccb8bx0?s=copylink
Listening to our televisions and taking THAT in which seems to be going on in the human, mortal scene could scare the wits out of us and cause bad reactions in our thinking if we allow it. This is a wonderful prompt to look to the higher power of Truth and Love and know that there is only ONE Mind, ours,and everyone else’s, and that we are all God’s children and we reflect that ONE Mind, regardless of what our mortal eyes and ears are trying to tell us. I am working to employ more and more the discipline of this Truth in my thinking as each day unfolds, which I know is a necessity if I want harmony in my life, which I certainly do. Thank you for this post.
Thank you, dear Bonnie – Your comment brings to mind,
“The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything
about the subject” – Marcus Aurelius
That holds true for pundits, those in “authority” or anyone spewing lies
about anyone (or sometimes half the country or world) or perhaps those
who would help to make this world a better place, but because of
negativity and mis-judged hatred, are not always given the opportunity
to make right the Truth.
Lies are lies no matter how often they are repeated or by whom.
Well said !! Yes!! Well said!! Thank you!
Thank you Evan !
The reference to,” noise box ” , made me remember a visit to a nursing home. In every room, there was a television going. And,they were always tuned to angry, depressing, mean, or disturbing programs, and super loud! Thank you, for re minding me to pray for these places ,and the people that come and go in them ,or work in them.
You are very correct in praying for those in nursing homes like you had
mentioned, Janie. When I used to visit my friend years ago in a nursing
home, she had gone through phases …buying thrift shop denim, jewelry,
cds, and at one point, watching tv. I found those tv times a bit more
challenging as her mindset did seemingly become more negative. I think
unfortunately her choices were very limited as to what she was provided
with there to watch.
Prayer for the workers is also a very worthy cause. Keeping everyone
“clad in the panoply of Love” is very much needed at places like you mentioned
as well as everywhere.
Arriving at our remote school for an art session with these young children.. the drum session was in practice, practicing rhythm and unity….they were having a great time yelling WarWar.. to their loudest hit on the drum…while the teacher was absent..my insides curdled.. Jesus was not always nice.. and my Roar of STOP stopped in the second and we came to a beat scored on the piano bringing us Home… the word Love..so It woke that thought more and more there is no other Truth, no graven image in an elsewhere state of Mind..
As the only CS practising, … SVers.. really like the infinite heart beat .. so grateful, God All within All,
seamless Love…Rejoicing
Once again, the words and thoughts you share are healing and perfect.
What a healing gift this SpiritView is and thank you all for your kind sharing.
This event from my own family is similar to the story Maggie shared: when my parents were first married my father suddenly lost his job because he dared to bring up some accounting irregularities he had noticed in the client’s financial records. My mother had rekindled her interest in Christian Science, so when she realized that a woman acquaintance had taken a dislike to her, she went to visit her, uninvited.. while they talked, my mother kept holding to facts about Love— that nothing but Love was present and active , that Love alone is life, that both of them were continually cherished by Love, and no Misunderstanding could change those facts, Finally, my mother was astonished when the other woman said, “why don’t you and your husband come over for dinner next week? I’m having a few friends in .” At that dinner party was another guest who worked for a large corporation and needed someone with exactly the qualifications my dad had. He worked for that company until his retirement several decades later.. “What cannot God do?”
That is a lovely testimony, Mary. Thank you for sharing. It all worked out so
beautifully for everyone.
As Mary Baker Eddy quoted Shakespeare in frontal pages of Science and Health: There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. SHAKESPEARE
Thank you. Evan. and all. This post is great! Very helpful and good for “soul searching”. Love and blessings to all.
Thank you all. You are what a hymn refers to as “gentle beam[s] of living Love…” radiating positive energy from your source, divine Love. No darkness or negative influences can enter a heart radiating love! Great comments and articles today, as always.
Wow, such a healing Blog this is, dear Evan. Thank you very much indeed!
Some hours ago I came from our testimony meeting. I gave thanks there, but at home I had to Guardian my thoughts against negativity. At nearly midnight here I started to read all these comforting and healing inspiration . And my thinking became much more peaceful about that matter.
Thank you all, dear SpiritView friends for your healing and very loving comments and for the links to the very helpful and inspiring articles! ♡
Now I think I can find a peaceful night rest.
Love to you all!♥️