BIPOLAR POWERS OF THE HUMAN MIND

"We are made or unmade by ourselves; in the armory of thought we forge the weapons by which we destroy ourselves, and we also fashion the tools with which we build for ourselves heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.”—James Allen

Mental attitude — the conceptual habits of our conscious minds — is the focus of today’s article.

According to the English Physicist, Sir Arthur Eddington, the universe in which we live is a creation of our minds. The mind is the source of the all-powerful force of thought; which is the first and most important step of all human creation. Everything begins in the mind.

W. Clement Stone affirms that the mind has two amazing powers; it has the power to attract wealth, success and happiness; and this is what he calls: “Positive Mental Attitude—PMA.” PMA is the inexorable force that uplifts anyone who populates his mind with the thoughts of beauty, truth and love.

Likewise, he affirms that the mind has the power to repel success, health, wealth, happiness and peace of mind; everything that makes life worth living; and this is what he calls:”Negative Mental Attitude—NMA.” NMA is the inexorable force that wrecks anyone who dominates his mind with unwholesome thoughts of any kind.

This is what informs my idea of bipolar powers of the mind; NMA, represented by the negative pole of thoughts; and PMA, represented by the positive pole of thoughts. 

Since an object at rest tends to stay at rest, our habitual thoughts will invariably determine our destiny — if nothing changes. 

However, with awareness and the right guidance, we can make our lives better just by changing the nature of our thoughts; and unless we commit to first changing our thoughts, we will never be able to change our results — no matter the digits of our IQ. 

To prove this, I will analyze the dramatic examples of two real-life opposing poles of thoughts; Charles Manson and Thomas Edison.

NEGATIVE POLE OF THOUGHTS — NMA

Pondering over the words of James Allen, at first, it seems difficult to accept that we manufacture our woes just by the nature of the thoughts we permit to populate our minds. 

“Does that mean that the pitiful state of a miserable man comes as a result of his habitually negative thoughts?” 

I query. 

Still, it is somehow hard to accept that the same man wishfully wanting happiness is equally the one forging the weapons by which he destroys himself through the negative use of his mind.

Eventually, I agree with James Allen after studying the sad story of Charles Manson; a man fortunate enough to be born and bred in the wealthiest country in the world; United States, who ultimately became a symbol of macabre, imprisonments and ghoulishness. 

This is in spite of the fact that he has an IQ of full three digits — 109 IQ score, to be precise. He has sufficient brain power but he chooses to use and direct it towards a destructive end. Unfailingly, he is ruined.

If you have never heard of him, just search through Google for complete history of a very negative mind. 

Then you will see a hardhearted criminal who has spent most of his life and will still spend the remainder of his life in prison. 

In his mind, he has some horrid beliefs and thinking that somehow lawlessly killing people will contribute to the good of the world; and he created a cult to execute just that. 

With this kind of example, it is hard to doubt the veracity of the philosopher’s words. Clearly, this is not the case of a man making a onetime big mistake; but definitely, the case of a habitual thinker of horrendous things.

His world, as he has created it, is a process of his thinking; and he cannot change it, without changing his process of thought. The moment he arrives at this level of awareness, he gains supreme control over the rein of his mind, and hence the power for solutions to all his problems.

Beware of what you choose to think about. 

This is the great lesson we can all learn from the reprehensible life of Charles Manson. Thus, we must guard firmly the kingdom of our minds for solid protection against the dangers of thinking carelessly, as described by Jonathan Foer:

“I think and think and think, I‘ve thought myself out of happiness one million times, but never once into it.”

POSITIVE POLE OF THOUGHTS — PMA

While also questioning in my mind the truth of the philosopher’s message that we make ourselves with our thinking, I came across the words of Thomas A Edison, written as:

“I NEVER pick up an item without thinking of how to improve it.”

Let’s analyse this profound statement from the greatest inventor of all time.

And yes, it is profound due to the comprehensive nature of his progressive thought. 

Whatever he picked up; he must think of some ways to make it better.

It doesn’t matter whether, he was the initial maker or not; it doesn’t matter whether the product was his specialty or not; it doesn’t matter whether it was made in his country or not. 

The only thing that mattered to him was; thinking of how to improve it.

Imagine how beautiful life can be, if we all adopt this kind of mental attitude.

No wonder he became the greatest inventor of all time. This is in spite of the fact that he was once considered, “A blockhead” by his school teacher.  

The cause of his remarkable achievements was his thinking process, not his IQ. He was set on thinking improvement on anything and everything he laid his hands upon.

With these two extreme examples, we can evidently conclude that, James Allen, was right and on point. The mind has the powers that can either debase or elevate based on the nature of our dominant thoughts.

Without question, positive mental attitude is ultimately the difference maker between suffering and joy.

The good news is that we can change our thoughts because we have the power of choice; and with such a change; there is hope of better and brighter results in all areas of our lives that we need to improve. 

That’s what the theory of “Equal Odds Probability” suggests.

EQUAL ODDS PROBABILITY

“The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues.”—Rene Descartes

This quote — in my view — subtly represents what Harvard-trained psychologist; Keith Simonton called “the Equal Odds Rule.”

It means, by extension, that the basest minds are equally capable of greatest virtues as well as of the greatest vices.

That is, with a permanent change of thought — from NMA to PMA — the likes of Charles Manson could become as reputable as, Thomas Edison.

And…

In the same vein, with a permanent change of thought — from PMA to NMA — the likes of Thomas Edison could easily become depraved like Charles Manson.

The magic is in the mind through the unlimited power of thought.

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. If the thinking changes, so is the result. Mastery of the mind always precedes movement of the body.

The mind is a very powerful tool; and we have the unchallengeable prerogative on how we use it.

Now, let’s see the mind at work in a commonplace experience:

A SCENARIO OF TWO PEOPLE STUCK IN TRAFFIC TOWARDS AN AWESOME JOB INTERVIEW

NMA: He thinks: “I am always having bad luck; some devils are working against my good fortune. How can I expect to get this job by arriving late for the interview?” And subsequently he feels sad and despondent.

PMA: He thinks: “Stuff happens, I won’t stress over what I can’t control. Since, I am fully prepared, even if I arrive late, I will do my best to impress the panel on why I am still best person for the job, anyway.” And with this thought he remains calm; and he keeps looking at the bright side of a potentially frustrating experience.

We can see that both experience the same thing; but their thinking response are completely different. 

This is what the psychologists call “Subjective Reality,” which states that it is not what we encounter that determines our reality but what we think about what happens that will determine our ultimate reality.

Hypothetically, even if the traffic clears by some stroke of luck: Which of the two thinkers, in this case will likely perform better before the panel of judges — all things being equal? 

You guess right, the person with the positive mental attitude.

SWITCH FROM NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE, EVERY TIME

Instead of thinking, I am really bad at this; think I can be better at this.

Instead of thinking, I am a failure; think I can, and will be a success.

Instead of thinking, it is impossible; think where there is a will, there is always a way.

Instead of thinking, I will only do little because the job only pays little; think I will give my best, no matter what the job pays.

Instead of thinking, there is no use trying again; always think, one more time.

Instead of thinking, I have lost; think I have learned.

Instead of thinking despair about what you lack; think gratitude for one good thing you still have.

Instead of thinking about everything you can’t do; think of just one thing you can do now.

So the simple lesson here is that, we must learn to still the mind and deliberately refuse to populate our mind with anything that does not support our greatest good. 

We should strive to switch from negative to positive, every time we encounter sad situations that forcefully tempt us to dwell on the negative appearances of our current realities.

We must develop the discipline to always focus our thinking on the bright side of things — even the saddest and the most intractable of predicaments. And if we look hard enough, we can always find; at the very least; just one percent good in every hundred percent bad — just one.

Though, it seems small compared to the bad, but start from there; and you will be surprised with the huge lift of mood and a boost in confidence sufficient for you to make the most of an apparently hapless situation.

Thinking and believing in the good is what will eventually make us whole. Such is the amazing power of our mind; once we have learned to switch from the negative to the positive, every time.

“It is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.”— William Shakespeare