The Power of Perspective

Recent conversations have reinforced for me how flexible the mind can be. Taking a certain perspective and entertaining different thoughts can leave us either stressed and at odds with others, or compassionate and sympathetic to our fundamental needs and desires. The thoughts and perspectives we choose regarding events from the past or present can leave us with peace and ease, or they can cause ongoing anger, resentment, worry, and conflict.

This is the old “glass half full/half empty” idea. We can choose how we think about our experiences. We can choose how we interpret whatever events occur in our lives, and this often subtle change in thinking can have profound effects and benefits on our mental and emotional states. I can look at my strengths, count my blessings, consider my good fortunes in life, or I can focus on my weaknesses, poor choices, failures and missed opportunities.

When considering the world around us we can observe that the world is in a state of constant change. This means that at any given time things are breaking down, coming to an end, being destroyed. It also means that new things are constantly being created and new opportunities are becoming available. The fact is that change is inevitable. This is something we all have to come to terms with. How we think about that change is important as it has a strong influence on our quality of life.

The Light Inside Technique (LIT) focuses directly on the power of perspective and thoughts, on the power they have to effect our peace of mind, our interactions with others, and our overall quality of life. With LIT we intentionally practice finding the good in things, re-interpreting things in a positive way, and becoming more aware of thoughts/perspectives that bring more comfort and ease. We can start by simply noticing the good things around us, like friendliness, respect, togetherness/love, happiness, peace, etc. We can then take a challenging current or past event and learn to think about that event in a positive light.

With LIT it’s possible to do this with any situation, including past abuse, trauma, neglect, etc. As we’ve said in other posts, it’s useful (and usually necessary) to identify the difficult thoughts and emotions around the event, and then vent/express/release/share those thoughts/emotions sufficiently, and then return to a positive interpretation and perspective of the event when we’re able to. Here we can see how the negative and positive thoughts and emotions are both fully acknowledged and put to use in creating an overall more positive perspective and experience for the individual.

Perspective changes everything! Use LIT to overcome the negative and disruptive influences of negative thinking and see the world in a whole new light!