What is the Light Inside Technique (LIT)?

“Light inside” refers to feeling light in mind, body and emotions, and not weighed down by the heaviness of depression, anger and worry. It refers to the sense of peace, freedom, comfort and ease that occurs when we are free of negative thoughts and emotions about ourselves, others, and the world in general. In that lightness of a settled mind and emotions, we can find greater peace, love, inspiration, creativity and wisdom. After practicing LIT, we begin to focus less on problems and stress, and more on progress and positivity.

LIT is about taking a break from the negative, and increasing the positive. In short, we can turn anger into passion, fear and anxiety into inspiration, and sadness into compassion and connection. There’s plenty of tension and conflict in the world today, which is due to negativity of one kind or another. If we want to reduce stress and see more peace, happiness, respect and compassion in the world, then we have to be willing to let go of negative thinking and start practicing seeing the good in things. We have to choose positive thoughts and actions over negative ones.

LIT recognizes that life is made of both positive and negative forces. Without the negative, there’s no positive, and vice versa. Therefore we have to learn to increase the positive and to use the negative wisely, and in our favor. For example, if we’ve built up tension over the years due to trauma, difficult relationships, poor choices, etc, we can allow ourselves time to vent, giving safe and healthy expression to negative thoughts and emotions we’ve held inside. In that way, we’ve used the negative to increase the positive. Increasing the positive is just learning to see more of the good in things, more positivity in ourselves and others and circumstances. This is the way of LIT.

The purpose of LIT is stress management.  Practicing LIT reduces stress and strain and increases peace and open heartedness.  It helps us become free of anger (irritability, frustration, rage, etc), sadness (grief, sorrow, depression, etc), and fear (anxiety, worry, apprehension, etc).  Thoughts can be habitual, especially negative thoughts related to these emotions.  LIT is a practice that uproots the habit of negative thinking and strengthens the habit of positive thinking, making positive thoughts more frequent and spontaneous.  It’s an easy practice and can be done alone or with a partner or group.

We can practice LIT anywhere and anytime we have a moment to pause and notice the positive things we can find around us or within us.  *Always be sure to practice safely and stay attentive to the needs of the moment (e.g. Practicing LIT when driving may be distracting and is therefore discouraged).*  This is simply the practice of noticing where there is beauty, happiness, friendliness, kindness, order and organization, respect or any other positive thing in our environment.  We can find these positive qualities in ourselves, others, animals or nature in general.

Another way to practice LIT is when negative thoughts come to mind.  If something makes us angry, sad or fearful, then we can use LIT to vent/express the negative thoughts/emotions to the extent needed, and then look a little deeper to find the positivity and the good that lies beyond the stressful thoughts that have come to mind.  We’ll address many examples like this on the website in the LIT Insights section and in the Forum.

LIT is a practice of inquiry.  We’re able to move beyond the stressful events (conflicts with others, negative self image, past trauma, etc) by asking why someone did what they did, or why certain events happen in life.  We can treat it as contemplation or meditation, slowing down and allowing the positive to shine through and create more peaceful perspectives as we inquire into the positive nature of people, things and life in general.  When asking why someone did something that caused others stress, or why certain “negative” events happen in life, with LIT we always come back to the basic impulse or need for positivity — the need for love, acceptance, respect, safety, appreciation, etc as the motive or inspiration behind the action.

Anything is possible in life, and by the power of the mind we can take any perspective we choose.  LIT holds that all perspectives are legitimate.  Nothing is absolutely true or false, or absolutely right or wrong.  All perspectives are just that…  perspectives.  But if we want more peace, positivity, and an open heart (free of anger, fear and sadness), then we can practice LIT and see more good in the world and be a more positive influence on others.  Once we work through the negative thoughts and emotions each time we practice LIT, we can then think and choose a course of action from a clear, peaceful, joyful state of mind, instead of from anger, grief or worry.

Practicing LIT is a great social activity and a great way to get support and provide support for others.  We can help ourselves and others accept and overcome the negative parts of life while we learn to increase and focus on the good and positive things all around us and within us.  With the powers of thought, insight and perspective we can reduce suffering and increase peace, kindness and compassion in ourselves and in the world!

We hope you’ll join us in this journey into greater peace, love and positivity!