Positive Vibes
Just lately it is even harder than ever to avoid bad news, dreariness, negativity etc on the nation’s media. I do my best to avoid the tv news and I haven’t bought or read a paper in ages, still it seeps in.
Today I had a look through my bookmarks for a study that I came across sometime last year, unfortunately I could not find the study however I do remember the gist of it and why it stuck in my mind.
The main point that came through from the study was that repetition is very effective in manipulating opinion. Even if people hear a fact that they know to be untrue, if they hear it often enough they may come to believe that it is true.
That may seem like an outrageous claim and I know that for big things or important issues it may not be true, for smaller or less important issues however it does appear to be true – after all, is that not the result that the majority of advertisers are hoping for?
Repeat often enough that your shop has the best bargains or that a certain product is healthy and people come to believe it, without any effort on their part, it happens in the back of your mind, so to speak.
I wondered at the time if the same is true of bad news, negativity etc. and I greatly suspect that it is.
I know if you wish to have a healthy attitude towards yourself and towards life that it helps to seek out the company of like minded individuals because it simply doesn’t feel good to be around people who are predominantly negative.
I don’t think that it is helpful right now for the media to focus so singly on doom and gloom, to dramatise it. I would love it if there were more good news stories being broadcast.
I feel lucky that I have seen a few really good programs lately. One show was about a bunch of Hawaiians who are teaching the children of the islands how to look after their islands, how to respect the coral, to reduce the use of plastic, to love the environment they are living it.
There is a native Hawaiian word (which I sadly cannot remember) which is an old teaching, the word means both privilege and responsibility. It is this old teaching that is being brought back to contemporary society, the children are learning what is involved in having both a sense of privilege and a sense of responsibility.
I love that these children are being supported in learning the old ways in this modern world, that they are being given a sense that they have power, they can do things to change what is unhealthy. They are being supported in learning to take responsibility, to fully enjoy and appreciate the privilege.
I love to hear and see stories such as this, to know that people are working hard at a very basic level to love this planet that we all inhabit. It is important for my spirit to know that there are a lot of people for whom money is not a high priority, who do not take more than they need, who do not suffer from a greed for power or for money.
Personally, I cannot hear enough of these stories, the good news stories that we can all share with each other…
Beautiful post. I grew up in the “50s and 60’s – an age where technology and the “modern ways” were thought of as such marvelous progress. We were not mindful of how Earth was being raped while we developed machines do our work for us. I like to think that “making things” rather than buying them and growing food helps me to connect with my own spirit and my place on Earth. It’s a just a small step, I know, but it’s mine.
Thanks Suzan, I love how you put it – that it connects you with your spirit and your place on Earth…
Good morning Scribhneoir from Arizona, What beautiful posts. Your description of nature – the night sky, the forest, the hills behind you, the moon, the cold and even the wind – beautiful.
The above post talks about privilege and responsibility. I love the concept of linking these two ideologies together. Thank you for putting it into print – makes the awareness pop right out. 😀
Here in the desert we have had rain for the past 3 days. A miracle and a blessing. We so desperately need the water. It was a good rain – so often desert storms are violent and the rain comes down in torrents and washes away everything in its path. This rain was gentle, it soaked in. This means the desert should come alive in March with wildflowers which we haven’t seen in years. I will have to be prepared to take pictures. It is also cold – 30 degrees this morning and the sun is shining brightly. My husband took our dogs walking in the bright, cold, crystal clear sun – they are in 7th heaven. I stayed home – both from the walk and from school today to nurse a bit of a cold and sore throat.
I like what Susan wrote about growing her own food and becoming more self-sufficient – connecting her spirit with her place on this earth. She said it is only a small step but I see it as huge. Just think of the shift in awareness – if even 1/2 of all people on earth could experience such a shift imagine what that would do for our planet, our world, and all of life on earth. WOW!
Namaste, Lindy