A Practice Guide
Book of Positive Aspects
A practice for training your attention toward what nourishes.
Viktor Frankl, who developed Logotherapy while imprisoned in Auschwitz after losing his entire family, came to understand something profound. That our only inalienable right, the one no one can take from us, is the right to choose how we will respond to a given situation. The right to choose our attitude.
The mind has the power to create the reality we experience in any circumstance, regardless of what is happening "out there." This is true whether we realize it or not.
The Book of Positive Aspects, adapted from Abraham-Hicks' teachings, is a way of working with this capacity so that it serves you rather than works against you.
In every moment, something positive can be attended to. The practice is to notice it, to allow it in, and to let your reality come into alignment with what you have chosen to see.
It is not
A way of pretending
- Reframing the negative as positive
- Denying that something difficult is there
It is
A way of choosing
- Recognizing that something positive is always there to attend to
- Choosing, consciously, to see the good in a situation, person, or thing
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The Practice
How to begin
i
Choose a subject
Begin with a fresh notebook. Turn to a clean page and label it with a subject. My Partner. My Job. My Mother. Whatever needs your attention today.
ii
Write what you can appreciate
Write short statements that describe aspects of that person or situation you can truly appreciate, even if other things about it are difficult. Only positive things go here. Nothing negative. You are not pretending the difficulty is not there. You are choosing where to place your attention for this moment.
- He can be witty and charming
- The pay is good for the hours, and the schedule is steady
- I can count on getting my paycheck
- I get to try new experiences, and I am paid for it
- This time off gives me a certain freedom
- I like sharing expenses with someone
- My office has a beautiful view
iii
Let yourself feel it
Then, review what you wrote. Not mechanically. Take a few minutes to feel the goodness in what you noticed. Acknowledge it. Appreciate it. Sit with it. If new positive thoughts arise, add them.
iv
Return to the practice
Do this daily, on any subject that has been a struggle. You can have as many books or pages as you like. See what is good. You are not denying what else is there. You are choosing where to place your attention.
What unfolds
A practice that meets you
You will begin to find yourself aligned with what nourishes, no matter the situation. More positive experiences will follow. The negative, when it arises, will drift more easily away.
The person or situation may not change. But they will be different when in your presence.
And what comes to replace what is moving on, will be a match to what you have given your attention to.
Jesus taught, "turn the other cheek." This practice is one way of doing exactly that. Of gently turning your attention away from what does not serve, and toward what does.
It can be a challenge at first. If you stay with it, your life will change, in its own time.
Questions? Stories? I would love to hear them. You can reach me through the contact page.