Cognitive Reframing: Thank you very much, I have no problem whatsoever.

Once upon a time there lived a wise Buddhist woman whose name was Sono. She was known throughout the land for her wisdom.

Many people came to her for advice for financial problems, problems of the heart, physical ailments or emotional problems. To every person who arrived, she gave the same advice: Repeat daily: “Thank you very much, I have no complaint whatsoever.” You can imagine that some people went away feeling rather annoyed, some argued with her. Others simply went home, practiced this mantra, and as the story goes, it changed their lives.

One day a man arrived for advice to soothe his troubled heart. She told him that he should wake up every morning and say to himself: “Thank you very much, I have no complaints whatsoever.” and she advised that he should repeat this to himself many times throughout the day. He went away and practiced this diligently. The story goes that after one year he appeared at her house again and explained that this practice had not worked for him. What should he do?

Sono said ”Thank you very much, I have no complaint whatsoever.” The man understood, was instantly enlightened. (In other words, he fully understood the meaning behind her words and had an insight into the root of his problem)

You might be thinking this is all a bit New Age and fluffy, but it has been scientifically measured that people who engage in some form of gratitude practice experience higher levels of positive feelings, of general wellbeing, are less stressed and happier people, sleep better and enjoy overall better health.

In Yoga we practice Gratitude too. It is called Pratipaksha Bhavana. For anyone who thinks of Yoga as just a form of exercise: the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, which is generally regarded as the definitive text on yoga, is a very ancient set of writings on the practice of a Yoga Lifestyle. It is a few thousand years old, and includes teachings on how to maintain a healthy body as well as a happy mind.

Pratipaksha is the Sanskrit word for opposite and Bhavana means generate or develop. It refers to the practice of developing opposite thoughts, substituting negative thoughts with positive thoughts in order to be able to see the situation from another point of view. Letting go of the old to make space for the new.

In modern psychology the practice of Pratipaksha Bhavana would be referred to as ‘changing our internal dialogue’ or Cognitive Reframing. We all have negative thoughts sometimes, and Cognitive Reframing helps us to move towards thinking more positively. When something stressful or upsetting happens to us, the way we think about it is very important. Our thoughts about a situation are often more problematic than the situation itself.

Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis, two people who developed theories about Cognitive Reframing, came up with something knows as REBT (Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behaviour), working on the basis that habitual negative thinking should be managed correctly before it becomes negative behaviour. According to Ellis, negative thinking can be seen as “thinking distortion”. Negative thinking makes us anxious and stressed, and we should ask ourself the question: Is there anything about holding this negative belief that is logical, that is helpful?

Our mind-body connection is much stronger than you might think. On a physical level, habitual negative thinking not only causes us what Buddhists call 'suffering', it furthermore has the potential to harm our body.

We’re all hard wired to be analytical so we are able to assess danger and stay alive and engage in analytical and critical thinking to solve problems. But these days, although our response mechanisms are the same as they always were, our situations are hardly ever life threatening.

What happens to our body when we experience negative thinking?

When we are engaged in negative thinking, we become anxious and stressed. The part of our brain called the thalamus is responsible for sending signals to the rest of the body, but our mind can’t distinguish between negative thoughts and real danger. When you think negative thoughts, the thalamus assumes that it needs to prepare the body to flee. As a result, our bodies experience real stress symptoms of rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, and a state of heightened arousal. Your thoughts and emotions also stimulate the production of certain chemicals that influence your physical and emotional health.

Studies show that emotions release specific hormones. For example, joy and happiness causes the release of serotonin and dopamine. Happiness hormones have been found to be responsible for strengthening the immune system.

A similar process occurs with negative emotions. Scientists have determined that the body releases two powerful neurotransmitters and hormones, cortisol and adrenalin, which trigger physical responses in your body. You won’t be surprised to learn that this has the opposite effect to positive emotions and the release of dopamine and serotonin in every way, including weakening our immune system, making our body more prone to illness.

So, I ask you: should we be bothering with "stinking thinking"? I say no, it’s better for us to think: "Thank you very much, I have no problem whatsoever!" :)

At today’s meditation quite a few very interesting ideas came up: It is said that it takes about 14 positive thoughts to combat any negative thought. That means we really have put in some work to get rid of what happens to our body when we indulge in even one negative thought! The question that was raised is: Can we afford the luxury of negative thoughts?

Have a wonderful week,

Mx