“Positive thoughts generate positive feelings and attract positive life experiences.” – Rhonda Byrne.

Christmas has just passed, so I decided to look further into the human ritual of giving and receiving. Historically, I have thought of giving as the movement from one person to another of a tangible item, such as a present, or an intangible item, such as knowledge. Along with these movements, I have been taught not to expect a gift in return, as giving should stand on its own.

Recently, I have learned another way of looking at giving and receiving. I now see they could be a simultaneous action. Not the objects described in the previous paragraph but the movement of energy. Let me explain: if I find someone annoying, that is what my mind energy is giving through thought. At the same time that I am giving out that energy, I feel the accompanying annoyance within myself. I receive what I am giving, and the more I play with this awareness, the more it holds. I create my reality through giving and receiving. Bad thoughts out, bad feelings in. Good thoughts out, good feelings in.  Lesson to self: Be aware of what I think.

I started to bring greater awareness to this throughout my daily activities.  Reading any news causing me to express negative thoughts, verbally or internally (give), would simultaneously cause my emotions to feel heavy (receive). Any interactions in which I would react adversely (give) would result in internal unrest (receive). The give and receive were aligned. What if I was able to change my thoughts to give positive energy? This does not mean being a doormat, as I can still disagree with positive energy and make changes when necessary; it would mean removing what was detrimental to myself—that which had no value.

Sure enough, it worked. I could catch myself negatively thinking, which in turn stopped my negative feelings. The give and receive were aligned positively. The kinder I was, the better I would feel. I could also reign myself in when I went down the negative thought path. Feeling the accompanying emotions and knowing I was causing my suffering, I was able to let the thoughts go, which immediately caused the feelings to dissipate. Lesson to self: Be careful of what you think.

Retirement will see me continuing my energetic self-awareness and wondering how the world would change if we all spent more time feeling what we’re thinking or doing. Would we continue with the craziness? Would we choose joy over angst? I’m starting to think so.