There is a long history in psychology of a focus on mental illnesses and uncomfortable states. In other words, psychology was very much focused on the negative. Over the last couple of decades, however, a new movement has emerged in psychology to focus on the positive, to look for the effects of positive emotions and states and for ways to increase these positive states.
Meditation has been found to not only reduce negative conditions but to also increase positive states such as joy, love, and happiness. As a result positive psychology has become very interested in studying meditation effects. Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM) is specifically designed to develop positive feelings toward the self and others. In LKM the meditator focuses on repeatedly wishing positive things, wellness, safety, happiness, health etc. for oneself and toward multiple other people from loved ones to enemies. (See http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/loving-kindness-meditation-and-the-disease-of-the-west/)
LKM has been shown to improve positive mood and improve social interactions (See https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1043326459024613/?type=1&theater
http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/loving-kindness-meditation-and-social-function/). In today’s Research News article “The interventional effects of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions and interpersonal interactions”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4450657/
He and colleagues demonstrated that a brief loving-kindness meditation practice increased positive emotions, interpersonal interactions, and complex understanding of others and decreased negative emotions in Chinese college students.
So, practicing Loving-Kindness Meditation can make you feel more positive toward yourself and others, can improve your interactions with others, and can even make you more understanding of the complexities of human nature. Once we develop compassion and kindness toward ourselves and others, which is the object of Loving-Kindness Meditation, it markedly alters not only our feelings towards ourselves and others, but also allows the cognitive understandings to grow and blossom.
These positive feelings and understandings of ourselves and others has wide ranging consequences. It appears to improve mental and physical health, increase longevity, change neural structures, make us better at coping with stress, improve social connections, and make us feel better about ourselves.
It’s quite remarkable that such a simple technique can have such profound consequences. This seems to support the old saying that “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar”. You can get much more good things done by emphasizing the positive than attempting to fix the negative. Along the same lines, it’s long been known in psychology that learning occurs much more swiftly and permanently with positive rewards than avoidance of punishment. Once again positivity is much more effective than negativity.
So, practice Loving Kindness Meditation and be positive.
CMCS