It is not an exaggeration to say that negative and persistent thoughts often trouble us. These thoughts can involve our fears, passions, comparisons, or the drive for perfection. While such thoughts are common, letting them dominate our minds and drain our energy can significantly impact our lives.
Today, mental health practitioners' offices are busy, in part because many of us hesitate to speak openly about ourselves to friends and family. We often avoid discussing our negative feelings, fears, weaknesses, and guilt, which leaves us alone with our burdensome thoughts. In an attempt to cope, we try to hide and suppress these thoughts, but this often leads to feelings of guilt or pride. Suppression rarely works, and eventually, these negative thoughts resurface in harmful ways.
Monk Anselm Gruen (1999) uses the metaphor of a “worm” to describe these destructive thoughts, stating, “As a worm eats away wood, negative and evil thoughts destroy the heart.” These inner worms of negativity can erode our peace and affect our mind, body, and soul. Grün suggests that we handle these thoughts by bringing them to light through sharing. He asserts that talking about our thoughts and feelings removes their dangerous and destructive power: “We lure the inner worm out in conversation, the wood will stay healthy, and the heart can breathe again.”
Negative thoughts are like inner worms that quietly but persistently consume our peace and joy. It is important to recognize these inner worms and bring them into the light by discussing them with someone we trust, allowing us to reclaim our peace and health.
Notes
Gruen, A. (1999). Heaven begins within you. A Crossroad Book (p. 93).
Good advice, I'm going to try sharing my thoughts with others. Enjoyed the topic.Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSaid rightly. Speaking openly about my fears has helped me too.
ReplyDeleteThanq fr for the inspirational writings
ReplyDeleteVery true.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful advice 👍 Worth becoming aware of my own thoughts, words and deeds 🙏
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting read. Thank you for always sharing insightful information.
ReplyDeleteGood advice, thus the need for frequent confessions
ReplyDeleteFrji, Thank you for sharing the beautiful thoughts. Praying for you to continue the ministry of writings.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fr John Baptist for another inspirational message. By the way, there is an old 1940s era
ReplyDeleteSong by Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters,
You gotta accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative and don't mess with Mr. In-between.
See it on YouTube.
Thank you FrJi for such a lovely article .l like the idea of sharing your thoughts with others can greatly enhance the experience of peace and mental calmness.
ReplyDeleteSuppressed emotions and feelings can even lead to the growth of cancerous cells in the body.
It’s really nice. Bhaiya
ReplyDeleteDear brother thank you for sharing this meaningful topic. After reading really felt relaxed because most of the time I see my negative feelings. Thanks a lot for sharing this.
ReplyDelete