The Transformation of Negative Flows

by Wynn Free

Part of the human condition involves going through cycles. There are periods when everything is flowing smoothly and we feel great and then we enter a period where nothing is going right and we’re dejected and depressed. It appears that the outward circumstance creates the inner feeling but I believe, in most cases, it works just the opposite, i.e. first we feel dejected and then our world responds. If we can move ourselves out of the negative feeling, the world will shift concurrently. A couple of weeks ago, I had a poignant example demonstrating to me that it really does work this way.

I went to the post office and there was a seemingly homeless man sitting outside asking for spare change. I asked him how his day was going and he said "lousy, I didn’t make any money for the past 4 hours. I said, "How do you expect to collect any money when you’re looking so sad and dejected?" I took a quarter out of my pocket and I told him this was going to be his lucky quarter. And with a dramatic gesture, I put the quarter in his hand and continued on my way.

The following day I had occasion to go the same post office. As I approached the entryway, the same guy was sitting there except I didn’t recognize him because he looked so cheerful, but he recognized me. As I approached, he started ranting and raving about the quarter I gave him the day before. He said the quarter really was magic because after I left him, he collected $15 in a short period of time.

I realized that in giving him the quarter in the manner that I did, I also gave him a blast of positive energy, which he received and allowed to transform his own feelings of dejection. As he began radiating a more positive energy to the public, people responded to him more generously.

I believe this situation demonstrates how life works for all of us. Normally, when we’re having a bad day, first we don’t feel good and that triggers the world to respond to us negatively. When you encounter someone else who’s having a bad day, instead of judging him or her, as is the normal human tendency, extend them some kindness. Just as I changed the attitude and the fortunes of the homeless man with my quarter, so can you lift the attitudes of those who pass through your life with a warm smile, a kind word, or a quarter.

And when you’re having a bad day yourself, the perception will probably be that outside events are causing those negative feelings. The first step in transforming this is to take responsibility and realize it is your consciousness that is, most likely, causing those outside events. And then do something to change your consciousness. Break your pattern in some way. For example, you could attend a movie and the consciousness of the crowd can flow through you as the movie puts others through their emotional changes. And as you pick up their energies, you will transform your own.

Evaluate honestly your reactions to the negative cycles others are going through. If you have a life partner, are you judging them for their negativity or are you keeping a positive flow in their direction? So often, people in close relationships lock horns and freeze a negative level of reality. We are all choosing every moment to lift and support that, which is around us or react to it with judgment and apathy. What are you choosing?