by Joyce-Anne Locking

Create Beauty
By creating beauty in our lives all areas are made better. Choose an area of your life you wish to improve. Let us, for example, choose finance. How do we improve our finances? Create beauty in this area first by positive thought. Anything positive is clothed in beauty. Whenever you think of your finances allow a positive image to pop up in your mind. It may be red roses or an orchid, any image that is impressive to you. If you always wanted a sports car, use this image, or if you'd love to have a grand piano, use this image. Whatever the image, it instantly changes the sense of lack to the feeling of affluence in your own mind. Once thought is transformed on the inside, the outer life reflects this belief in prosperity. It may take some time to materialize so don't be in a rush to see results. You may have had negative beliefs in this area for such a long time the cobwebs will have to be removed before layers of negative thought begin to transform.

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This study examined cognitive distortions and coping styles as potential mediators for the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, negative affect, positive affect, and hope in college students. Our pre- and postintervention design had four conditions: control, brief meditation focused on attention, brief meditation focused on loving kindness, and longer meditation combining both attentional and loving kindness aspects of mindfulness. Each group met weekly over the course of a semester. Longer combined meditation significantly reduced anxiety and negative affect and increased hope. Changes in cognitive distortions mediated intervention effects for anxiety, negative affect, and hope. Further research is needed to determine differential effects of types of meditation. Copyright 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

J Clin Psychol. 2009 Jun;65(6):561-73. Sears S, Kraus S. Fort Lewis College, CO. USA. Sears_s@fortlewis.edu