On Positive Thinking

I’ve been reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided, How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, in which she debunks the American cultural emphasis on a cheerful, optimistic and upbeat frame of mind. She traces it’s origin from reaction to the cold, unforgiving gloom of 19th century Calvin Puritanism to the arrival of the New Thought movement, with which we, as Religious Scientists, are associated. Positive thinking, as well such ideas as The Law of Attraction, came out of this movement. They are delusional, she indicates, rather than realistic.

In the chapter “Smile or Die,” she describes her own experience with the pink ribbon culture of breast cancer, with its dictate to have a positive attitude so the mind-body can boost the immune system to defeat cancer. Otherwise, if you developed cancer, your negative thinking brought it on. If you became terminal, you weren’t positive enough.

She took issue with this and with the characterization of breast cancer, not as a problem, but as a gift deserving heartfelt gratitude, a passport to a better life and connection to the Divine. She noted reports of some women being expelled from support groups when their cancer metastasized and it was clear they would never graduate to become “survivors.”

She sees tyranny in positive thinking, a heavy burden on patients to repress anger, sadness or disgust, especially if their cancer progresses.

Happily, she did survive, but angry that blame falls on patients rather than such suspicious carcinogens as hormone replacement therapy or other toxins. “Breast cancer, I can now report, did not make me prettier or stronger, more feminine or spiritual. What it gave me, if you want to call this a ‘gift,’ was a very personal agonizing encounter with an ideological force in American culture that I had not been aware of before -- one that encourages us to deny reality, submit cheerfully to misfortune, and blame only ourselves for our fate.”

I got to thinking about my own experience with breast cancer almost 25 years ago. I had conventional treatment, and then I did everything I could to get well. Even my surgeon recommended positive thinking, with Bernie Siegel’s book and a video on boosting the immune system. I went to a support group, where we were able to vent our suppressed emotions, even if negative, as well as positive thoughts for healing. When my mind drifted to negative catastrophic thoughts, I sang a song to myself that I had written about being radiantly healthy.

I did everything I could to heal myself. I went to the Optimal Health Institute with its raw food and wheat grass regime. I changed my diet, read voraciously, took supplements, even went back to graduate school.

Like Barbara, I suspected that hormone replacement therapy produced the cancer. I didn’t blame myself. But anger and focusing on the negative wasn't helpful. I didn’t deny the reality of the condition, but I chose positive thinking plus a personal action plan. 

Eventually, I discovered Science of Mind and embarked on a spiritual path. I learned to use Spiritual Mind Treatment, which emphasizes affirmative prayer plus positive action. “Treat and Use Your Feet.” Unlike Barbara, I am grateful for the gift of a spiritual path, and a connection to the Divine.

And so it is.