The Power of Negative Thinking

Many a time, one who is casting spells or getting spellcasts done will be told to stay positive. Does this mean one should invest false hope in a case? Does this mean one ought to deny any chance of things going wrong? Does this mean one ought to plan only for a future based on a successful outcome? The shock of such disappointment when one had put so much faith into a happy result is often a way of even worsening the pain of dismay from just not getting it. But what else then? Surely you don't want negative energy? That's a sure way to kill a spell, isn't it?

While negative energy certainly can harm a spell, I have observed a lot of people's "positive energy" is really just negative energy in disguise. People are afraid of what will happen if the spell fails, so they invest everything they have into ensuring a positive outcome -- by way of obsession and fretting, either over the spell or its worldly elements. That is not positive, that is negative! Unsatisfying results are typically the outcome one gets of such action. Acting out of terror is never positive, unless you count an instinctive Fight or Flight reaction to escape from immediate danger; but this is a rare occurrence in our culture. Instead, people are afraid of future possibilities and what will happen if circumstances don't fall in their favor, and then out of desperation they try to use magic to control it, still terrified of what will come if the magic fails. Thinking a "positive attitude" is what is needed to mold the magic to shape, they act positive and do what they believe a positive person does. Advice for this often involves things like acting as if you've already received what you want or improving your self esteem.

Yet, going into magic with a negative attitude often gets much better results than all this work! I don't know about you, but I have heard many cases of someone claiming "I just tried a spell for fun, thinking it wasn't real -- then to my horror, it worked!" Clearly, this person who didn't even think a spell would work wasn't thinking positively about it, yes? But it worked anyway. How???

And that's the thing. They didn't care. They actually were thinking positively, because they weren't investing their entire future in some specific outcome of a spellcast. They're even perfectly happy with a failure. That is real positive energy!

When you care so little about the outcome that you don't give it another thought, that is the true way to avoid negative energy. In a sense, by being negative you negate the negative. Simple, huh? When you genuinely don't care, you're open to any possibility. And isn't being open really what being positive is all about?

I often get people asking me "What should I do after a spellcast?" I tell them, Don't think about the spell. The less expectation you put into it, the better it's going to turn out. The less you wonder Is it working? the more likely you are to see its effect.

In short, go into magic with a pessimistic attitude. Don't use it like you rely on the results -- use it like you don't care what happens from the spell, and lead your life accordingly. That is a truly positive attitude. When you are thinking so positively that you'll even be pleased with an unfortunate outcome, that is the height of Positive Thinking. So be negative! Be a pessimist! Act like you expect hope is already lost! Thereby you will find your greatest satisfaction from magic.