As far as the eye can see green. The miracle of water has revived a barren, earthy plain. The blend of the sky’s blue, stretching out to touch the branches of towering trees, and the dense, lush forest surrendering its hair to the caress of the heavens, has painted a breathtaking scene. To the left, the highlands crowned with heavy clouds promise an even greener field. With a flight toward the setting sun, I soar yet beyond those towering mountains, only arid land meets my gaze. By all accounts, the plains beyond should have been verdant.
The moisture of these fruitful orchards should have given life there as well not a desert, empty and dry! The roar of the river catches my attention. I see it at the foot of the highlands: in a cascading path, foaming waters rush downward into the plain. Now I understand the hard, rocky mountains have blocked the flow of water to the vast western plain, leaving it to burn in thirst for a single narrow stream.
Such mountains and valleys also exist within our minds; stones formed over years under the pressure of trauma and bitterness, now dictating the course of life directing our thoughts and perceptions. These entrenched patterns, by channeling thoughts and information, leave little room for new, different, and healthier perspectives. Over the years, they become fixed, holding our mental energy hostage, producing repeated misinterpretations of familiar situations. In psychology, this is called Cognitive Entrenchment: enduring mental pathways, fed and sustained constantly, which block the survival of new perceptions and fresh ideas. A valley that steals life, forbidding us a new vision of existence. In such entrenched channels, our thoughts constantly poison us with bitterness: “I am worthless.” “I will fail.” “I cannot.” These are the dark valleys carved into our minds, and escaping them is no simple task. The aim of psychotherapy is to shatter these stones and let life-giving water flow again into the thirsty, healthy plains of the mind.
In general, changing these mental grooves requires consistent effort and practice: striving to form new perspectives, witnessing their results, and reinforcing them.
The first step toward freedom from negativity is the ability to recognize negative thoughts. Many people cannot distinguish between negative thoughts and truth. We must learn not to take thoughts as reality itself, but merely as thoughts: mental representations of a person, an event, or the future. Once we recognize the place of thought for what it is, we can then use specialized techniques of cognitive management to free ourselves from them.
