Episode 1. Why choose to bathe in lower vibrations? 

“No more! I’m not watching it any more!”

I chose to stop watching the evening news a while back now, as I had noticed how much negativity there is in the stories they cover and decided I simply didn’t want to bathe in that lower vibration.

A few months ago I visited someone who WAS watching the news, and I had a bodily reaction to the stories; a theft, an attack, a rip-off scam, natural disasters and various crises. I quickly felt my energy drop and sag, especially as many of these events are nothing I can do anything about.

In fact if felt like an attack on my senses!

Like a past version of myself, this person couldn’t seem to help ‘lapping it up’, all the while lamenting how terrible the world was becoming and how many horrible things were happening.

It’s as if the stories trigger within me a sense of powerlessness and even hopelessness about the human race! Many people are triggered into rage. Have you felt it too?

This is not to say that I don’t have any interest in the world around me, or that I want to bury my head in the sand of fluffy unicorns and rainbows.

I don’t want to be blind to the suffering in the world. But I’m not interested in bathing in a sea of lower energy, night after night.

Now I’ll grab the headlines online, and choose which stories to have a better look at. I may be moved into compassion to take some action to support people in need, or support someone who is making a positive impact.

Great idea BUT … !

In an article for the British journal of Psychology, the authors ask, “Is the news making us unhappy?” and they state that “a direct relationship between negative news exposure and negative emotional states was found in a number of experimental studies.” https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjop.12389

Psychologist Tom Stafford cites another study in which participants said they preferred good news. On average, they said that the media was too focussed on negative stories. Yet in the actual experiment, participants often chose stories with a negative tone — corruption, set-backs, hypocrisy and so on — rather than neutral or positive stories. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140728-why-is-all-the-news-bad

What’s going on here?

Well, I don’t know what’s happening for those people but I can share what’s happening inside of me. It seems to me that parts of me can definitely be on board with seeking positivity and nourishing vibrations.

On the other hand, stories that align with lower vibrations can trigger the unconscious and unhealed parts of myself into a victim-mentality of despair, stress, lack, impotent rage, powerlessness and hopelessness. Basically, if I’m triggered, there’s still something to look at.

I’m sure the advertising gurus have analysed this and discovered something about the prevailing mental paradigm at this time; lots of unhealed Flight, Fight, Fawn or Freeze reactions just waiting to be stirred up.

I do wonder if the ads in the ad break then offer us products to ‘soothe’ these unconscious parts?

How can we shift the unconscious attraction to “bad news”?

I know through social media and my own psychotherapy practice that there are many people around the world who are gradually healing the unconscious parts of themselves; gradually releasing the stored blocks of energy that prevent them from living a fulfilled and joyful life.

As they do so, they are less likely to be personally attracted and unconsciously triggered by “Bad News” stories, and more likely to respond with compassion and loving action rather than hopelessness or outrage.

Newsflash! Good News stories abound.

I suspect there is now a large group of people who would look forward to raising their vibration through a Good-news program, featuring stories of gratitude, happiness and positive thinking.

 We could call it “Good News at Six”.

In her Logie acceptance speech in 2016, Australian actress Noni Hazelhurst even proposed a TV channel dedicated to positive news stories.

I wonder how such a Good-news programme would go?

“Let’s cross to our man on the ground now. Apparently mandarins are particularly juicy and delicious at the moment.” Cross to video footage of the green grocer’s shop, with rows of glistening golden fruit……

“Glorious Spring flowers now blooming in people’s gardens and at the local farmer’s market.”

“And now here’s Deanne to tell us about the beautiful cloud formations today.”

I hate to have to tell you TV-programmers, but the bloggers are way ahead of you on this. There’s a groundswell of subversives who are spreading good news, inspiring quotes, personal stories and positive affirmations all over cyberspace; raising our vibration, one story at a time.

And people are lapping it up.

Social media revolution

I have a number of friends whose Facebook pages are full of positive news stories. These are the ones I love; those people who notice beautiful things — a stunning thunder cloud over the sea near her home, someone else’s pond with the first newly-opened lotus flower of the season, someone else’s photo of the kitchen bench with preparations for her iconic meal to welcome the start of autumn.

In touch with the simple joys of life. So uplifting.

What about the fabulous antidotes to balance out all the negative news when Covid hit? The Happiness Pandemic spread like a virus, and was one of my favourites.

I remember once accidentally tuning in to a program on the Australian of The Year, seeing all those wonderful people of all ages doing amazing things in our world. It was truly heartwarming.

I recently saw an inspirational multi-media presentation on young people giving back to the world after experiencing pain or hardship in their own lives. One was the wonderful Nicole Gibson, who established the very funky @Rogue and Rouge foundation, which supports young people and destigmatizes mental illness. Among other things, they run workshops to educate young people about mental health, using art therapy to get in touch with feelings. Absolutely brilliant, ground-breaking, on-trend, and so, so uplifting!

I’m sure there are many such stories out there for our Good News program. We could bathe in higher vibrations, night after night.

Does such a TV or online program already exist? I’d love for you to tell us if you know.

Stay tuned for Episode 2, where I have a lovely time with Good News at Six, around the dinner table.

Barbara Cook is an Australian author and Awareness Facilitator, whose various modalities help people turn their “stuck” places into opportunities for growth.

Join her blog community for articles written with awareness or receive her free newsletter for good news on upcoming workshops. barbaracookauthor.com

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Her book “Good Choice — A Soul’s Story” is available here. https://www.balboapress.com/BookStore/BookDetails/705508-Good-Choice