What I Learned From Sandra Ingerman’s How to Heal Toxic Thoughts

“Imagine your thoughts as if they were cars passing by.”

This common meditation/awareness metaphor has always resonated with me. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this concept, the basic idea is that your mind is like a road. The thoughts are like cars passing by. Whenever a thought goes past, we have the option to follow after it, or leave it to drive by. Part of meditation is the process of watching these cars go by, and not feeling the need to chase them. But what if we find ourselves running after a toxic thought?

Do you have toxic thoughts?

I recently picked up a copy of How to Heal Toxic Thoughts: Simple Tools for Personal Transformation by Sandra Ingerman. In her introductions, she emphasizes the danger of toxic thoughts. Negative feelings can be as toxic as physical poisons. They can wear on us, and exacerbate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and illness.

It can be easy to fall into a kind of “thought spiral” when it comes to toxic thoughts, chasing the thought down further and further until we lose sight of which direction we are facing. Ingerman’s book offers a practical roadmap to deal with these thoughts. This was one of the great strengths of the book - instead of just pointing out the issues with toxic thoughts, it offers solutions in the form of exercises and meditations.

One of the central themes of How to Heal Toxic Thoughts is the idea of alchemy. This may conjure up images of ancient wizards conjuring lead into metal (or perhaps Paulo Coelho’s famous novel, The Alchemist), but Ingerman puts forth a different vision of alchemy. She argues that the real alchemy is the ability to transform a heavy consciousness (of lead) into a light consciousness (of gold).

The idea of “alchemy of thoughts” is appealing to me. Toxic thoughts (and all thoughts, in general) are a natural part of being conscious. That is why meditation techniques do not tell us to block out these negative thoughts. To do so would be fighting against nature. Instead, How to Heal Toxic Thoughts allows us to have these thoughts, and teaches us to use their negative energy to fuel a positive consciousness.

Think back on the last few weeks. The number of negative thoughts that come up in everyday life can be astounding. Imagine the value you could get from this alchemy of thought, by turning your leaded consciousness and toxic thoughts into a golden consciousness and positive energy. If this is appealing to you, pick up a copy of Sandra Ingerman’s book, which is worth its weight in gold.