People tell me they are especially struggling with negative thoughts and emotions when feeling tired. How can we approach this?

Let's remember the key elements of Positive Meditation. Thoughts are the words in the head. Emotions are a combination of thoughts and physical sensations in the body. So we can begin to observe thoughts and also the sensations that arise in the body when we have the thoughts.

They are highly interconnected but with observation we can begin to understand the effect each have on the other and then begin to change the reactive pattern. 

So whatever sensation arises in the body we just observe. simply observe the sensation with equanimity. It is neither good nor bad. It is just a temporary sensation passing through the body. It may have been caused by thought and that is fine. Just observe sensations. Through this you develop insight.

Then when you become aware of the thought behind the sensation, it is time to bring in self-enquiry. It is time to question the thoughts themselves to find out 

Find the thought that is causing the sensation and ask yourself 'Are you sure?'. Whether the answer to this question is Yes or No does not matter although 'No' may release you from the thought's grip immediately. 

Then turn the thought into the opposite. Remember there are at least 2 opposites for every thought.

Now look for the truth in the opposites. What is positive about the opposites? As you start to find the positives and they open your mind, watch what happens to the sensations in the body. Do they change? You don't need them to change. Its OK if they stay the same but just observe what does happen.

This is harder when we are tired or ill but not by any means impossible. We just need to focus more on exploring the opposites.

So rather than resisting 'what is going on', start accepting it. Allow the way 'it makes you feel' to be totally OK. The key is that it is not the event that is causing you to feel annoyed or frustrated etc. It is your thoughts about the event. Question the thought, find the opposites and explore the positives in the opposites and the thought's power to create negative reaction is removed.....

People often ask me if Meditation will make them happier. As a teacher of meditation I have found that the answer to this question is not a simple one. Meditation helps us to become more sensitive to our body and our state of being. By meditation we feel when our moods are changing and are therefore able to correct a negative mood shift before it turns into something more stressful. 

However without the use of self-enquiry which frees us from the thoughts which create the negative mood shift in the first place we will not reach true liberation.

The combination of meditation and self-enquiry is the essence of Positive Meditation.