One of the more interesting facets of the mind that I’ve explored as part of my training in Kundalini Yoga is the interplay between the Negative, Positive and Neutral Minds.
Exploring these conceptual minds, or functions of the mind has helped provide me with deeper insight into how to work with them to tap into my true inner wisdom and intuition.
The Purpose of the Negative Mind: Protection and Awareness
The Negative Mind often doesn’t sound like a good thing. But its true role is protection. It acts as a discerning voice, pointing out risks and establishing healthy boundaries. It is the mind that asks, “Is this safe? Is it really the best thing to do?” without which we’d make reckless decisions.
For me I know that my negative mind is overworking if I’m lying awake in the middle of the night – I tend to ruminate and worry about things that I know deep down would not bother me during the daylight hours.
When this mind is working well, it’s doing the check on whether crossing the road right now with the speed of that car approaching is a good idea.
Having the discipline to recognise this function in the mind and keep it in check is how to have a healthy negative mind.
The Positive Mind: Expansion and Possibility
The Positive Mind is not just about “thinking positive.” It’s about expansion, identifying opportunities, seeing possibilities, and moving forward with confidence. It helps us embrace joy, creativity, prosperity and optimism. It helps us to see the good in people.
But here’s an important nuance I learned during training: the Positive Mind is not always working in our favour.
It can be used to reinforce negativity when used without discernment. The positive mind can be used to seek “evidence” that the negative mind is correct.
For example, think of the times you’ve Googled a health concern, hoping for reassurance, only to find information that confirms your worst fears. What started with a headache has now escalated to being a potential brain tumour.
So the negative mind comes up with some irrationally negative hypothesis and the positive mind takes that and confirms it.
This realization was eye-opening for me. The Positive Mind isn’t inherently good; it’s a tool that must be guided consciously.
The Neutral Mind: The Seat of Clarity and Balance
The Neutral Mind is the win-win. It listens to both the Negative and Positive Minds without bias, offering clarity and balance. This is where wisdom resides—the calm, intuitive space from which we make decisions that feel aligned and true.
As kundalini yoga students, we use meditation to calm our mind in order to get to the point of neutrality. Our kundalini yoga stimulates the recognition of our innate wisdom and intuition so that we can cut to the balanced truth – and recognise it amongst the noisy and busy thoughts created by the negative and positive minds.
The Dance Between the Three Minds
One of the most interesting lessons from my teacher training was thinking about how these three minds are not isolated states but a dynamic interplay. Each has its role, and true wisdom lies in integrating them harmoniously.
Imagine a situation where you’re asked to do a short talk in front of a group. The fear of public speaking is one of the most common fears that we have. The negative mind therefore jumps to worry – that the talk will go wrong, what if I get nervous, what if people think I’m stupid? The positive mind has to break this thought pattern and look to the positive impact on others, or the opportunities that may arise as a result of doing the talk. The neutral mind has to acknowledge the challenge and allow for nerves to be present, but embrace the possibility of the good that could come from doing the talk.
Practical Tips for Unlocking the Wisdom of the Neutral Mind
Ultimately, the more we can tap into the wisdom of the neutral mind, the easier it becomes to perceive any situation from a compassionate and balanced viewpoint and make the best decisions for ourselves.
Here are some tips to help you tap into your neutral mind more:
- Meditation: Find a meditation that suits you and do it regularly to balance the mind
- Kundalini yoga is a powerful tool to directly stimulate the pineal gland, recognised in yoga as our 3rd eye chakra – our source of intuition and inner wisdom
- Journaling: If the negative mind feels like it is in control then this can be a useful tool. Writing forces you to move out of the amygdala (part of the brain associated with fear) and use the parts of your brain associated with logic and rationality, thus helping you to move your thoughts into a more neutral space
Conclusion: Embracing the Wisdom Within
Understanding the Negative, Positive and Neutral Minds has shifted how I navigate challenges and opportunities.
It’s forced me to assess when either an overactive positive or negative mind is at play, and use my kundalini yoga practices to tap into that neutral space.
It’s also challenged me to notice when true points of intuition arise. This is something I’m exploring my understanding of further, and I hope to blog about in future.
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