How the power of the mind and altering your perspective can change your reality.
While we may believe thoughts to be the fleeting things that exist merely in our minds, they are in many ways far more tangible than we realise. The things you think about can have far-reaching consequences for you and your life. So it’s important to stay positive and vibrant, and allow yourself to think and dream only as you would – don’t let others force you to conform.
If there was ever a person who could attest to this lesson, it’s celebrated violinist and instrument designer Dmitry Badiarov, whose fascinating backstory saw him survive several weeks in a psychiatric hospital after escaping from military service in his native Russia.
His plan had been to study baroque violin music in Europe and learn all about the thought processes of the ancient masters. Then, when he was enlisted, he felt his dream begin to disintegrate in front of him. But Dmitry is first and foremost an artist, and he knew the sort of life he wanted for himself. So, he hatched a plan.
Fast forward to the hospital, where behind the dark circles under his eyes and the look of utter resignation on his face, his mind was working overtime. He had taken on the theatrical role of someone who was very mentally unwell, and had to constantly work to remind himself: “You are not sick, you just have to keep playing the part of someone who is! Get this right, and you will be going to Brussels in July to be a student of the celebrated Sigiswald Kuijken and a member of the legendary La Petite Bande.”
But while his positive thinking and constant reminders were crucial in keeping him afloat, surprisingly it was his negative thought processes that really taught him how just powerful the mind can be.
How to harness your negative thoughts
Hooked up to an EEG machine, Dmitry wanted to ensure that the results of the test would show him to be just as ill as he was pretending to be. But how could he do that when, in reality, the only reason he was there was to escape the war in Chechnya and go on to pursue a career in music? Well, by harnessing his thoughts, of course.
As the EEG test began, Dmitry turned his thoughts to the very lowest moments of his life, trying to relive them in as much detail as he could muster. And, at the same time, he conjured up the darkest music he had ever heard and allowed it to run alongside the pictures of abject misery he had brought to the forefront of his mind.
He heard the opening choir of St. Matthew Passion and Passacaglia in C minor by Bach, as well as Sonnerie de Ste. Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris by Marin Marais, and had to stop himself from crying. If he had cried, if he had allowed his emotional state to be visible on his face, the ruse would have been up.
Dmitry had to wait several days to find out the results. Then, when the doctor finally came in, he heard the news he had been hoping for: “The EEG shows that your situation is much worse than we thought. This means you’ll have to spend a few weeks longer at the hospital.”
This was a moment of celebration! The longer he stayed, the closer he got to being made officially unfit for military service and moving to Brussels. It looked as though he really was going to be able to pursue his dream of travelling around the world, performing in concert tours and festivals, producing CDs and making music with other fantastic musicians.
Here, then, is a lesson in how you can take the most difficult, turbulent moments of your life and redirect them. What people perceive as ‘negative’ thoughts can be incredibly powerful things. But if you can manage to be stronger than they are, you can harness them to drive you onwards. You are unlikely to ever find yourself in a situation quite like Dmitry’s, but this knowledge can be applied to all areas of your life.
You can use your darkest thoughts to become stronger, by letting them show you exactly where you want to be and give you the motivation to propel you onwards, away from the negative and towards success and happiness.
The power of positive thinking
While negative thinking is a particularly potent force when used in the right way and at the right times, positive thoughts are the ones you should always aim to keep with you. You see, while some moments do demand that you harness the bad, it is absolutely imperative that, ultimately, you remember that you are doing so to attain the good.
Without such a sense of perspective, Dmitry wouldn’t have made it through his 40 days in the psychiatric hospital and on to Brussels. Similarly, without reminding yourself of the good and seeing the best in the situations you are faced with, no matter how difficult they may be, you will struggle to come out the other side.
Dmitry’s story shows that thoughts, whether they are good or bad, loud or quiet, will ignite something in you. Think positively, and you will experience a positive physical response, inspiration, a changed state of mind, and a change in action that will help you to move forwards in the direction that you want and need to. Refuse to tear your mind away from something negative, though, and your mental and physical state will unfortunately be coloured by the darkness that those thoughts bring.
Find out more about Dmitry at http://badiarovviolins.com/