Suppressing any thought be it labelled bad or good seems to be a “bad” idea.
In meditation, one of the ways of effectively meditating is to allow any thought arise, to acknowledge it, and let it go.
Suppression can be a helpful tool when in a sensitive environment such as the work place.
When your boss says something to you in a way that makes you skin crawl and blood boil and you think, what a jerk, do you say that?
In most cases if you are able to suppress the id impulse to express that thought, you will probably be in better shape than had you screamed in your bosses face.
On a more esoteric level or inquiry, how do we come to conclude that one thought is bad and another good?
Are the good thoughts only those which support our financial or sexual gain?
Some people may say that having the thought, I am fat, is derogatory and thus, bad.
In a way this thought can be viewed as a negative if its purpose it solely to denigrate the one having the thought.
It can also be viewed positively if the person having the thought is indeed obese and realizes that the heaviness of their body could be causing more stress than is healthy.
In this case, the “bad” thought has turned into a healthy look into the reality of ones own situation and may effectively motivate the person to seek out ways of reducing their weight and stress on their body.
As said before, suppression doesn’t seem to be a good idea.
For one, if a thought is suppressed, any kind of thought be it good, bad, or ugly, it will come back; probably twice as fiercly as it first appeared.
The law is the more you resist the more it will persist.
The stronger you run away from something, suppress something, the harder it will come back and cause you more of the thought you wish to suppress.
It will continue to occur, it will not cease to exist because you suppress it.
Suppression pushes a thought or a feeling under the radar of conscious awareness.
Over time if done enough, the suppressed thoughts and feelings become what is called a complex.
A complex is a network of associations and feelings tied up in a web based on the first thoughts and feelings that were suppressed to begin with.
In a sense, the suppression of the original thought has snow-balled into a mega-thought which packs a lot of emotional tension that will seek release.
This article will not be a how-to on how to suppress thoughts because the idea and action of suppressing thoughts will only lead to a more “bad” place.
Suppressing bad thoughts makes the bad thoughts stronger and suppression is even a “bad” or harmful act one perpetrates on their own psyche.
Thoughts exist for whatever reason they do and it is not appropriate to deliberately stand in the way of them and bully them down like a tyrannical dictator.
The advice is this; if you are considering suppressing a bad thought, or anything thought for this matter, dont do it.
You will be setting yourself up for a bigger monster than you first began with.
There is room for play here and if you are skillful and knowledgable enough about your own psyche and its working, I’d say use the mechanism rarely and with care when it is needed.
Suppression can be a dangerous thing; know that.
