Imo you have 3 options to deal with negative thoughts. All three are valid as long as they work for you.

1. Ignoring thoughts and doing other things that you like
2. Reframing thoughts mentally and giving them another meaning
3. Listening and observing as a neutral observer and walking through the emotions

1.) Ignoring thoughts is what most of the human population does. It can work imo if

• you focus on other things that make you feel good instead
• the issue is something that doesn't recur (very often).

e.g. your lover left and you talk to a friend, do something with your family, explore your hobbies etc. Meanwhile hopefully you will forget about your lover or you will find a new one which neutralizes the old negative thought automatically.

It doesn't work imo, if you your negative thought is

• too intense and emotionally charged
• recuring

2.) Reframing thoughts is what emotionally skilled people do (often unconsciously). They look at a negative thought and give it another meaning. There are excellent methods for that available. Imo it works if

• you can clearly define what your negative thought is
• if there aren't other negative thoughts that are connected to the initial negative thought. Otherwise it's like a mess of negative thoughts all over the place and they demand too much of one to handle them at once.

The method that works for me to handle a single negative thought at a time is @Stingray's focus blocks. Also Abraham's method of filling in a new grid helps, which is simply talking yourself from general positive statements to specific ones till the thought is reframed for good.

Also i find this instant reframing process helpful sometimes. If there are too much negative emotions and i don't know where to begin i sometimes do @Stingray's manifesting experiment 4.

3.) Listening to and observing thoughts is a way that is known since centuries for instance in Buddhism as Vipassana. You simply become the neutral observer and listen to your negative thoughts. By doing so, they disappear and become neutralized automatically.

You can see Vipassana as another tool in your toolbox and use it when it is appropriate. For me it is my "emergeny technique" in situations when nothing else works. Because this works every time no matter how chaotic the mess in your head is.

But you can also live a Vipassana lifestyle and observe all thoughts and emotional manifestations in the body all day every day. This is what Eckardt Tolle and many other spiritual teachers call "living in the now".

You can study Vipassana or use modern tools that cut to the chase with methods based on observing and listening. Imo they are also further developed than Vipassana. I recommend

• The Mc²Method (free audio course at www.mc2method.com log in with: mc2free)
• Eckhardt Tolle methods. His books are too philosophical for my liking. So check out that summary of his spritual practices.
• Quantum Entrainment (thanks @satori)

If you have to err, err – but err totally. If you have to fall, fall – but fall like a drunkard, completely. Don’t resist, because then you miss. If you have to live in darkness, live in darkness – but happily and dancingly. Why be miserable? If you are feeling hell around you, feel it – it may be part of your destiny, part of your growth. Of course I know that when one passes through hell, it is very difficult. That I know. Because growth is difficult. When one passes through a problem, a heart-rending problem, a crisis, one wants to escape; one wants not to face it; one wants to be a coward. But that way you will miss something that was going to become a part of the final whole, of the final harmony. If you have lived totally... I don’t make any conditions. I say live unconditionally. If your inner voice tells you to meditate, meditate. If your inner voice tells you to go and drink, then drink and be a drunkard. But be total, because only through totality does one transcend. Only through totality is one transformed because only through totality does one start understanding what one is doing ~ Osho

should you not understand the truth about that negativity (darkness) before acting? if you only react you might just spread more darkness.why cast stone?they will do the same.can you take some time and go beyond reacting? will reacting serve you? what will you do to solve that problem that is making darkness in you? is it the right thing to do? will it solve the problem or create only more problem? on what level does it affect you(physical,though,emotion)? is the darkness coming from you or from the outside,how does it relate? did you find the solution for you and other around you so that darkness does not happen again?if it happen again and you do not know what to do it can be two things you have not finish solving it or it comes from someone else free will and in that case it is not your responsibility.if it is coming from someone else you can help them with it. if you have dispel the darkness using the light of truth,now you have just grow and know how to deal with that darkness because it is solved for you.so let there be light,Be the light that you can be,experience and enjoy.

Hi Supergirl, There is some great answers here with very good points.

I would say Monitoring every thought can be a bit tedious. A more straightforward approach and recommended by Abraham, would be to monitor how your feeling. You can easily tell by how your feeling if you are giving your attention to what you want or what you don't want. Whenever your feeling negative emotion this helps you know your focused on something unwanted.

So in that moment you can ask yourself. "Okay I know what I don't want, so what do I want?"

Asking yourself this question also briefly acknowledges the unwanted thought in case your worried about suppressing thoughts. Each time you do this you should feel better by directing your focus on what is wanted. In time you will also improve your vibration on the subject. This is the Process of Pivoting by Abraham. Daily Meditation will help you a lot with Pivoting by making you more sensitive to how your feeling in the moment.