sponginess and the power of positive thinking

while sitting in the college bookstore this weekend, passing time between a graduation brunch and photo shoot, I read an interesting article in O (O as in Oprah) Magazine. This article discussed a new psychological theory that some people a hyper-succeptive to what others are THINKING about them. No, i don't mean that these peoples' own emotions are easily influenced by other's negative comments or lots of happiness and excitement. The theory is that our own minds can pick up on the thoughts of others without any external clues. And some are more spongey and absorbant than others-- which explains why when you are around people, you might be more apt than others to take on whatever vibe your company is exuding.

The part I really found interesting was an experiment. Hold out your hands and get another person to think either really positive or negative thoughts about you while they push down your arm. You should try to resist, and many studies show that subjects are weaker when the pusher is thinking negative thoughts (without, of course, physically or verbally expressing those thoughts).

So this leads me to assume that some people make me feel good because they are actually thinking very positive thoughts and others make me feel drained or uncomfortable or zap my esteem because they are thinking negative thoughts. That's quite a leap to make, but it provides some interesting fodder for thoughts and advice. What I am taking away is that I should always try to think positive thoughts about others. Hopefully this will make them feel good, and, in turn they will think positive thoughts about me. And then we start creating all of these positive feelings and energy-- Mom was always right about positive thinking I suppose.