The wisdom of nomads

The invented signs of our ancestors were by no means born out of a whim or a boring life, nevertheless, we should remember that behind each of the ancient signs lurks the wisdom and sacred meaning of the Universe.

Positive thinking is a powerful tool for personal development, and today experts teach it in seminars, webinars, and books on the topic of personal growth. This concept, aimed at improving life efficiency, shows that every person who puts into practice the new power contemplation (mental, not material) must become better. And not only in terms of image, but also in terms of personal improvement. "Positive thinking" differs significantly from the "positive psychology" developed by Martin Seligman and Michael Fords (the 1970s - 2010s).

The concept and method of "positive thinking" appeared in the 19th century, and in modern books, you can find quotes from the founders of the positive thinking concept - both theorists and practitioners. It is amusing that the meaning of the expression "positive thinking", emanating from the past centuries, echoes the most effective and relevant concept today: "conscious thinking". Both assume that a person must constantly control his thoughts, directing them in the right course, regardless of external circumstances, through systematic affirmations and visualizations. Thus, gradually, and not magically, due to regular work with mental images satisfaction, comfort, unshakable convictions are firstly achieved, and then, again, little by little, it turns out that a person embodies into reality their aims, realizing their potential and achieving desired positive alterations in the quality of life.

In other words, adherents of positive thinking believe in the power of their thoughts, in the power of the words spoken, and in the fulfillment of wishes. That is, according to them, everything that happens to a person is the result of her subconscious thinking. “My subconscious mind is my partner in achieving success,” writes John Kehoe, author of the best-seller “The Subconscious Mind Can Do It”. According to him, to live a righteous and pleasant life, first, you need to learn to keep track of your thoughts, manage them, and direct them accordingly.

For instance, remember the following expressions: "Zhaksy asyrtyp, zhamandy zhasyrtyp" ("During presenting benefits, hide drawbacks") or "Zhaksy soz hot yrys" ("A good word is half of the happiness"), "Zhaksy tusa eldin yrysy, zhakbyr zhausa" zherdin yrysy (“If a good person is born, people get richer; when it rains, the earth gets richer”), “Oner ausady, yrys zhysady” (“Art is passed on, abundance is inherited”), and there are many such examples. Recalling such expressions, you understand how much value the Kazakhs attached to words and thoughts. If you analyze the expression “Zhaksy soz zhyrym yrys” (“A good word is half of the happiness”), you can clearly hear the edification of the word power.

Let's try to dissect the precept for the girl during her send-off. For Kazakh ladies, their parents do Uzata - seeing off the bride, and according to the tradition, the daughter should be seen until midnight. After a big feast, a blessed path is laid for her - "ak zhol", relatives gather around, parents and grandparents become the head of the path. The aksakal gives “bata” (blessing). When kissing her daughter, the last thing they tell her is not to look back, not to turn towards her parents. A girl, walking along a white cloth path, at the end of which the groom and his parents are waiting for her, should not turn back, as a belief that she should not return to her maiden house, therefore she should not get divorced. What does this custom mean? It seems a ridiculous absurd belief.

However, if you deeply analyze this tradition, you can see how parents set up their child to live in the present, not to look back or compare the new life with the old, and accept their future life. Indeed, in family life, no one can help her, except for herself. It is significant, to control yourself, not to look back, which in fact not many people manage in life. A lot are accustomed to living in the past and holding on to the old, in this way keeping the event flow, not letting the novelty into their lives. This principle - go forward to a new life - works in all spheres of life, and only we can change our situation and look at it from the other side. This is what positive thinking, psychosomatics, feng shui, and even all religions of the world tell us about.

Another example: “Moshel zhas”, an ancient calculation of a person's age based on a 12-year cycle; (the first cycle ends at 13 years of age - 13, then 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 85, 97 years). (It is interesting that the Chinese horoscope is repeated every 12 years.) According to Kazakh traditions, it is common to give out things to your “Moshel zhas” every 12 years, and it must be your favorite thing. Once I took part in a wish-fulfillment marathon, where our coach was an expert in positive thinking, psychology, she also studied with such noble people as Tony Robbins, John Kehoe, and others. And do you know what she did before starting our marathon? She asked me to throw 50-60 objects out of each room of the house, and it was necessary to steer clear of them. Moreover, according to her, not just of garbage, but of favorite things. Because if you want to let the novelty into life, you need to be able to get rid of the old.

Another example: in a Kazakh family, after the birth of a child, it is customary to sacrifice a lamb to the mother of a newborn. Mom is given a boiled lamb neck, and she, in turn, must carefully, without breaking it, gnaw the neck bone. Later, this bone is dried, which symbolizes the strengthening of the child's neck. Again, this custom looks pretty ridiculous from the outside. Though again we observe a certain ritual here - we mentally strengthen the child's neck, thereby giving rapid development to our child. And there are many such examples, it is impossible to state everything, but it is possible and necessary to think about the meaning of such events.

Nowadays, such rituals are actively combined with meditations, affirmations, methods of positive thinking, and psychosomatics. We attend various training, read motivational books, and in the old days, our ancestors lived simply in unison with nature, believing in the power of the Universe and themselves.

unison with nature, believed in the power of the Universe and ourselves.

1. Abai Kunanbaev. Qara sozder. https://abai.kz/post/6https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_think
2. John Kehoe. The subconscious mind can do anything.

https://mybook.ru/author/dzhon-keho/podsoznanie-mozhet-vsyo/read/?page=6

3.https://sozdik.kz/ru/dictionary/translate/kk/ru/mүshel/

Author: Madina Kurbanalieva, @madina_kurbanali

Translator-editor: Chingiz Smakov

Photo: from the personal archive of the author