That said, the negative/subtractive approach is a great learning tool. Disbelieve all that is proven false. Reject all that is proven not to work. Reserve judgment on all else. This approach is empirically sound.

The only problem with it is human emotion — you psych yourself out if you bring the negative into sharp mental focus.

You can’t focus on the right thing until you know what the right thing is. And it’s easier to know what not to do than to know what to do instead. Plenty of people will tell you what not to do. Precious few will tell you what to do instead.

Even Zen meditation needs something to focus on. It works by focusing on something harmless and neutral. This might work as a stopgap measure.