Creative Visualization

Picture attribute courtesy of Pete Hobden http://www.flickr.com/photos/55454187@N08/5155113480/

 "The problem with Martin in class is that he is a dreamer"
As a young child, that is what I heard spoken about me when I was in earshot and as if I wasn't there. I grew up thinking that being a dreamer was a bad thing. It is of course far from the truth. 

To create a vision in your minds eye of where you want to be. To "feel" that as if it were real right then and there. To taste and to smell the goodness of the feeling using the minds natural resource is a wonderful gift that I believe we all have if we choose to believe it and practice it regularly. Some find the process easier than others, but it IS something that we can learn. 

Day 6 of the Mind Alchemy workshop involves doing that very task of imagining what we want in our lives and "living" it in our mind. Personally, I found today's task relatively easy to do and very enjoyable too. I'm going to share my created and visualised story here and now.

Mind Alchemy Day 6 – Your perfect day

Read the 'Perfect Day' exercise details on the Mind Alchemy Day 6 - Your

Perfect Day and write your perfect day in here with as much details as

possible.

"It is a pleasant spring morning and I wake at 6am feeling rested after a good night sleep. The early morning light is seeping through the blind of the large picture window of my bedroom. I get out of bed and open the blinds to see the beautiful and serene view of the rural setting of my detached home. The birds are singing outside as the early morning sun begins to rise on the horizon, lighting up the early morning dew.

My wife is still asleep as I walk out of the bedroom through the spacious hallway and into the kitchen to make tea and toast. I put 2 slices of brown bread into the toaster and switch on some soothing classical music, a little Grieg. I take the morning cup of tea through to my wife and see the bedroom gradually begin to light up the airy, light, pastel coloured walls.

Walking into the on suite bathroom/wet room I brush my teeth and dress in my running shoes, shirt and shorts and start to do some gentle stretching. Just before I leave the house, I drink a glass of fruit juice, then I go for a 30 minute run down the country road leading to a coastal path across the cliffs, smiling at and acknowledging local people taking the dogs for a walk. The early morning sun has risen and there is a light fresh breeze. The sky is a bright blue with wisps of clouds.

Returning home, I take a shower, feeling full of vitality and enjoy the buzz of endorphins and serotonin naturally flowing around my body. I then go to my study and spend 30 minutes doing a meditation exercise, preparing myself for the day. I then switch on my PC and spend the morning preparing material and making arrangements for my next seminar.

My wife prepares lunch in our spacious kitchen. A salad with fresh produce from my garden that includes beetroot, lettuce, spring onions, peppers. Chicken and freshly boiled potatoes are placed on the table for the family to add to their plates.

After lunch, my colleagues from the band call round and we go into my recording studio to practice. We begin to work on some new songs through the afternoon and spend an hour planning our next few gigs as well as making final arrangements for our gig in the evening in town at the theatre.

It is late afternoon and my family gather together to go for a walk down toward the beach. We pop into a seafront cafe for a snack and refreshment before returning to my detached house to prepare for the evening where I will be playing live with the band. The whole family will be attending this event that will be covered by the local media.

Arriving at the theatre, I feel that familiar sense of excitement before our performance as people begin to enter the venue. The whole band working together preparing the equipment quickly gets us ready for the sound check and performance.

Having played 3 sets of our own music mixed with covers, the atmosphere is electric as the audience shout for more. CD's and merchandise sell well during the evening. We then pack everything and retire to the bar for a relaxing drink. We all discuss the success of the evening before returning home.

Arriving back at my detached home, I put my vehicle into the garage and sit out on the patio enjoying the peace of the spring evening and reflecting upon my day, allowing time to process the experience. As a little light rain begins to fall, I return indoors to watch a little TV before retiring to bed at about 12:30"

 

 Now listen!
Since Christmas, I've had the fantastic opportunity to learn to fly a helicopter! How fantastic is that? See the video......
 

The folly of giving credance to negative energy

We have all had those days when something goes wrong early on, we focus on the stress that involves and internally complain at the bad luck that continues throughout the day. Despite wanting that apparent bad luck to leave us, it continues to happen and becomes a frustration. We more than likely wish that the first piece of bad luck did not occur and hold on top the frustration, wishing it away. We give all our mental energy to the negative, thereby creating more negativity. You could call that attracting the negativity. 

It is possible to do the reverse by focussing on positive parts of the day and thereby attract luck.

A few years ago when I wrote blogs on the Yahoo 360 platform, I took part in a short story writing festival. It was fun to do that and helped to build contacts with other writers, many of whom became good friends. Looking back at one of the stories I wrote back then, I now see a message related to today's subject about a bad day.  The character in the story attracted his bad luck by focussing on the frustration. 
It's like a thought such as "Typical, that would go and happen today of all days." 
There is a good article on the subject I found click here


I just I thought I would post that story again today:

The phone rings.
"Hi Charlie. Where are you? We're expecting you at the meeting this morning"
Panic and remorse hit Charlie. How could he have forgotten todays meetings? A promise made and now half broken. Switching the television off and rushing to get ready, a text message bleats on Charlie's mobile phone.
" Hi Dad. Can you come and pick me up? It looks like it gonna rain." Feeling more frustrated and neglectful, Charlie rings Lucy and apologies that he really must get to the meeting. Its very important. "Sorry Lucy, you'll have to get the bus today". It takes another 2 minutes for Charlie to get off the phone due to the pleading of his daughter. This only adds to the guilt. "How can I have been so stupid. I'm really not nearly as organized as I should have been!"

Charlie rushes to his car, then realizes he has left the car keys indoors. More frustration! The clouds gather and the sky darkens. Eventually, returning to the car and reversing off the drive, a yellow light blinks on the dashboard. Low fuel. "Arrrrghhh. Another hold up!" Charlie can feel his blood pressure rising and the panic in his throat. He arrives at the petrol station, only to find that there is a tanker delivery and all pumps are closed. Frustrated, reversing back on to the road and screeching the tyres as he does so, other car flash their headlights at him and one car sounds his horn. Was that really necessary? These thoughts went through Charlie's mind as the wailing of the horn lowered in tone with the passing of the vehicle on the road.

Five minutes later, a few drops of rain spattered the windscreen as Charlie continued up the duel carriageway toward his office. Suddenly, the engine faltered and the car slowed to a stop. Out of fuel. Reaching for his mobile phone, Charlie realized he was not going to make this meeting. As he pulled the phone from his pocket, it rang.

"Hello Charlie. Where are you? I thought you were going to be at home all day today. Don't forget to pick the bag of spuds up this morning. We'll have none for dinner tonight. "

"Grace, I'm in the car. The fuel is out. Did you not think to fill the tank when you used it last night?"

"Don't blame me! You could have filled it yesterday. You know I hate using petrol stations. Where are you going anyway. Don't let me down with the potatoes. I've go enough to do as it is today without worrying about cooking".

And so the conversation went on for another to minutes, ending with Grace cutting Charlie off mid sentence. The clouds were really quite dark now outside. Charlie searched for the office number on his phone and put the call in. The reception phone rang for what seemed like ages.
"Hello Curz......." BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP. The phone went dead as the battery ran out. Charlie got out of the car, grabbed the fuel can from the boot of the car and started to walk. Nobody stopped along the road and it took 45 minutes before he got to the fuel station and filled the can. Returning to the car an hour later, stressed and exhausted, the rain began to fall steadily and the sky become darker to the north. When Charlie finally got to car door he spotted the ticket tucked under his windscreen detailing the fine for illegal parking. At that very moment, the heavens opened as driving rain spattered Charlie's face.
"When it rains, it pours"

WHO ARE YOU????

"Who is the child with no voice?

lost and unseen

A watermark of tear

full of fear

neglected and broken

missing and unknown

who will atone?

Where is the space

full of grace

to heal....

Who is the child?............................."

I wrote this about 14 months ago during a particular challenging time. Reflecting upon it now, I see my tenacity in seeking to overcome emotional distress. The benefit of evaluating this now is that I realize that I had completely lost my sense of identity for a while. This loss of identity is the root of low self esteem and low confidence. It had been there for a long time, but I could not see that root cause. I was fortunate enough to have a small amount of strength to work through the pain and get on the journey of re-discovering myself. This continues to be an ongoing process and the journey is now rolling along at speed on a clear run.

There are many and various labels we take on in childhood. I’m suggesting that for the most part they are stuck on to us, hiding our true selves. Some are heavy burdens with strong attachments.Like the naughty child in the film "Toy Story" who pull apart his toys and the toys of his little sisters, creating grotesque monsters, we too can become something other than as we were designed and made for.

To rediscover who we are, we need to which of the many attachments belong to us and which do not. All too often, we end up owning that which does not belong to us.

So how can we pick apart this mess?

A good starting point is to take a psychometric test. It's a sort of quiz. I’d recommend trying many. They are easy enough to find on the internet. Follow the instructions carefully and you’ll find something about yourself that you had not realized. The revelations are at first difficult to own. They may well feel alien to you. Regardless of what you think or feel about it at the time, it is worth hanging on to these answers and looking again in time. There are no right or wrong answers. All revelations are valid and have equal value.

These tests are used to help you find direction in your life. Many companies use them to help select staff. Ultimately, they are a tool to help build self esteem by allowing a person to discover who they are and perhaps how they evolve. That is why it is useful to do a test more than once.

The test can also show how we can communicate effectively according to personality traits and learning styles. I’d even suggest that if we all took these tests and acted upon them, we would as a human race, begin to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle allowing us to see the bigger picture in human existence.

If there is something in your life that you are struggling with right now, ask yourself the question “Who am I?”

The truth is that there IS a real you inside full of integrity.

Take the journey of self discovery and realize your purpose in life.

Blessings……

Marty