In building our mental muscles empowering ourselves, we have many habits of thought to release and replace. We want to lay down new neural pathways that affirm that Well Being Abounds and Forces of Good prevail. Integrated into our living and unfolding, reading the account of one person’s reframing thoughts inspires us all.
One Example
Mary Patrick was listening to an inspirational recording where the speaker was confident and upbeat. Though the orator meant to rally the listener to actions more courageous and self-assured, at that moment Mary P felt irritated and resistant.
“Get Away from Me!” thought this protagonist. “I could no more feel like this speaker is modeling than leap from one rim of the Grand Canyon to the other! Grrr”
MP admitted she could track the teacher intellectually. The podcaster was saying, “You can take on what you want to do. You can be , do or have anything you desire.”
“Yeah, yeah.” stated MP internally, “Meanwhile, I am going out for a beautiful walk.”
Returning, Mary Patrick said, “Well alrighty. I do notice I feel snarly. I am aware of this inner voice ‘You cannot possibly feel that confident. You are not good enough for that. The ideas are beyond me.’ “
Pause, pause—Mary in the kitchen making breakfast. “Wait a minute! I admit I don’t feel good now. I can reframe to at least feel a little better.”
Ok and Beginning
Forthwith, this protagonist took herself to her contemplation corner, writing tools in hand. Mary P started where she could.
First, our star stated a few times to her dear self, “It’s ok to be where you are. Right now you feel uncomfortable and afraid. Ok to have those feelings.”
Breathe with that a bit. Then this dear woman listed what she knew to be true about herself– all kinds of good stuff, an assortment of appreciation. She thought, “I have:
Grown enormously
Raised my self esteem
Increased my awareness of my thoughts and feelings
Developed much more self-confidence
Used my intuitive and creative gifts daily
Allowed myself to feel more and more loved
Notice my successes regularly
Become aware of the value I add to others, the world around me.”
Second, this Dear One reminded herself about big picture truths that uplift:
The put downs are habits of thought. They are from the culture around me and I am practicing creating new empowering thoughts bit by bit. For sure that outdated litany is untrue and does not reflect my true value.
This is what a growth journey looks like.
Nothing is going wrong
I am aware and alive expanding constantly.
I am surrounded by and composed of Love.
Before too long our star’s thoughts felt easier, and she noticed her affect rise. “Hey I feel more optimistic and energetic,” she realized.
It shifted everything when she accepted where she was now. Wow so great to invest the time to shift, to pivot inside herself!
Did MP forget again after that refocusing? Yes, and then she reached for accepting herself again. Humans require much repetition to build new patterns of thought.
Here has been an example of the process of becoming more and more consistent in feeling good :). Over and over again, we notice the unwanted feelings and thoughts, use compassion, gently recall what is Good now in ourselves and the world around us.
Want to try it out? We know you will enjoy the pay off! If you experiment with this kind of thing, please report in! Other questions? Please comment! We all are alchemists of ourselves!