Think of a time when you were feeling the happiest you can remember. Falling in love, hiking, a child being born, listening to music, hang gliding, making art, getting a job you LOVED, any epiphany you’ve ever had … anything that made you jumping-up-and-down-yes-yes-yes-happy. Crying happy. Let yourself revisit that time for a few moments.
Got it? Okay, now without thinking too hard, choose an appealing visual cue to go with it. (You can always change this later on, if you like.) A tiny sticker, a rhinestone, a small piece of colored paper cut into a shape, even just a tiny dot of paint or nail polish. Whatever your visual cue is, place it everywhere you can – tape or glue it on your computer, next to the sink, on the bathroom mirror, your phone, the rear view mirror – anywhere that you are frequently looking.
Now here’s the easy (and best) part; every time you see this visual cue, stop and let yourself feel the incredible happiness of that moment again, for 10 or 15 seconds (or as long as you can).
Now, why in heck should we do such a thing? Two simple reasons: 1. You will feel and bring that same happiness into the present moment. 2. You are practicing yourself into repeated alignment with your highest dreams and desires. And the reason it feels so good is because you are, at those moments, totally connected to the Real You, with no outside interference. And practice is all it takes. And don’t try to tell me you don’t have 10 seconds to do this!
Another adventure in visual cues (try to contain your excitement): In recent months, I had found myself worrying about some family members even more than usual … and we all know how helpful worrying is, don’t we? I recently read a quote to the effect of “worrying is using your imagination to create something you do not want”. Whoa, how true is that!
So, in the interest of refocusing and not worrying, I came up with another visual cue. I made a little doohickey out of some beads and wire – it has a turquoise bead for one person, and a little ceramic sunflower for the other – and I attached it to my keychain. Now every time I unlock my door or start my car, I see the beads and I think “D. is transforming” and “A. is happy and well.”
No, we can’t control the actions or behaviors of other people in any way, but the way that we think of them does influence them positively or negatively. And, it makes me feel better. Since there is no point or good outcome to focusing on the shortcomings of those around us (despite how very right we may be), it feels like a big relief to me to just briefly think, “Oh yeah, D. is transforming!” and try to leave it at that, knowing that I’m at the very least not throwing a negative expectation their way. All I know is, it feels way better than worrying. Let me know how it goes!
Sending hugs from the hammock –
MJ
