The Deepak/Oprah meditation I was listening to this morning, from their “Manifesting Grace Through Gratitude” series, spoke of the idea of being the author of your own story.
Now, as a good “Once Upon a Time” TV show nerd, the idea of being The Author appeals to me! But, so does it appeal to me the idea of renewing my story every day.
The meditation spoke about how repetition makes life stale, and that’s not only in the “same breakfast, same job” kind of way, but also in the “same attitudes, same thoughts” kind of way. What kind of thought habits do I have? And moreover, what kind of thought habits do I want?
Many of my thought patterns center around the idea of my being stagnant, procrastinating, far from my goals even when I know what they are. (The irony is that thought itself is stagnant!) So this morning during the quiet meditation portion of the recording, I tried something called “Mental Dress Rehearsal,” as it’s called in my Executive Functioning training at school.
To really run through a scene how I want it to play out. To feel the skin sensations, the emotions, the engagement and presence I want to feel. Whether that’s inhabiting the idea of playing the piano or trying something new in the boudoir, seeing it happen and living it in my imagination feels much better than haranguing myself for not doing or getting or having the experiences that I want.
There’s a tongue-in-cheek line J likes to throw out occasionally: “The beatings will continue until morale improves.” I’m pretty sure we all know this one from our internal dialogues, harassing ourselves to do, be, or think something different. And, clearly, it not only doesn’t seem to work well for me, but it saps my energy so that it’s difficult to rise above those thoughts.
If, by the opposite tack, I can begin to use my mental power to envision what it is I do want, spinning those positive stories, crafting the exact and enlivening nature of those experiences, and creating a narrative that lifts me up, inspires me, and sparks my spirit, then those are the kinds of mental habits to strengthen.
Imagine on, reader.
Owning Voice 