What time is it for you?
For how long will things remain unsatisfactory? For a lot of people, this question is not one they can honestly answer , so it becomes rhetorical … like ‘how long is a piece of string?’.
For healing of the mind to take place there has to be an awareness that such a possibility exists. For many people stuck in the reality of a depressive illness or literally crippled by the restrictions imposed by an anxiety disorder, there is no conceptualisation of a place called ‘wellness’. It does not exist in their world. The evidence that makes the convinces the individual that is the truth of their life is quite compelling. Their subconscious mind has been programmed through a process of conditioning that this is their life.
The experiences that we go through and how we interpret and respond to them literally fashions our brains to hold certain beliefs, thought patterns that bring about certain understanding and emotional states that in turn provide the environment for the aforementioned to be true. Negative experiences and the memory of these provide an emotional hook and chain combination that literally keeps us in a place where we are living in the past.
Real healing can only take place when we are able to sever the link between our current emotional state and the adverse events of the past. A useful strategy is crafting in your mind a picture of where you desire to be. Build up a picture of where you would like to be emotionally. This might include having a greater experience of joy, excitement , courage, peace and internal satisfaction. Ask yourself the question ‘what do I need to do or who do I need to become to get there?’.
Set some sensible goals that align with the above and adopt the mindset of gratitude believing that what you desire is coming. It is just like if you have been away for a business meeting in a city three hours drive from home. The meeting is over and it is time to go home. Once you put the satnav postcode / address and press ‘find route’, you can literally see yourself back at home. You can start celebrating in your mind the nice feeling you will have when you are back with your family. This is gratitude in action. You start experiencing the benefits before you arrive at your destination.
In order to heal, we literally need to become a new person operating under a new set of rules. Living by the kind structure and belief pattern of the past has not served us well.
Once we are able to start pondering on where we are going, the better place, seeing it in our mind’s eye and celebrating in advance, our brain starts the process of pruning the pathways that are no longer necessary …. no longer required. This is called neuroplasticity. It works both ways and can heal or harm us. The difference depends on what we are focusing on, what mental and emotional raw materials are we putting in the processing zone of our mind. I believe it is true that we all have the power to embrace healing and wholesomeness. Now is the Time to Heal!