At the core of many of our beliefs is a series of thoughts, principles and ideologies, so deeply entrenched within us, that for much of the time we dance to their tune without even knowing it. This is why increasing self knowledge and awareness is so crucial in the goal of becoming whole. The vast majority of the self-limiting beliefs we are trapped by, were absorbed and “made real” in our lives at a time when we were like sponges, soaking up everything in our midst. The continuous wave of unchallenged messages were able to “seep in” exploiting our vulnerability, naivety and innocence, and in doing so set up structures and systems that have led to our enslavement to ideas, concepts and rules, which are often inconsistent, contradictory and incongruous.
Through the art of creative visualisation and re-framing, we can re-arrange the furniture of the past in a way that disempowers much of the negative and illusory beliefs, that still pollute us in the present. Creative visualisation is simply making constructive use of one of our greatest resources – our imagination. Our imagination is a power-house of creativity, it is the place in which our innovations, ideas and aspirations are manufactured and developed. It is the bridge between abstract, intangible thoughts and concrete reality, and when employed to its fullest extent, it is able to serve us in extraordinary ways. It is time to use it more effectively.
Re-framing is the process where we make use of the power and potential that creative visualisation offers us, and in a purposeful and deliberate fashion “go back” using our minds to re-confront our negative experiences, but this time armed with the resources we did not have, which enables us to create the outcome of our choice. One which does not leave us feeling emotionally disabled, confused and inadequate. Re-framing is not lying or deceiving oneself, because the truth is we cannot change the events of the past, but we can change the way the past affects us in the present.
When we go back and alter the way we handled or experienced an event, it not only offers us freedom from any negative effects that the experience may have left on our lives, it also has immense tutorial value. There is so much we can learn about ourselves, if we use our past to inform and enlighten us. It is one of our major assets and when used constructively it helps us to find our way through the maze of life.
One way of using these two invaluable tools, is to sit comfortably and select a moment from the past which you handled in a way that you were not happy with, or one where you were treated in an unreasonable and unjust way. Capture as clear and vivid an image as possible. Once you have your image clear in your mind, examine and notice with as much detail as you can how you acted and behaved. What were you unhappy with about the situation? How did the other characters in the scenario behave? What would you like to change, if you could, about this situation?
After you have accumulated the information you require, reconstruct the scene from the beginning but now include your changes and adaptations. See it in the way you would have liked it to be. If you were unjustly treated, see yourself correcting that injustice. If you needed to be assertive in a particular situation and had not been, assert yourself. Whatever it is that allows that memory and past event to remain alive in a negative form in the present, adjust it now so it can imprison you no longer. You can use these two tools to reshape all the influences that presently hold you back, so begin working through those events that have emotionally paralysed you.. Try it now! … It really does make a difference.