"Whatever you believe in today,
makes a specific tomorrow that much more likely."
Learn how to formulate your intentions in a more productive
manner. Find out why telling yourself what you want to accomplish,
often will take you further away from your goal.
This Practice assumes you have an issue, relationship, or
circumstance in your life that you would like to better understand
or change, over the course of time. In other words, it assumes
you have an intention to somehow be or do things, differently.
Important background points
Talk to yourself in "positive"
terms, and with "positive" images.
It is important to think about the unintended message you
give yourself when you state an intention, in "negative"
terms. For example if you say to yourself, "I want to
stop smoking." You are talking to yourself about smoking,
and not about your positive intention of "living a healthy
life". You are inadvertently focusing on what you are
wanting to avoid, rather than focusing on what you are wanting
to accomplish.
If you state your intention over and over again in negative
terms, you will be reinforcing the point that "smoking"
is the important issue, rather than instead reinforcing the
point that "being healthy" is what you are truly
concerned with.
As a further example, think about the pictures you will likely
make in your "mind’s eye" if you repeat over
and over again, "I want to lose weight." In order
for you to understand the meaning of the words you are repeating
to yourself in regard to wanting to lose weight, you will
likely create an mental image of your current "overweight"
condition. Not a great self image to keep in your mind’s
eye when wanting to be, "slim and trim". When you
describe to yourself what you no longer want to do, or how
you no longer want to be, you create negative self images
that make change and understanding all that much more difficult.
A successful athlete would NOT say to herself "I am no
longer missing important field goals." Instead, she would
want to state what she DOES want to be doing. "I shoot
my field goals with confidence and focus." These are
the words that will give her a positive self image.
Let yourself know in positive terms how you do want to be,
and create a positive image that reinforces your desire.
Speak in the present tense
Physicists tell us that time is not really linear as we normally
experience it, but rather happening "all at once".
In other words, science leads us to understand that tomorrow
does not necessarily come "after" today. With this
thought in mind you can consider the wisdom of the following:
"Whatever you believe in today makes a specific tomorrow
that much more likely to occur."
When you think about how tomorrow is strongly influenced
by what you believe in today, you can see that if you tell
yourself "I want to be healthy," you are reinforcing
a belief that you currently are not healthy. Reinforcing such
a belief will tend to make the changes you desire that much
more difficult to achieve.
This Practice offers you a new time perspective from which
to consider learning and changing. It suggests that you consider
your intention already accomplished, and go from there. In
this way you will be "trying on, like a new suit of clothes"
how it is you DO want to be, rather than reinforcing what
your currently are not.
If you want to understand yourself better and help yourself
to change, you will do best to talk to yourself using positive
terms and images based on the "here and now that is timeless".
This gives you the best opportunity to create an image and
a felt sense that aids you in your process of self understanding.
One more point:
It is important to keep your "I am" statement simple.
In general, the simpler the better.
••••
You will do best to read through the instructions once or
twice before actually performing this Practice.
••••
This Practice assumes you have an issue, relationship, or
circumstance in your life that you would like to better understand
or change, over the course of time.
1. Seat yourself so that you are comfortable,
while having the possibility of free and easy movement.
2. Create an "I am" statement.
In order to do so:
A) Consider something about yourself, a relationship, or the
world you live in, that you would like to better understand
or change.
B) Now imagine you have already achieved the results you
desire. Make a statement that describes your new way of being,
in simple terms. Remember, you need to phrase your statement
in regard to how you feel having already accomplished your
intention.
Examples:
Instead of saying "I am no longer arguing with Fred."
you would want to create an "I am" statement something
like "Fred and I are good friends."
Instead of saying "I am no longer anxious." You
might want to create an "I am" statement that says,
"I am calm and confident."
If you are feeling depressed and would like to feel energetic
and upbeat, your "I am" statement could be, "I
feel energized and enthusiastic."
Please create your "I am" statement now.
3. Once you have created your "I am"
statement, take a deep breath and repeat it slowly and calmly
to yourself.
4. Now take another deep breath and repeat
your "I am" statement again.
5. Now, slowly take a look around you....
hear the sounds in your local environment.... take a deep
breath.... and repeat your "I am" statement once
again.
6. If you feel like you need to or want
to, please further tailor or edit your "I am" statement
now. This ongoing "tailoring" process is sometimes
of great importance, because it is likely your understanding
of your challenge will change over time.
7. Now take another deep breath and repeat
your "I am" statement again.
8. Now, slowly take a look around you....
hear the sounds in your local environment.... take a deep
breath.... and repeat your "I am" statement once
again.
9. This time take THREE deep breaths and
then repeat your "I am" statement once again.
Debrief
How do you feel having made your "I am" statement
numerous times?
Many people report feeling somehow "odd". Others
say that they feel like they are lying to themselves. Still
other people report feeling a sense of peace and growing confidence.
Whatever you do feel is totally fine, because one of the main
ideas of this Practice is to support the process of believing
in yourself. The benefits of this Practice are received by
repeating your statement and "growing into it" over
time.
Instead of hoping for a sudden short term change that is
lasting, look for small changes in the way you think and feel,
over the course of the coming days and months. Lasting change
rarely comes along like a thunder bolt.
If you are in an appropriate space, it is excellent to alert
the world to your intention, by making your "I am"
statement out loud. Making your statement out loud is an excellent
way of "growing into" the statement, and feeling
comfortable with your new self image as time goes on.
Engage in the process of repeating your "I am"
statement, and "tailoring" it as often as you like,
whenever you like, over the course of the coming days and
weeks. Remember, keep it simple, and you are likely to become
more confident in your ability to achieve your goals and desires.
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