Negativity in large part is an overdone early warning system to alert us to danger. There is also a strong component that comes with familial and cultural conditioning. The good news is that we can shift it with some simple tools and openness to change!
Neuroscience< Growth and Change
Neuroscience has shown us many fantastic things about our brain in the past few decades. One remarkable thing is that the brain is capable of change even into the last stages of our lives. New information, new experiences and new learning all affect the actual growth of neurons in our system and therefore open us up to new possibilities. There are many factors affecting the state of our brain as we grow older but there is compelling evidence that there is much we can do to keep our mental acuity and capacity for a continuing deep and meaningful life.
The Brain and Change
Another exciting piece of research re: our brain is that it actually changes its activity based on our expectation! In one experiment individuals were instructed to expect to see color even though they were viewing black and white…their brains made the same changes as if they actually perceived color. Imagine! The brain responds to the choice you make about how you want (or in this case are told—much like in life!) to perceive something! So it seems reasonable to suggest that the brain would shift from a closed, preconceived way of processing to a more open creative one should we make that choice. So, perhaps we are beginning to see in brain mapping the actual power of choice and how it shifts physiology.
The Power of Belief to Shift Experience
One way to begin to work with shifting is to make a list of your beliefs. The beliefs that are problematic here are the ones that keep you from fully experiencing ease, joy, fulfillment; the ones that create stress within yourself and relationships; the ones that keep you bound in fear, anxiety, helplessness or hopelessness. Sometimes it can be most helpful to get in touch with the feeling and then work backwards to what belief about life may be the glue holding it in place. Your beliefs are your story … the drama you live through every day.
Questions for Faulty Beliefs
Where does one look for faulty beliefs? Well … how do you really feel about Men, Women, Mothers, Fathers, Siblings, Relationships, Love, Self, Others, Prosperity, Success, Abundance, Deserving, Playing, Work, Money, Health, Illness, Body Image, etc.
Take out a sheet of paper and write down what you don’t like in terms of repetitive thoughts, feelings and events. Take as much time as you need. You can write this in a story form if it is easier. Highlight the words or phrases that hold emotion for you. Write these phrases or words in a vertical column on one side of the paper. On the other side, write a list of the opposites. For instance, if you are feeling stressed, the opposite might be relaxed. If something that you want is not happening, the opposite is that it is happening. If it is hard or difficult, the opposite is that it is easy. If you are feeling it’s just a dream, the opposite is that it is real. Next go through and simply repeat each pair of opposite phrases out loud. See how it feels to bring the issues to consciousness and to look at both sides. Discover where you are caught in emotional dross. A very important piece of this process is to notice where you are uncomfortable with releasing your story or its components.
Keep in mind that you may have some wonderfully strong, helpful and supporting beliefs within you that you certainly want to keep. The suggested exercise can also help you see your strengths as well as the weaknesses…what has gone well in your life. Let your consciousness rest on that for a time and build on the strength. All too often we look at only what is off in us instead of embracing the totality, working with the good to help us in our release of the less graceful material. It can be tricky to focus on the positive feelings that will give you happy nerve transmission and chemistry while not denying the reality of situation. Remember it is all a process of learning to be open, accepting what is, and practice releasing.
Letting Go: The Heart of Healing https://bit.ly/2KE3vI3 has more information and three techniques that can help you with your practice and make this practice easier and more fulfilling.
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