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I wonder if you’re curious
how enjoyable it can be
to look inside of yourself
and see a different side of yourself
or perhaps you can
see yourself
from the outside
as you go into a theatre
and watch an entrancing story
becoming
deeply enchanted
and wishing it will never end
or perhaps you love to go deeply, into
the natural habitat
of wild animals
and feel transported
by the clouds
and the natural landscape
and the natural rhythm
and melodies
and beautiful pitch
and tone
of the sounds of nature
that you can hear
can be
more beautiful,
comforting and healing
than any music you have ever heard
and perhaps
you can
take great delight
in following the contours
around you
and your own abilities
to find
a natural watering hole
at dusk
perhaps climb a tree
and watch the birds
and animals drinking
by the shimmering water
or smell the scent
of natural wildflowers
and wonder
how all this beauty
came to be
or perhaps
on reflection
you can be deeply comforted
transformed
by the memory
of a special conversation
a long time ago
that changed the direction
of someone’s life
like a leaf
floating gently in the breeze
and as you continue to reflect on that
perhaps you can feel
as one
with the shimmering water
or the leaf
that you can see
tumbling and floating gently through the warm air
and softly touching down
as if in slow motion
on the cool, shimmering water
coming to rest
in a natural
comfortable position
and isn’t it wonderful
how that beautiful leaf
can be so comfortable
allowing itself
to go into
whatever time
or place
that mother nature can choose
to be transported
to an enchanting new place
and perhaps you can
become
enchanted
by the beauty
and elegance
of a simple leaf
or the incredible complexity
of it’s inner functionings
that that leaf
can allow to happen
without any conscious effort
or it’s simple
and at the same time wonderful
and natural lifestyle
that you can admire
and accept
beyond reason
how a beautiful leaf
can change colors
with the seasons
wear a natural layer
of protection
be in harmony
with those around it
accept warmth and nutrients
from the sun
the air
the earth
and the environment
and transferred
from other parts of it’s own embodiment
or from what it is a part of
and if some part
of that beautiful leaf
reminds you of yourself
or some part of you
you may be curious what you can learn
as you watch it
floating so comfortably
on the cool water
or you may be curious
about how the warm breeze can feel
as it cradles you
in it’s gentle touch
lifting your spirits
as high as you like
and for as long
as you like
like an enchanting story
that you wish
will never end, and then, lowering you
as gently as a leaf
floating comfortably
on cool shimmering water
for as long
as you like
and because
as a child
you can climb a tree
you can imagine
that you can fly
like a bird
or do anything you like
and from this bird’s eye view
if you were a bird
I wonder if you can sense
the warmth of the sun
warming the outer layers of your skin
and then permeating
slowly
into, and through every pore of your body
and mind
envigorating you
and perhaps you can feel
the wonderful fresh air
in your lungs
percolating
through your body
and your mind
healing you
as you are
where you are meant to be
doing
what you are
meant to do
and now
it may seem like a previous life
when perhaps you were curious
if you were a little boy
or girl
you can possibly remember
a parent or someone older
telling you which one you were
or is that are
you possibly think
well, that’s something worth remembering
and if you could know
as this little child
the incredible number of things you can
and will learn
far too many things
to remember
all at once
how to read
or write
or think
or react
millions and millions
of memories
and emotions to be stored away
for future reference
somewhere
and accessed
and utilized
as required
for handling challenges
some of which
have not even been invented yet
to help you make decisions
and it’s interesting
is it not
how so far you’ve made decisions based on perceptions
not statistics
and if it didn’t feel right
you tended not to do it
and if you had an impulse
or urge
to do something irrational
or illogical
that’s what often got done
and then you worked out how to justify it later
and perhaps you have wondered
what’s the point of the logical and sound advice
that the experts
or even your own experience gives you
when you were just going to do
what you wanted to anyway
I mean
who really wants to get out of their comfort zone?
and if this all makes good logical sense
you may be curious
whether you are accessing the best sort of advice and memories
that can help you get
to wherever it is you want to go,
the place where your irrational
and very real emotions
are stopping you from getting to
and perhaps it is logical
to use an illogical
and emotional approach
to convince yourself to actually act
actually do
what you need to do
to get you to
where you really want to go
now that reminds me of a story
of a very successful businesswoman
who had been getting counseling for 10 years
to deal with obsessive feelings of betrayal and rejection
after suddenly remembering an
early childhood abuse incident
revivifying the pain
and logical explanations of why she should get over it
were not working
so she switched counselors
she only needed one session
when the new counselor asked
what do you love doing
where you have all the skills you need
to solve absolutely any problem you see?
she replied
that’s easy,
when I’m at work
I can do anything
I have absolute self confidence and self control,
I’m on an emotional high
and there’s nothing that can’t be done!
This lady described how,
when she was at work,
the useful parts of
early experiences were easily remembered,
whereas associated useless unpleasant memories
or emotions
were easily separated
and forgotten
and that reminds me of another lady,
retired in her eighties,
who was suffering from severe chronic muscle spasm
possibly triggered by arthritis
she complained long and bitterly about her pain
and had been unable to engage in her favorite pastime for years
dancing
when she was dancing she was in heaven
and absolutely nothing in this world could bother her
and when she suddenly realized the possibilities of this
she had a new strategy
if she suspected a spasm attack coming on
just think about dancing
of course
different things work for different people
and the great psychiatrist Milton Erickson
used hundreds of ideas
to help people
get into a state of mind
where they were very comfortable
before suggesting to them
that they could achieve their goals
using the skills
that they already had
one interesting example
was a woman suffering from bulimia
this woman was very fashion conscious
and when she was dressed up
she felt very special
so Dr Erickson suggested to her
that whenever she thought it would be useful
perhaps before meals
or any other time she liked
she put on her favorite red shoes
that reminds me
of a 9 year old boy with severe social anxiety
and diagnosed
with selective mutism
who would not speak
or make any sounds outside his home
until his mother
enrolled him in martial art classes
he couldn’t join a normal class
so he had private lessons at a club
he was so excited
he forgot himself
and started making grunting noises as he punched the bag
isn’t confidence a wonderful thing?
and because they are yours
whenever you need to
whenever it’s useful
you can be aware
of your most useful memories
and stories
and you can access your solutions
and you can access
your most useful solutions
anytime
you choose to
and perhaps you can be curious
where the useful stories in your history are
whether they are filed away
under the headings of confidence
or comfort
or self control
or something else
like perhaps
things I absolutely love to do
or possibly
under a very positive and useful emotion
and because they are yours
you can access those stories
allowing you to actually do
whatever it is
you want to do
as you slowly
change your focus
and become more and more
comfortably aware
of your surroundings