What are you doing in your mind right now? Cool question, huh? Are you calmly working at something constructive? Are you worrying about something that is not going the way you would like it to? Maybe you are listening to that voice in your head ramble on about something that you have absolutely no control over? Whatever it is, I would bet that there is something going on up there; quite possibly something that doesn't feel very good, and doesn't help to move you forward in the direction of your dreams.
We tend to think that we have no control over what happens between our ears. I would like to suggest that there may be a different way to understand how our minds work, and the manner in which this can affect the way we move through our lives. Are you ready for it? I would like to introduce you to your "metaphoric mind."
A metaphor is defined as "something used to represent something else." So, how are our minds metaphoric, you ask? Our subconscious mind, which is operating behind our level of conscious awareness, all the time, even as we sleep, acts like the hard drive of a computer, encoding and storing information as it comes in, according to the references it already holds. It creates responses and develops coping skills, building our own unique model of the world, all based on our own individual experiences. This information is then expressed metaphorically. For example, an inability to manifest financial abundance in your life may be a metaphoric expression of a childhood lived with an absent parent. From a Mind-Body perspective, this can manifest as a hip or leg pain being a metaphoric representation of a fear of stepping forward into a new life; or a migraine sufferer with vision disturbances not wanting to see what that her relationship is not working.
We all see the world through our own lenses, and these lenses are going to be shaped, and at times, distorted, by our experiences. It is important to understand that our view through these lenses is often not an accurate representation of the outer world. Our memories thus become metaphors for our past experiences, and these internal representations become "blueprints," from which we distort, perceive, and decide how to react to the world. Everything we look at and experience is going to be seen and understood through the lenses of these past experiences, even if these old "lenses" are not accurate, and do not serve our highest good.
A great metaphor that explains this is the idea of a plasma screen TV. Anyone who has owned one of these televisions knows that if you pause what you are watching and leave it on the screen for too long, the image will leave an "imprint" on the screen. Important experiences in our lives, particularly the ones charged with the strongest emotions, tend to leave these "imprints" in our minds. Not surprisingly, the difficult experiences tend to take up the most real estate, as our brains primary purpose is to keep us alive, and thus will place greater importance on the memories charged with fear. Thus, keeping with the plasma screen tv metaphor, we end up seeing and living our lives through these imprints that have been superimposed on our minds, just as we watch TV through the superimposed image left on the screen. If we live our lives through these lenses, influenced by difficult experiences from our past, is it any wonder that we stay stuck in behaviours and their resultant outcomes that we don't want? Our brains are just finding different ways to recycle these old "imprints."
I love the way Michael Singer explains this in his audiobook, "Living From a Place of Surrender." "Why is the mind saying what it is saying? It is saying what it is saying because I have stored a bunch of junk down there, in my heart, and it is interpreting what is happening and relating to the garbage that it stored." He then goes on to say, "People did things in your past that were wrong and they hurt you and they should have to pay for that. But you are the one who is paying for it, by holding onto those memories and hurts and keeping that junk in there." I love how down to earth and blunt this guy is. ;)
So, the best part of all of this is that there IS a way to find the links between these metaphoric expressions and change the references that are producing them. I can help you change how you hold these old memories in your mind, let go of the pain that you are still carrying around, and free yourself from the old self-sabotaging behaviours that they are producing. You will still be you, but without the old baggage, moving forward in your life in a way that feels good to you.
We are all sitting on a rock, spinning through space, surrounded by beauty and opportunity. As far as we know, we are the only planet that can sustain life as we know it. It has taken billions of years for things to evolve, just exactly as they did, for all of us to have the opportunity to be here, in these bodies, having this incredible human experience. Would you rather live a life based on old metaphors, or one where you are fully aware and appreciative of the miracle of it all?
Can you imagine yourself living a life of joy, being present in each moment, and able to respond to life's challenges with a clear mind? Can you recognize that your greatest power lies in being as emotionally and mentally healthy as you can possibly be?
Let me help you create a life that you love, and then let's spread it around. As we heal ourselves, we heal the world, one person at a time.
Reach out to me at pattinorris.com , I can't wait to help you live a happier, healthier life!
